(Titan Books �22.99)

BLOCKBUSTER event storylines have become the lifeblood of the superhero genre, an annual promise of game-changing reality storms, a flurry of crossovers and tie-in books, and ultimately big, big sales. Blackest Night, long since teased in the pages of the Green Lantern series, is no exception to this rule, but unlike many similar projects, it actually offers a first-rate storyline which can pretty much be read on its own without the need to pick up piles of additional books.

The basic concept is simple: the dead of the DC Universe, hero and villain alike, are being resurrected as Black Lanterns, zombified embodiments of death itself, with their sole mission the extinction of all life, everywhere, at any cost.

But with many of the world’s greatest heroes having themselves come back from the beyond in recent years, including the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman, the forces of good find themselves increasingly vulnerable to the power of this army of the dead, leaving only a handful of their peers in any position to prevent the end of all creation.

Hal Jordan of the Green Lantern Corps, perhaps the greatest of this intergalactic police force, is forced to unite the champions of six other corps reflecting all aspects of the emotional spectrum in a last ditch attempt to defeat the overwhelming army of Black Lanterns. But even allied with the likes of the loving Star Sapphires, the fearful Sinestro Corps, and the enraged Red Lanterns, can anyone or anything prevent the prophecy of the Blackest Night from finally coming true…

The last five years have seen the Green Lantern mythos propelled to new heights of greatness at the hands of writer Geoff Johns, who here tears up with artists Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert and Joe Prado to reveal perhaps the Corps’ greatest battle, an epic tale of sacrifice and salvation which triumphs on every level.