Letters to Shades of Gray #2

[arcalian]

Let us know what you think!

[HoM]

Things get even creepier as the story progresses. I love rising tension, I love that trope in horror. Things are only going to get worse, and everything we've seen so far is a precursor.

Now, I did enjoy Blackest Night when it debuted. I got into DC just before Identity Crisis revved up, and I followed it religious all the way through to Flashpoint. The New 52 wasn't really for me, but there were some bright spots in all that-- Morrison on Action Comics, Azzarrello on Wonder Woman, but the relaunch led to stories that meant, to me, that DC wasn't what it used to be. Eventually we got some great initiatives though, Midnighter was great, Batgirl brilliant, and Grayson was a barnstormer, but they really flummoxed the launch IMO.

I think that's another reason why I'm enjoying this series so far. Obviously your writing means a lot, and Jonah is never better served than when he's being written by you. The visuals you layout are creepy, very cinematic, and the unease over that opening was brilliant. Then obviously we get a catch up, a glimpse behind the Black Lantern curtain, and we get a bit more than ever before. Having read Blackest Night, I like that you didn't try and catch the readers up-- they don't need to know the story, and if there's any pertinent information it's been dolled out as and when we need it. The imagery of the march of the dead is great, very foreboding, and the conversations between Maggie and Jonah really quite sad in the best possible way.

Jonah wants to make it alone, he's going to head off to Coast City to find Hal, and he leaves his jacket with Maggie as an "I'll-be-back", but with that cliffhanger ending, who knows if he'll manage it.

Great stuff!

[Susan Hillwig]

When I do fics based on something canonical, there's always a question of how much do you need to repeat for the reader. It usually comes down to what you said: What's the bare minimum they need to know to understand this story I'm telling? That's why, when Maggie asks how Jonah knows who Green Lantern is, he just says, "It's a very long, very complicated story." It's unnecessary at the moment, so we can skip it for a few issues. The majority of Blackest Night/Brightest Day has no bearing on Jonah, so we can skip nearly all of it and just cherry-pick the parts that apply to him. If you think about it, that's what they tend to do with tie-in issues, because you can't keep wasting pages repeating the same info over and over. So if you've read the main story (as you have, Charlie), then you get a fuller picture, but those who've only read Shades of Gray don't miss out on anything pertinent because I've included it here. It just makes for smoother storytelling.