Black Lightning: Brick City Blues

Black Lightning (Collected Editions) #3

by Tony Isabella, Eddy Newell (Illustrator)

When violent urban decay overwhelms his city and threatens to destroy those around him, long-absent hero Black Lightning returns to dispense his own electrifying brand of justice.

Currently featuring characters from the hit TV series on The CW network! Written by the co-creator of Black Lightning, Tony Isabella, whose original work on the character comes full circle in this thrilling, never-before collected series!

The world's a very different place from the one schoolteacher Jefferson Pierce once knew, and Black Lightning isn't the same hero he was. Older and wiser, Black Lightning reluctantly resurfaces with a ferocious new look and a dangerous edge in a city desperately needing a hero.

Collects Black Lightning #1-13 and DC Universe Holiday Bash #2.

Genres: Comics

352 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2019

About the author

Tony Isabella is an American comic book writer, editor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath; DC Comics' first major African-American superhero, Black Lightning; and as a columnist and critic for the Comics Buyer's Guide.
Contents

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some solid street level crime fighting here. You can see where they gathered a lot of the basics for the TV show from this. Painkiller and Tobias Whale make an appearance as well, although the TV version of Tobias is far more interesting. Eddy Newell's art is gritty and detailed.

[It's just Deano · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tony Isabella returned to a relaunched Black Lightning in the mid-90’s for another short-lived run with Jefferson Pierce - Brick City Blues collects Isabella's entire run in this collected edition.

Brick City Blues all about action. It's everything you'd want from a 90's comic book in that regard, but it sadly comes at a cost. Although there's a solid plot at its core it's often quickly glossed over in favour of relentless panels of action, explosions and people getting punched out or shot - which is initially fun but wears thin real quick.

Likewise, the illustration work is often so overloaded with action and motion that it's sometimes unclear to what is actually going on. Jumps and sudden shifts in time and scenario often feel disjointed, which also sadly adds to the mayhem.

That said, despite its flaws there are some moments of brilliance here - Jefferson as an older and wiser character, his stay in the hospital after losing a colleague, and the story arc of the serial killer, Sick Nick, offer some truly great moments.

Sadly, despite the few shinning moments of brilliance in Brick City Blues it just isn't enough to carry it as a series. I truly struggled reading this and at times felt like quitting, which just isn't like me at all. I remain a big fan of Black Lightning, but I'm definitely not a fan of his return in the 1990s.
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My Score: 2/10
My Goodreads: ⭐
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[Lucy Batson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly good revival of Black Lightning by creator Tony Isabella. This series (while Isabella remains on script) is a good, less gritty companion piece to Denny O'Neil's The Question, another book about a vigilante fighting to save a city that's hopelessly lost, The real star here are Eddy Newell's jaw-dropping pencils; why this man didn't become a superstart artist the in the 90's is completely lost on me.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first eight issues of the 90s Black Lightning are damn good. There is a problem though. The timing of its release. From about 92-2000 DC was having a bit of a renaissance. Mark Waid on Flash and Impulse. Peter David on Aquaman. James Robinson's Starman. Ordway's Shazam! All Superman and Legion titles were firing on all their cylinders. Most of the Batbooks were fairly strong. So here you had Tony Isabella doing some of the best comics of his career and zero promotions budget... at time when DC itself was doing some of the best damn comics they've ever done. So as amazing as they are... the book didn't stand a chance.

So, I loved Isabella's work so much... why'd I give it only three stars. Well, it's time to address the elephant in the room: the David Devries issues. If this trade been oh... five dollars cheaper and only contained Black Lightning Vol 2. #1-8 plus the short form the Holiday Bash II, I would have given this trade five stars. Devries isn't a bad writer by any means. His story arc is perfectly alright. But simply alright seems awful when you put them in the same collection as issue #5. I have the same feelings about the Devries run on Black Lightning as I do about Joe Casey's run on Incredible Hulk. Yeah, the stories exist. Yes, they are entertaining enough... but if you really look at what came before it and you know the previous writer truly had a lot more stories they wanted to tell, you as a reader can't help but want those stories. Worse yet, you have to feel sorry for the new writer coming in. They've got to be thinking: 'how the hell is anyone supposed to live up to that?'

[T.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for the first 5 issues in this collection, written by Black Lightning co-creator Tony Isabella, who also pens a wonderful introduction. Eddy Newell's gritty artwork is intricate, intense, special, and gorgeous. The story concerns Black Lightning coming out of retirement after his days with the Outsiders, teaching school by day, fighting ground level criminals and corruption in the forgotten neighborhood of Brick City, and carrying a torch for his ex-wife Lynn. There's such a mood here. Like an old bluesy record, sort of sad but hopeful. If you like the tv show, you'll like this.

The rest feels more like your average, extremely 90s comic book, with guest star vigilante Gangbuster chasing a grudge into "The Brick" and a third and final storyline (this one by a different creative team) pitting Black Lightning against a Jack the Ripper style serial killer.

This collection contains the full run of Black Lightning's 1990s series, plus a short story that nicely brings things full circle.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This collection is terrible in all the ways a comic collection can be terrible in 2020. When Isabella created Black Lightning along with Trevor Von Eeden the original series had a pleasant mix of Shaft meets In the Heat of the Night with Von Eeden's art elivating Isabella's corny poetry infused storytelling. Fast forward to 1995 where Isabella, fresh off watching New Jack City on cable or something, decides Black Lightning needs a grim, urban facelift where the hero only beats up people of color and works with the police even after they mistakenly shoot at him. Mercifully, DC takes the car keys from Isabella after 8 issues but the art stays awful and the plots and diologue don't improve enough to save this dumpster fire of a collection.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I subscribed to and loved the original Black Lightning series, and I'm happy to say that Tony Isabella has done it again, returning the character to his inner-city mandate here. While I enjoyed The Outsiders, it was NEVER (originally, anyway) the team mag that Justice League of America was, even in the Detroit years. Here, apart from flashbacks, and a brief cameo, this is ALL Black Lightning, all the time. The fights are well done and straight-out thrilling, the art in the backgrounds reflect the setting, the dialogue reflects the modern inner city/big city, and the plotting is tight. Even the artists chosen reflect the grit, with perfectly drawn characters.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this volume for issues #1-5 and the holiday story at the end of the book. Those are all 5-star stories. Issues #6-8 are also by creator Tony Isabella, but I get the feeling he'd been given his walking papers by DC as it doesn't feel like his heart was in the story. I'd read issues #9-13 only to be a completist; the best part of those stories was when Batman confirmed his faith in Black Lightning.

[Cweb · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first series was much better than this.. this was not interesting at all. Loads of fighting scenes extended..

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

But damn, I enjoyed Isabella's writing. And Newell's art reminds me of early Eastman & Laird TMNT.

[Nicolas · Rating 2 out of 5]

The interesting part of this was seeing the beats they pulled for the CW TV Show. While I like the character, I didn't particularly enjoy this story. The plot was very dark and the art style just didn't do it for me. I guess I prefer the classic run on this character.

For more, tune in to Comic Book Coffee Break #23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfnw6...