Green Lantern #12 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Renato Guedes & Jim Calafiore (art), Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: When it comes to vaporizing the undead, what you really need is teamwork.

The Review: If there is an art to John’s writing, it has little to do with his use of language, his imaginative ambitions, or his understanding of character.  You can distill his art to that of the ever-continuing story, the tale that persuades you to give it your attention for just another issue, one month at a time.  Often, he’ll write nothing worth remarking upon for an entire issue, then he’ll end with a twist that guarantees you’ll come back to see what happens next.

For anyone who followed the original rise of the Black Lanterns in Green Lantern pre-relaunch, the battle with Black Hand feels distinctly like a rerun.  Both Hal and Sinestro know that in a game with someone who can’t be killed, all strategies boil down to stall tactics, so there’s a certain air of “been there, done that” to their actions, futile as they might be.  For the uninitiated Lantern fans, this issue may offer some interest, but the veterans can skip through most of it and not miss a thing.