Green Lantern #19 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Szymon Kudranski (art), Ardian Syaf (pencils), Mark Irwin & Guillermo Ortego (inks), Alex Sinclair & Tony Avina (colors)

The Story: Now Sinestro can join Superman’s support group for sole planetary survivors.

The Review: As Johns winds down on what has been an impressive eight-year run on his most popular series, he’s clearly aiming to give as loving a send-off as he can to all the characters he’s given new life to.  He’s made Hal Jordan the centerpiece of the Green Lantern franchise again; he’s turned Sinestro from a villain you took for granted to one you fear, respect, and even sympathize with; and he’s given us Simon Baz, the most unpretentious and human of Lanterns.

I expressed some concern last month that Simon has lately lost the spotlight in this series and was even in danger of becoming an extraneous character in the presence of Hal and Sinestro.  Now, however, I understand that this is Johns indulging in nostalgia, coming up with the most fitting and resonant coda to the two characters he’s developed the longest.  Both Hal and Sinestro have had long, personal evolutions, and now’s the time to examine what has come out of that.