By Geoff Johns (writer), Doug Mahnke (artist), Christian Alamy (inker), Randy Mayor & Gabe Eltaeb (colorists)
The Story: Hal and Indigo-1 begin their quest to unify the disparate factions of light by approaching Carol and the Star Sapphires even as the Black Lanterns attack Zamaron. Meanwhile, Mongul and Sinestro discuss executive management opportunities within the Sinestro Corps.
The Good: When it comes to truly epic storyteling, nothing quite satisfies like a Green Lantern story from Johns and Mahnke. Following the theoretically simple, yet rarely practiced, precept of delivering strong stories and dynamic art, they are constantly making Green Lantern a must read title for me. With this issue, I feel like “Blackest Night” has officially moved into its next phase of storytelling, as the emphasis seems to have shifted from revealing the magnitude of the threat posed by the Black Lanterns to uniting the various Lantern Corps against them. Johns is so incredibly successful at forging the Black Lantern Corps into a relentless, seemingly unstoppable danger that, as you read this issue, it’s hard to believe that Hal Jordan is going to make it out of this one alive. But that’s good! That, my friends, is storytelling at its finest, and Johns has proven himself a Jedi Master in this particular department. But hell, I could just as easily say the same for Mahnke, whose art only gets better every month. Powerful, detailed, and at times deeply haunting, his art perfectly compliments both the superhero and supernatural qualities of this story. In fact, Mahnke’s double splash page of Sinestro, uh, coming to a decision regarding Mongul’s promotion is easily worth the $3 I paid for this comic. Just take a look at it and tell me that isn’t the coolest thing you’ve seen all month. Moments like that remind me why comics are Great.
The Not So Good: I was surprised that Green Lantern was basically a guest star in his own comic. Despite flying into scenes for brief exchanges with Carol, Sinestro, and Indigo-1, Hal’s presence was barely felt, whose was largely eclipsed by Sinestro. On the upside though, Sinestro stole every scene he was in and was a wicked delight to read. Oddly enough, and I can’t stress this enough, my biggest gripe was with Carol and whatever idiot at DC thought it was a good idea to make her look like a cheap Vegas whore. I’m as much of a red-blooded, healthy young man as the next guy, but I was looking at Carol and her implants in utter disbelief that the Star Sapphires approved slut couture for their agents. At least Johns had the common sense to poke some fun at the absurdity of her wardrobe.
Conclusion: Green Lantern is a fantastic comic gripped in the middle of the greatest storyline of the year. There might be better ways to spend your hard-earned Yanqui dollars, but crack is evil and prostitution is only legal in Vegas, so why not try this comic instead?
Grade: B
-Tony Rakittke
Filed under: DC Comics, Reviews | Tagged: Black Lantern Corps, Christian Alamy, DC Comics, Dou Mahnke, Gabe Eltaeb, Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, Green Lantern, Green Lantern #46, Green Lantern #46 review, Green Lantern 4 review6, Indigo Tribe, Mongul, obey, Randy Mayor, Sinestro, Star Sapphire, Tony Rakittke | Leave a comment »
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