Green Lantern #57 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Doug Mahnke (artist), Christian Alamy, Tom Nguyen, Keith Champagne, Doug Mahnke (inkers), Randy Major with Gabe Eltaeb (colors)

The Story: What Happens in Las Vegas: Hector Hammond has swallowed the orange power lantern. The main power battery for the Star Sapphires is petering out. Carol Ferris has to trap the purple entity to power it.

What’s Good: Johns on a lantern title almost ensures that we’re going to learn some new and interesting subtlety about one of the colors of the power spectrum, or their bearers, or their rings. This issue is no exception. This issue is Carol’s story. She owned this book and took names, including Hal Jordan’s. Shoulda put a ring on it, Jordan! The solution Carol comes up with to fight the sapphire entity is interesting, creative and takes some guts, especially considering that not even her own Star Sapphires believe that she’s on the right track. Conflict. Suspense. Colored rings. Revelations about the power batteries and a surprise, twisty ending! What else do you want? Good on Johns!

Artwise, Doug Mahnke and his enormous inking posse never fail to deliver the bacon. The action is fast-paced and dynamic, especially the opening sequence with Hector Hammond trying to own Larfleeze like a fat kid on a cheese doodle. The faces, costumes, clothes, hair and environments are, for the most part, textured and detailed. The classic art superhero-fight greatness builds as the story progresses until the double-splash page climax, a shot which is well worth slowing your read over, especially Jordan’s face. You had your shot, buddy. Suck it up! The color work is necessarily good (for a story where a bunch of different power rings have to play against mood-hued backgrounds) and Randy Major and Gabe Eltaeb earn their pay. Panels dominated by passion purple, greedy yellow and everything Las Vegas set some intriguing color tones for the story.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Brightest Day #9 – Brightest Day has been delivering the goods, albeit slowly, and I am still enjoying this series, even knowing that its other readers are dropping it or, like me, chomping at the bit for something more conclusive. That all being said, this is still a series worth watching and #9 is best of the past week.

Most Anticipated: Batman and Robin #14 – It’s a tie between Green Lantern #57 (a male Star Sapphire??) and Batman and Robin #14 (Batman Must Die, part 2 of 3!). Green Lantern is going to push forward Brightest Day, while Batman and Robin have one kickass villain. Both books are armed with great writers and amazing artists!

Other Top Picks: Batman #703, Batgirl #14, Red Robin #16, Daredevil #510, The Thanos Imperative #4, The Green Hornet Strikes #3

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Last Days of American Crime #3 – Not only was this a great issue, it was a great ending to a story.  We’ve all read a lot of stories that started with so much promise, but fell on their face in the final chapter.  Not so here as Rick Remender has created a wonderful crime story with a neat sci-fi hook.  Keep your eyes out for the trade!

Most Anticipated: Daytripper #10 – I am very excited for the final chapter of this great maxi-series from Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon, especially after they started to tie their story of poignant moments in a man’s life together.  Continuing the theme from LDoAC #3…..I will be sooooo disappointed if this falls on its face (but I don’t think it will).

Other picks: Batman & Robin #14, American Vampire #6, X-Men #3, Irredeemable #17, 28 Days Later #14

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Sweet Tooth #13 – In a week that was actually kind of lousy overall, Sweet Tooth was an easy pick.  This wasn’t even a particularly awesome or remarkable issue either, it just didn’t suck, delivering the same consistent quality the book has delivered throughout its run thus far.

Most Anticipated: American Vampire #6 -For me, this is probably the best new series of the year thus far and I can’t wait to see how Snyder will kick off his second arc, particularly now that he’ll be handling the book in its entirety.  Stephen King fan that I am, I actually preferred Snyder’s portions of the first five issue, so I’m expecting this to be absolutely killer.

Other Picks: Batman & Robin #14, Green Lantern #57, Daredevil #510, Invincible Iron Man #30, New Avengers #4, Thor #614