Green Lantern #67 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Doug Mahnke (penciller), Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen, Mark Irwin (inkers), Gabe Eltaeb & Randy Mayor (colorists)

The Story: This makes me want to break out into a chorus of, “Feelings…woah, woah, woah…”

The Review: With all this Flashpoint business going on, War of the Green Lanterns has gotten kind of lost in the shuffle (we haven’t seen an episode for over a month).  You have to question the wisdom of DC’s editors for allowing a company-wide crossover and a major franchise crossover to compete with each other for attention, but never mind.  Since Johns is crafting both, he has the luxury of accommodating the fallout from both into the new DCU in September.

So let’s turn our attention briefly away from altered Earth to the center of the normal universe, shall we?  Last we left our Lanterns, Hal and Guy were well on their way to becoming immortal blue midgets, and Kyle and John had just blown up a planet.  Thanks to crossover shenanigans, some major developments took place without my knowledge and so we fade in to see the Corps, free of Krona’s influence and led by the Earth Lanterns, ready to rumble with the Guardians.

Not to imply that Johns’ whole theme about the value of emotion is irrelevant, but when you have several thousand Lanterns giving the beatdown to their former employers, all that touchy-feely stuff really falls by the wayside.  Blame Johns for simply being too good at delivering high-quality action; he has a knack for setting up expectations then pulling them out from under you moments later.  You’d think return of all the other Corps ringleaders (yup, that’s a pun) to the fray would seal the deal, but no—Krona just uses them to his advantage and we’re off again.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Superboy #9 – I haven’t always been high on this series, but over the last couple of months, Jeff Lemire’s Superboy has really hit its stride.  Lemire has found his voice or superhero comics and, more importantly, the unique take he brings to the medium.  The weird sci-fi/horror that Lemire does so well is on display here and while he’ll be leaving the book come September, it bodes well for his upcoming Animal Man and Frankenstein books.  This also happens to be Pier Gallo’s strongest showing on the series, who apparently does weird sci-fi/horror better than anything else as well.

Most Anticipated: Captain America #1 – It’s been a while since it was so easy to pick a “most anticipated,” and it’s actually a pretty big week, featuring several personal favourites (Journey into Mystery, Detective Comics).   However, a pairing of Brubaker and McNiven on Cap?  And the return of Steve Rogers to the shield?  Oh, hell yes.  I cannot wait to get my hands on this.

Other Picks: X-Men: Schism #1, Journey into Mystery #625, Detective Comics #879, American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest #2, FF #6, PunisherMAX #15, Flashpoint: Frankenstein & the Creatures of the Unknown #2, Wolverine #12, New Avengers #14, Green Lantern #67, Amazing Spider-Man #665

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: X-Men #14 handily took this week’s crown with some great reveals, quick action and not a small bit of unfolding mysteries. Art chores were awesomely done and if you have a hankering for seeing what the X-Men were like in the old days, then this is your book.

Most Anticipated: X-Men Schism #1. Although I’m a tiny bit worried by Marvel’s “a full roster of comics’ top artists” (whatever happened to the days of just one artist?), schism looks cool enough to check out and the events in X-Men #12-#14 are making this event look big.

Other Picks: Ghost Rider #1, Defenders: From the Marvel Vault #1, Uncanny X-Force #11