Green Lantern #7 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Doug Mahnke (penciller), Keith Champagne, Christian Alamy, Mark Irwin (inkers), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: Nok nok.  Who’s there?  Indigo.  Indigo who?  Indigo home!  Like E.T., get it?

The Review: As my last few reviews show, Johns has fallen into something of a slump on Justice League, where characters rarely venture beyond a string of clichés and catchphrases, while the plot simply clunks along.  Aquaman is something of an improvement, but its mythos is still undeveloped, and Johns has less material to draw from.  It is in Green Lantern that the acclaimed Johns of old still lives and breathes, and this issue is a good reminder of that.

Take any issue of Justice League, set it beside the story here, and you can see the difference, clear as day.  The cast in this title have been so well established that they have nothing to prove anymore, meaning they spend less time trying to come up with smart remarks, witty comebacks, or melodramatic speeches and actually act like credible human beings—or credible alien beings, whatever the case may be.

Unlike the comically showy beats of malice Desaad and Co. went through last issue, the Guardians reveal theirs even without talk.  Newly imprisoned Lyssa Drak, under the silent stares of Ganthet and his lady-companions, demands, “What?  What are you staring at?  What do you WANT?”  Her increasing tension reflects the dark aura of the Guardians even before they start idly discussing the merits of killing her.  “Lantern Voz will ask too many questions,” Ganthet says.  “Then we will eliminate Lantern Voz,” his companion replies matter-of-factly.

While it’s pretty clear the little blue immortals have pretty much given up even a pretense of benevolence, there’s reason to hope of the possibility, however slight, that one of them hasn’t completely fallen to the Dark Side, to use another sci-fi epic’s terminology.  The fact that Ganthet stays his fellows’ hands from coolly offing both a prisoner and prison warden may be a sign that our former pony-tailed Guardian may not be totally gone after all.

The writing feels especially natural when it comes to our principals, Hal, Sinestro, and Carol.  Unlike the eye-rollers we frequently got from Hal and the Flash (see Justice League #3), the jokes here are in tune to the script’s context, and don’t feel forced.  Hal tells Sinestro defiantly, “I’m never working for anyone again.”  “Not including me,” Carol corrects me.  “Not including her,” Hal agrees.  Beyond the humor of the bit, Hal may also be making a statement about his future as a Green Lantern; not that he’s ever been the Guardians’ lapdog, but it seems like even if goes back to cosmic policing full-time, he won’t be following their agenda anymore.