Green Lantern #32 – Review

By: Robert Venditti (writer), Billy Tan (penciler), Rob Hunter with Jaime Mendoza (inkers), Tony Avina (colorist)

The Story: The Durlans discover that the cultural melting pot doesn’t interest them half as much as a culture living in a melting pot.

The Review: With Guardians of the Galaxy swiftly approaching, there’s really no denying the power of Marvel’s cosmic universe. Space has been the place to be for Marvel’s cult hits for years, from Nova to Runaways to Captain Marvel. Despite some of their biggest characters hailing from space, DC’s cosmic stories have lagged behind in recent years. Certainly there have been gems, but the rich intergalactic world building of the Silver Age has fallen largely by the wayside. This issue is yet another step on the path to correcting this.

Though there’s definitely some Lantern action in this issue, the real attraction is the interplay between the rapidly fracturing anti-Lantern coalition. I suppose it’s not surprising, given the consistently strong writing that Robert Venditti has brought to the Corps’ adversaries, but this month they really get the screen time such writing deserves.

Green Lantern #31 – Review

By: Robert Venditti (writer), Billy Tan (penciller), Rob Hunter (inker), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: A Durlan is everthing. A Durlan is everywhere…

The Review: I’ve generally enjoyed Robert Venditti’s run on Green Lantern, however I must admit that there has been something off about it that I’ve been struggling to put my finger on. Is it the balance between internal Lantern matters and the greater universe? Is it decompression? Event fatigue? The needs of the issues vs. that of the overarching story? Perhaps a bit of all of them but, regardless, this feeling of being not quite right has been a leach on the story. I’m honestly quite impressed at how Venditti has handled the nigh impossible task of following Geoff Johns’ franchise revitalizing epic, but the past year has been one of ups and downs – has it really been a year already? Still it’s all been leading up to this…

With this issue the long simmering Lantern-Durlan war enters a new phase. I don’t know if Venditti was biding his time until “Uprising” began or simply felt that he had lots of set up to do, but either way this is a big step up for the series. I mentioned last month that Green Lantern seemed to reset every month, starting from the same status quo without a sense of building tension. Well, in addition to picking up fairly directly from the impressive issue #30, this issue really feels like a shift in the book’s dynamic. Betrayals are revealed, mysteries discovered, and character tested.

One thing that’s interesting to compare between Johns and Venditti are their moments of apotheosis. While these moments in Venditti’s run lack something of the ‘hell yeah’ quality of Johns’, it’s worth mentioning that the latter’s often felt like the climax of an argument one held with oneself; not so in Venditti’s stories. The universe doesn’t justify or disavow Hal Jordan in this issue and, while he has a moment of triumph, there is the sense that the other shoe could still drop. It’s an interesting and sincere look at a man like Jordan, who’s used to being right. As a Lantern he could make do on the strength of his beliefs, as Corps Leader he’ll be judged on their content as well, and he won’t discover the verdict till it’s all over.

Green Lantern #30 – Review

By: Robert Venditti (writer), Martin Coccolo (artist), and Tony Avina & Alex Sinclair (colorists)

The Story: As war looms and old friends are laid to rest, Hal Jordan checks his privilege.

The Review: To be perfectly honest, I considered not picking this issue up. Green Lantern has been a solid series of late but, while the past two issues have been quite good, something about it seemed to reset every month, losing the momentum it had gained. Combined with a growing pull list and a somewhat looking generic gladiator cover, I wasn’t certain about this one – I mean weren’t there two episodes of GL: The Animated Series about Hal fighting in brown gladiatorial arenas? Nevertheless, if you’re in the same place, you may want to reconsider.

Though Green Lantern has long used the analogy of being an intergalactic police force, like many real police forces throughout the world, under dire circumstances they’ve really become a peculiar cosmic army. You can hold to the police line as long as you like, but they’re not called the corps for nothing and acknowledging that is one of the single best decisions that Robert Venditti has made during his tenure here.

In a great moment, very consciously at odds with the corps’ new verdant home, Venditti reminds us that “The soul of the corps[…]isn’t the barracks and its 7200 lockers filled with memories from each Lantern’s home[…]The soul of the corps is the crypt.” It’s a morbid thought but an oddly truthful one. Especially these days, Lanterns come and go and who you are when you’re off duty matters less and less. No, what matters is that you were part of something bigger. It’s a standard part of modern military thought, one designed to build community, but for roguish Hal Jordan, it’s a pill that doesn’t go down easy.

Wonder Woman #18 – Review

By Gail Simone (writer), Bernard Chang (art), I.L.L. (colors)  

When I initially flipped through this book at the store I thought I was going to hate this issue. Bernard Chang is no Terry Dodson, and his rendition of Wonder Woman has no resemblance of the strong, almost burly, Amazonian portrayed in Terry Dodson’s art. But when I actually started reading the book, it was almost as if Gail Simone tailored this book to Chang’s art style. Diana’s slender and innocently sweet look, matches her bedside manner as she visits Agent Tresser at the hospital.

From there, things get a little bizarre. The Khund come out of nowhere to kill her!  At first, it seems like she’s completely outnumbered. But panels later, we learn that she can completely own this “menacing, warmonger race”. It’s then revealed that instead of trying to defeat her, they’re paying tribute. Apparently, something’s happened to their home world. An alien only known as the “Ichor” has been drilling into their planet. Being one of the few that’s actually defeated the Khund, they tap Wonder Woman to save their planet. But as usual, not all is as it seems and Diana knows this (and yet does nothing about her suspicions). Instead, she lets things play out and we’re handed what’s supposed to be a twist of an ending (yet, why did I roll my eyes?).

I was really hoping for a leap into the unknown – something that would be ominous and challenging for Diana. Instead, I was given something familiar to her in an unfamiliar setting. There’s still an interest in where this story will go, but what could have been something great has severely diminished to near mediocrity. As sweet as Bernard Chang draws Wonder Woman, the rest of the art is a mixed bag; sometimes it looks great, other times a bit rough around the edges. (Grade: C)

– J. Montes