Green Lantern: New Guardians #32 – Review

By: Justin Jordan (writer), Brad Walker (penciller), Andrew Hennessy with Scott Hanna (inkers), Wil Quintana (colorist)

The Story: “I didn’t want to but they know how to make you.”

The Review: The original adventuring party has splintered over the last few issues of Green Lantern: New Guardians, with Quaros leaving his brothers in between issues and Kyle separated from the group at the climax of GL: NG Annual #2. Appropriately each division has marked the entrance of uncertainty and powerlessness into this uniquely godlike group of wanderers. As this issue opens we still don’t know what’s happening to Kyle, what he truly saw beyond the Source Wall, whether Oblivion still exists, or even where our hero is really. This trend reaches, what seems to be, its lowest point this issue.

I’ve previous noted in my reviews of this series that the Templar Guardians have started to become a bit of a literal Deus Ex Machina, frequently appearing at the last-minute to save the day, rendering Kyle’s actions a mere distraction. Well this issue clearly answers that concern, at least in the short-term. Justin Jordan does an impressive job of hiding the Guardians’ panic behind their usual wisdom. While it’s not exceptionally complex character work, the execution is effective, immediately and fiercely conveying both their worry and their pride.

Jordan has always enjoyed homage to horror movies in his work, but New Guardians has never reached this level of eeriness before. The story plays with dramatic irony, feeding the reader little bits of information every so often without actually answering questions. In the meanwhile, Jordan takes a slow burn strategy, playing on the expectation that things have to come to a head. The fact that the reveal has to justify each page of suspense puts a time pressure on the book that becomes more stressful the further you read.

C2E2 Report: Justin Jordan – At the Crossroads of Capes and Horror

 

Justin Jordan once described his breakout series, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, as being a story “about a geek who thinks he’s becoming a superhero when he’s really becoming a slasher.” Perhaps its fitting that ever since he’s been playing with the conventions of superhero comics, introducing elements of science fiction, dark fantasy, and horror to series like Team 7, Shadowman, and Green Lantern: New Guardians.

Despite a nasty cough, Mr. Jordan made some time to speak to us on the tail end of C2E2 and gave some fascinating insights to a couple of his most notable projects. Enjoy the interview and join me in wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #29 – Review

By:  Justin Jordan (writer), Brad Walker (penciler), Andrew Hennessy with Brad Walker (inkers), Wil Quintana with Hi-Fi (colors)

The Story: They say you should never argue with people about religion or politics. Kyle Rayner argues both and does so exclusively with gorgeous superpowered women. Because Kyle Rayner.

The Review: In recent months Green Lantern: New Guardians has become the DC Universe’s answer to Star Trek, exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new characters and new civilizations, going where the New 52 has never gone before. Last month we were introduced to the Light and the Fire, a cult of interstellar evangelists preaching the gospel of a familiar deity.

Fans of Marv Wolfman’s New Teen Titans will be more than familiar with Starfire’s cries of “X’HAL!” and followers of the series will remember the character’s appearance in the title’s third year. While it might be fun to pit the Tamaranean goddess against the White Lantern, Justin Jordan has other plans for this meeting. When Kyle demands proof that X’Hal has Kalosa’s best interests at heart, the issue becomes a meditation on divinity and what it means.

The tricks that Jordan employs in endearing X’hal to the readers are not new ones, nor subtle ones, but they work pretty well, just the same. Her distant personality and down-to-earth perspective come together nicely and the issue avoids making her seem too good to be true without giving the sense that she and, by extension, her followers are ticking bombs.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #27 – Review

By: Justin Jordan (writer), Andrei Bressan (artist), Hi-Fi (colors)

The Story: The Kalimawans prepare to revenge a string of brutal attacks on their planet. There’s only one problem: their enemies are physically incapable of warfare and unless Kyle and Exeter the Keeper can unravel the mystery an entire species could be wiped out.

The Review: It’s hard to deny that Green Lantern, as a franchise, would not be what it is today if not for Geoff Johns. From the beginning, but especially from “Sinestro Corps War” onward, Johns created a new world for the Lanterns to inhabit. I doubt I would be anywhere near as much a fa of Green Lantern if not for the introduction of the Emotional Spectrum. And yet, even as Green Lantern prepares for another universe-spanning war and the other corps find their place in the DC universe, I find myself longing for solid, old-fashioned sci-fi tales of the classic Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. Luckily New Guardians is all too happy to scratch that itch.

Once again, Justin Jordan has crafted a short sweet SF thought experiment for us. It lacks some of the philosophical complexity of his previous arc, but substitutes in more memorable characters and tighter plotting.

Exeter the Keeper has returned, after an extended absence from the title, and Jordan wastes no time endearing him to the reader. The character is not a terribly original one in this day and age but he’s loads of fun and his dedication to his duties help to provide the moral backbone that differentiates him from similarly direct heroes. Indeed, the concept of the Keeper is an interesting one and, in its simplicity, raises questions about what it means to protect something.

Meanwhile Kyle Rayner retains the charm he’s had throughout Jordan’s run. It’s nice to see a protagonist who is simultaneously highly relatable and prone to mistakes or being overwhelmed. Too often superhero stories are pure power fantasy, but Kyle provides a nice balance. That said, the Templar Guardians are beginning to become a little too good at saving the day.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #26 – Review

By: Justin Jordan (writer); Brad Walker and Geraldo Borges (Pencilers); Drew Hennessy, Marian Benes, and J.P. Mayer (inkers); Wil Quintana and Hi-Fi (colors)

The Story: War has come to Paradise. Just remember, no hitting…

The Review: I don’t think that it’s controversial to say that I found last month’s issue of Green Lantern: New Guardians to be, by far, the best in the title’s run. Justin Jordan came out of Lights Out with purpose, defining who Kyle was in this brave new universe while crafting an excellent sci-fi adventure. In short, it was pretty impressive. So now that question is: can he live up to it? The answer is ‘kind of’.

If I had to describe this issue in a single word, I think I’d choose uneven. Despite the pathos that Nias-2 brings to the story, his unclear power set and refusal to press important issues limit his effectiveness as an antagonist. Often his dialogue feels fairly generic but his conviction is clear throughout and when Jordan give him a stronger line – “I would kill them a billion times over for one more moment with my wife, my children” comes to mind. Most of the characters suffer from this as well, but Kyle, Carol and Nias-2 being the standouts. Kyle proves a particular problem, as his attempts to empathize with both sides fail to provide any workable ideas of their own. He rarely gets beyond, ‘what happened to you was horrible’, opting instead to repeat it in many different ways when ‘I know right’ is not forthcoming.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #25 – Review

By: Justin Jordan (writer), Brad Walker & Geraldo Borges (pencilers), Drew Hennessy & Cam Smith (inkers), Wil Quintana (colors)

The Story: For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For the want of a shoe, the knight was lost. For the want of a knight, the battle was lost. For the want of a battle, the kingdom was lost.

So…how badly do you want a nail?

The Review: The modern ‘space cop’ Green Lantern started as another Earth-bound hero, but within a matter of issues the tug-of-war between Lantern 2814’s homeworld and the rest of his sector began. Through its history, Green Lantern has waffled back and forth between superhero and cosmic comic, but even that changed when the Sinestro Corps War erupted. Ever since, Green Lantern has dealt primarily with in-house threats, whether they be the prophesies in the Book of Oa, other Lantern Corps, or even their own Guardians. Perhaps that’s why this issue feels so fresh.

Justin Jordan’s Kyle has always been charming, but now that he isn’t dealing with universal domination, he’s able to show it. His friendly demeanor, realistic self-doubt, and subdued sense of humor make it easy to feel at ease with this version of the Torchbearer, even if he doesn’t exactly break the mold of a comic book lead.

It’s also lovely to see Carol Ferris continue to come into her own in this series. I don’t know that we ever got an explanation for her rapid change from woman who sees rings as her ruin to enthusiastic member of the Star Sapphire Corps, but if she continues to bring so much to the title, I’m not sure I care.

Though it may grate on some ears or feel like poor-man’s Yoda-speak, the aliens’ speech remains limited enough to be endearing and displays just enough consideration to make it feel solid.

But more than any one character, Exuras is Jordan’s greatest accomplishment in this issue. The central conceit channels a number of sci-fi thought experiments of days gone by, but it possesses enough crucial differences to make it feel original. Better still, the self-awareness that the story displays never goes so far as to become trite but finds the sweet spot where it just complicates the morality of the aliens, avoiding the standard ‘two opposite extremes’ approach that often hamstrings these kinds of stories.

Green Lantern Annual #2 – Review

By: Robert Venditti (writer), Sean Chen (penciler), Jon Sibal with Walden Wong (inkers), Andrew Dalhouse with Will Quintana (colorists)

The Story: Proof that Hal Jordan is messing everything up for everybody.

The Review: Though “Lights Out” didn’t officially start until this month, it’s effectively been playing out in the pages of Green Lantern: New Guardians ever since this era of Lantern stories began. Ever since Relic emerged from his celestial cocoon, he’s been dreaming of this moment. And yet, now that it’s here, he seems oddly irrelevant. Relic plays an important role in the story, make no mistake, but, for better or worse, this issue doesn’t highlight him the way you might expect.

To be honest, I haven’t been the fondest of Relic. Though Justin Jordan found a good rhythm for the character and the situation around him was interesting enough, Relic never quite rose above it. It seems like Robert Venditti agrees on some level.

While Relic provides the point of the spear, the real danger for the Corps comes from their dwindling power levels. It’s a potentially divisive choice, but one that I applaud. Power drainage is a classic Lantern concern and subtle, basic fears like asphyxiation can do a lot where a giant yellow man fails. It provides the sense of a time limit, something that can be hard to do in the comics format.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #22 – Review

The Story: Nothing as hardcore as that cover. Relic asks some questions and Kyle…draws the history of the universe.

The Review: This issue is the first time we get a real sense of Relic, the latest big bad for the Green Lantern Corps. There’s obviously much more to see, but my early opinion is that this guy is Volthoom done right.

Our villain approaches his awakening with an excellent balance of scientific calculation and childlike wonder. That sense of unimaginable alien genius and relatively narrow focus on the emotional spectrum help him feel distinct from other cosmic villains like Thanos or Starro. Relic remains a mystery, but watching him unfold is certainly interesting.

As for Kyle, his story is somewhat predictable, but Jordan manages to write it with enough charm and sincerity to make it stand out from the pack. The scenes of Kyle drawing gave the comic an immediate glow that tells me that Jordan relates to his lead and understands the core goodness of Kyle Rayner.

The writing throughout is solid and the plot comes together nicely, but, while those few moments make it clear that Jordan has the talent to do great things, it feels like he’s too conservative in his writing to show it yet. The ‘new-guardians’ help move this story along, but, though a bit of clever narration makes them feel briefly important, they aren’t contributing nearly enough and, likewise, I’m a little disappointed in Kyle.

Green Lantern #21 – Review

By: Robert Venditti (story), Billy Tan (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Alex Sinclair & Tony Avina (colors)

The Story: The Corps now has serious reason to consider switching to a democratic leadership.

The Review: If DC has just lost its seminal writer on the most important title in one of its biggest franchises, then probably they want to replace him with someone just as capable of bringing the same level of game.  Call me crazy, but that’s my logic.  So it sort of puzzles me why they ended up choosing Venditti to be that replacement, when his only mark on the DCU to date has been the benign and soon-to-be-axed Demon Knights (#155 on Comichron in April).

Of course, DC happens to have a dearth of big-name writers of Geoff Johns’ caliber as of late; Scott Snyder can’t write everything, and Green Lantern seems to be out of Grant Morrison, Gail Simone, and Brian Azzarello’s alleys.  And it’s not like Venditti hasn’t proven himself capable of sci-fi action on X-O Manowar, a relatively acclaimed small-press title.  But reading this issue makes me wonder if DC editorial actually paid attention when reading his initial scripts.