Green Lantern #12 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Renato Guedes & Jim Calafiore (art), Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: When it comes to vaporizing the undead, what you really need is teamwork.

The Review: If there is an art to John’s writing, it has little to do with his use of language, his imaginative ambitions, or his understanding of character.  You can distill his art to that of the ever-continuing story, the tale that persuades you to give it your attention for just another issue, one month at a time.  Often, he’ll write nothing worth remarking upon for an entire issue, then he’ll end with a twist that guarantees you’ll come back to see what happens next.

For anyone who followed the original rise of the Black Lanterns in Green Lantern pre-relaunch, the battle with Black Hand feels distinctly like a rerun.  Both Hal and Sinestro know that in a game with someone who can’t be killed, all strategies boil down to stall tactics, so there’s a certain air of “been there, done that” to their actions, futile as they might be.  For the uninitiated Lantern fans, this issue may offer some interest, but the veterans can skip through most of it and not miss a thing.

Green Lantern #10 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Doug Mahnke (pencils), Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Mark Irwin, Tom Nguyen (inks), Hi-Fi (colors)

The Story: Two guys in the jungle with a pack of criminals on their tail.  Someone say, “Reality show!”

The Review: Hero team-ups have gotten so common these days that in some cases, it’s rare when a title doesn’t have a guest appearance by some crimefighter or other.  Hero-villain team-ups, on the other hand—those still have a little novelty to them (not counting any Batman and Catwoman business, since she’s technically more of an antihero anyway).  Usually, the only time you have heroes and villains on the same side is against a massive threat to all parties.

So would you classify Sinestro and Hal’s misadventure here as a hero-villain team-up?  Would you really?  I suppose technically you can make an argument that Sinestro only harangues Hal into helping him because the breakdown of the Green Lantern Corps and the establishment of some unknown, supposedly superior “third army” in its place could threaten Sinestro’s egomaniacal plans for how the universe should be run.  It’s no coincidence Hal calls him out on his belief that he’s “always right.”

Green Lantern #8 – Review

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

The Story: When the Indigos do rehab, they definitely don’t screw around.

The Review: If there’s one lesson we’ve learned on this title, it’s that membership to a color corps—any color corps—isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  Red Lanterns are rage-aholics, Orange Lanterns make prime candidates for A&E’s Hoarders, Yellow Lanterns include some of the most despicable creatures in the universe, Green Lanterns suffer constant attacks both from outside and within, and Blue Lanterns barely function without a buddy system.

As for the Indigo Tribe, the red flags about their true motives have been flapping furiously since last issue, and now it’s time to declare them officially bonkers.  By now, it should not surprise you in the least to discover Black Hand and Indigo-1 aren’t the only former psychopaths who’ve turned eerily placid with a blue-purple ring on their fingers.  The tribe members’ silhouettes on the last page merely confirm what you’ve already suspected: each and every single one of these staff-bearing individuals was once a menace of some kind.

Yet Abin Sur’s prominence in the Indigo mythos remains a baffling mystery.  About the only words we ever understood from the tribe’s nonsensical language was his name, so he clearly figures quite reverently in their existence.  They refer to him here as “savior” and “creator,” but against these benevolent epithets, we see that Indigo-1 in olden days had once been his “greatest enemy,” whom he also “saved.”  From War of the Green Lanterns, we figured her conversion was anything but voluntary, so rather than savior, Abin comes off more like enslaver.

Green Lantern #43 – Review

By Geoff Johns (writer), Doug Mahnke (pencils), Cristian Alamy (inks), and Andy Mayor (color)

The Story: Enter William  “Black” Hand, the most deadly, sickening, and perhaps powerful villain in the DC Universe, and witness his birth as the totem and leader of the Blank Lanterns. Through his life we learn the roots of the coming war of light and what role the Black Lanterns will play.

What’s Good: This was this issue I’ve been waiting for. This issue delivered the goods and showed how great Geoff Johns can be when he hits the mark. This narrative is extremely well-written and well crafted. If every installment of Blackest Night were to be slung like this, then it makes all the sense in the world why it has taken a couple years to launch.

What an outing and change for the art department in this comic. This seemed like a completely different series going from Tan to Mankne. Manke is an exceptional storyteller and his depiction of Hand, which I guess is “A Portrait of The Cosmic-Zombie Maniac As A Young Man,” was great as you can tell everything about Hand’s psychosis just from his portrait in family pictures.

There were tons of great allusions to what’s down the road and who’s coming back as a Black Lantern. Also, there was the introduction to the Indigo Tribe and its leader or embodiment named Predator.

What’s Not So Good: I really didn’t find anything at fault in this issue. Seeing how well this story was made me frustrated with the Agent Orange arc and how painfully drawn out it was for no real reason except to kill time. Perhaps readers might be frustrated that Blackest Night didn’t officially begin as all this issue took place before Blackest Night #0,  and definitely before DC Universe #0, as well. So, in that sense, this is yet another build-up and at this point we are all just ready for this event to begin already.

Conclusion: Wow, this was a disturbing and effective read. The last scene of this issue gave me the nauseous-willies as Black Hand was simply terrifying. Has Johns created the most chilling character of all time? What a sicko… And now he is an immortal, invulnerable, and ultra-powerful Super Villian.

Before this event really kicks off I’d like to make a statement. If Black Hand’s eventual defeat comes from Hal wearing all the different rings from across the emotional spectrum and utilizing their collective power, then I will never be as disappointed in any form of literature as I will be with that possible development. For now, I’ll put my suspicions aside and just be happy that a great GL book is finally back on the stands.

Grade: A

-Rob G.