(COMIC) GREEN LANTERN #8

STORY: Geoff Johns
ART: Doug Mahnke, Mark Irwin, Keith Champagne, and Christian Alamy

As I've mentioned in previous posts about this series, Geoff Johns crafted a whole multi-year plan for Green Lantern when he took over in late 2004 to resurrect Hal Jordan. Part of that master plan was the inclusion of the spectrum of Lantern Corps. Johns introduced us first to the Sinestro Corps, which channeled the yellow energy connected to fear, followed by the vengeful Red Lanterns, serene Blue Lanterns, greedy Agent Orange, caring Star Sapphires, and finally the Indigo Tribe, with rings of light purple that are connected to compassion. It's time to get into the history of the Indigo's a color that's been a persistent mystery since their introduction.

Sinestro spends most of this issue fighting off the Indigos as they try to replace the Green Lantern energy that flows through him (and every Green Lantern, I suppose). It's fun seeing Sinestro beat up on a monstrous-looking four-armed Indigo that seriously looks like something out of an H.P. Lovecraft novel before smashing it's head into a wall. It's Sinestro! But the real meat of this issue comes from Hal Jordan's interaction with Black Hand. After Blackest Night, William Hand disappeared and instead of investigating, the JLA, entire Green Lantern Corps, and every other team and hero on Earth simply said, "Oh, well. Must be hiding!" and didn't think about it again. Of course, Johns wrote that series, as well, and made good and sure us readers knew that Hand had been turned Indigo.

Hand explains the power of the Indigo Tribe, how they feel all emotions where they couldn't before. While bordering quite heavily cult status, it seems like the Indigo Tribe might be some sort of rehabilitation system, a way for wrongdoers to redeem themselves for past actions. Seeing as Indigo Tribesmen are powered by compassion, it makes sense that ex-criminals might finally feel compassion for those they've wronged and willfully follow the Tribe.

However it unfolds, Johns (like always) does a fantastic job of keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The final page of Green Lantern #8 reveals Sinestro's conversion to the Indigo Tribe, a development that will most likely be reversed, but it's still nice to see Johns having fun with one of Green Lantern's most notorious villains.

GRADE:

B+