Green Lantern Corps #19

(w) Peter J. Tomasi     (a) Fernando Pasarin


**SPOILERS BECAUSE IT'S HARD NOT TO WITH THIS ISSUE**


"Wrath of the First Lantern" has gone on too long. And that's after "Rise of the Third Army", the 'crossover' that went nowhere. Since last October, the Green Lantern team has been building toward this epic ending, but it's been diluted by time. There's no getting around that.

Green Lantern Corps #19 -- also known as Part Ten of this everlasting story -- is your standard going-through-the-motions issue that doesn't really know what it's doing while we wait for Green Lantern #20. The First Lantern, Volthoom, isn't around much, and John Stewart's minuscule C-story about reassembling Mogo suddenly becomes priority number one. The storytelling is erratic at best.

Mogo is a character that changes based on what's needed. First, he was simply a Green Lantern who happened to be a planet. Then, he became the place where GL rings are forged. Now, he happens to be able to encase large numbers of Green Lanterns within pieces of his planet crust to protect them from Volthoom's attack. How? Not explained.

Oh, and then there's the big old battle of the Green Lantern's Mogo saved against the Yellow, Black, and Red Lantern avatars of themselves...which turn out not to be Volthoom, but Mogo trying to teach everyone a lesson about being better than "what if?"s.

WHAT?!?

The entire "Wrath of the First Lantern" saga has been about attempting to stop Volthoom before he's able to absorb enough power to rewrite the universe. For some reason, Mogo is able to quarantine his fellow Green Lanterns and involve them in a emotionally charged war against ghosts of themselves without Volthoom noticing. No one seems to be worried that they're taking all this time to go through the motions while the First Lantern is gearing up to wipe existence clean.

Green Lantern Corps #19 is as much a filler issue as you can get. It involves contrived character development based on a continued 'deus ex machina' device. Nothing about the plot is really advanced at all. It's only worth it if you're a completionist.

GRADE

4/10

(COMIC) GREEN LANTERN CORPS #10

STORY: Peter J. Tomasi
ART: Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna

I haven't been too impressed with Green Lantern Corps as of late. Peter J. Tomasi seems to be throwing all his energy towards Batman and Robin leaving GLC with a husk of a narrative to drive it forward. Part of this boring streak comes from the use of the Alpha Lanterns, a group of ridiculous Lantern police who have been a constant nuisance since they were first introduced years ago. I'm not a fan of the Alpha Lanterns - not from a story perspective, but from a narrative one. Alpha Lanterns are just buzzkills; they're not really "evil", and their storylines always focus on moral dilemmas. There's only so many times the Alphas can rise up - only to be talked back down using ethical logic - and brought back to the status quo before readers get bored. I'm already there.

Nonetheless, Green Lantern Corps #10 is easily the most enjoyable issue of the "Alpha War" so far. The first two entries into this arc were mired with legal jargon and judiciary proceedings - not things you want (or expect) from an action-based comic book. And while the best part of this month's issue is actually a debate over an issue of hypocrisy, the fights come out in spades.

Now that John Stewart has an expiration date, the Alphas and the Guardians discuss how it should be done. It's very, very interesting to see the direction Tomasi is taking this story now. The Alpha's immediately suggest that the Guardians be the one to execute Stewart; a way to "legitimize" the Alphas' decree. Without hesitation, the Guardians decline. Then the Alpha's suggest a group of Lanterns be chosen at random to do the deed, to which the Guardian's see (rightly so) as totally hypocritical. In a last ditch effort, the Alphas suggest an outside mercenary to act as executioner. Fed up with the Alphas' presumptuous attitudes, the Guardians decree that if the Alpha's want to execute John Stewart, they'll have to do it themselves. It's a harrowing part of the book and one that does not bode well for the future of the Alpha Lanterns. Eventually, Guy springs John from the Sciencells with dozens of Lanterns as backup. 


The worst part of this month's issue comes from John's confrontation with Kirrt's parents. By his own conscience, John asks to meet with them when they arrive to attend Kirrt's official funeral on Oa. It's a really stupid scene because John tries to explain that he's not looking for their forgiveness - he only wants a chance to apologize for his actions.

This isn't true at all!

If John really wanted to apologize with no ulterior motive, he would have written a letter or recorded a video for Kirrt's parents. And maybe they wouldn't read/watch it, but that's their choice. What Tomasi is actually giving John Stewart is one more chance to make things right with Kirrt's family. John wants a few more minutes to explain his side of the story and how it was the right thing to do. This is total bullshit. John's personality goes through such a violent shift in only a matter of pages that it's jut jarring to follow. One minute, he wants to atone for what he's done, the next, he's ready to die. Make up your mind, man! (I am, of course, speaking to Tomasi, who can't seem to decide if John should be a cold-hearted killer or a martyr. Either way, I feel like GL fans will lose. Putting John Stewart in this situation was unnecessary and mean. John's always been the GL that feels guilt more than any of them, and yet Tomasi decides John's the one to have to go through this totally painful and embarrassing trial.

GRADE

B-

(COMIC) GREEN LANTERN CORPS #9

STORY: Peter J. Tomasi
ART: Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna

This cover is a misdirect.

The firs six issues of Green Lantern Corps were action-packed and fun to read. The same cannot be said for "Alpha War", the current arc. Granted, I've said nice things about GLC the past few months mostly because I was hoping things would start moving a little quicker. Unfortunately, Green Lantern Corps #9 suffers from simply not being interesting.

"Alpha War" seems to be a misdirect, as there has been no 'war', so to speak. Yes, the Alpha Lanterns are getting all up in John Stewart's face, and yes, the Guardians are probably using the Alphas to bring about the coming of the mysterious "Third Army". The stakes just don't seem as high as they should be. I read an editorial piece recently that posited that the Guardians of the Universe have become long in the tooth; they've been so dastardly for so long now, it's not as shocking to see them scheming as it was back in, say, 2007. And the fact that - after years of storytelling - there are still deep, dark secrets in the Guardians' closet means that these blue beings have been corrupting the universe since it's inception, and that's a notion that throws the entire DC Universe into question. Apparently, no one at DC thought to look into this further.

Basically, Green Lantern #9 is one long trial. It's suuuuuuper boring. A lot of trial jargon and scenes of the entire Corps in attendance doesn't make up for a filler of an issue. The only good part comes when a few Lanterns raid the crypt and attempt to smash Kirrt's statue after hearing about the cowardice that led to his murder. Guy Gardner stops them and takes a few pages to lecture them about knowing how to use fear. It's a 'lesson' that's been taught every which way for years and it's lazy.

Peter J. Tomasi needs to step up his game. Green Lantern Corps was doing great, but mucking it up with legal drama is murdering it's reputation.

GRADE:
D+

(COMIC) GREEN LANTERN CORPS #8

STORY: Peter J. Tomasi
ART: Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna


Things are changing in the Green Lantern Corps. At the end of Peter J. Tomasi's "The Lantern Keepers" arc, John Stewart was forced to murder a fellow Corpsman to avoid releasing the access codes to Oa's security and defense systems. It was a bold move to make John a killer once again. Many writers spent many years leading the stoic Green Lantern through mental anguish and recovery over his inability to save the planet Xanshi from destruction. This time, however, John knows that what he did was for the greater good, no matter now bad it makes him feel.

The beginning of the issue shows a rather large showing of Lanterns moving the Sinestro Corps Central Battery onto Oa for safekeeping. John has dug a hole big enough for the yellow battery, but Guy constructs a giant hammer and knocks it in sideways instead of vertically, as John had planned for. While his actions came in a moment of anger, Guy explains that the symbol of the Sinestro Corps shouldn't be standing upright, especially not on Oa. And the Guardians agree! For the first time in Guy Gardner's career, the Guardians of the Universe agree with his opinion. The Guardians then offer Guy a sort-of 'general' position within the Corps, to stand above the rest and answer only to the Guardians themselves. Totally in character, Guy gleefully accepts, smugly adding, "What the hell took you so long to rub the blue glue outta your eyes and see I'm the one!"

The real point of this issue (outside Guy's promotion) is the final page; the Alpha Lanterns descend to arrest John for the murder of Green Lantern Kirrt, an action that will surely lead to this "Alpha War".

GRADE:

B

(REVIEW) Green Lantern Corps #6

Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Artwork by Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna

As DC's 'New 52' hits it's sixth month, many plot lines started back in September are coming to a close - or at least getting damn close. With Green Lantern Corps, Peter J. Tomasi has brought us to the end of his first arc. This month's issue was one of the most interesting and fun issues of the series since September. While it's not difficult to 'over-do' a character in a title like Green Lantern Corps, it's surprisingly been done a number of times in the past. The fight against the Urakians comes to a head this month, showcasing not only Tomasi's strength at writing ensemble work, but also for Fernando Pasarin's beautiful art. Drawing tons of Lanterns fighting together, each projecting a different construct, is a difficult undertaking and one Pasarin steps up to with grace and fluid pencilling. Scott Hanna's inking isn't intrusive or loud, and his shading is exquisite.

With a crap-ton (the scientific measurement) of guns and a 'fear bomb' rigged to go off at the center of the Urakian operations, Guy Gardner's secret team goes in head first, relying on the element of surprise, bullets and a whole lot of willpower. Poignantly, Gardner observes, "...they sure as hell ain't immune to lead!" The fight scenes are exquisite and the Urakian's power-conversion system is a classic - if not cliched - human battery concept; the Urak leaders are keeping their people connected to a stargate so they can transport the Central Battery from Oa to Urak, displacing the Guardians' home as the center of the universe.

The big GASP moment came when John Stewart is forced to murder a fellow Green Lantern - Kirrt - before he gives up the codes for Oa's defense systems. And while it seemed (for a moment) that Kirrt may have been concocting a plan, Stewart realized his brother in arms had fallen. With the fate of the entire Corps in the balance, Stewart does what he believes must be done. Of course, we'll see the fallout of his actions in next month's epilogue issue.

As I mentioned earlier, it's been great learning about Green Lanterns other than Guy Gardner, John Stewart and Kilowog. Bringing in the 'Mean Machine' and including some of the better characters from past series - such as Sheriff Mardin, Hannu, and Brik - has been Green Lantern Corps' saving grace. I'm excited to see where Tomasi takes the series after next month's issue.

GRADE:

A-

Review: Green Lantern Corps #5

Review




Green Lantern Corps #5
Peter J. Tomasi - Writer
Fernando Pasarin - Pencils

Back in 2005 - after Hal Jordan's resurrection in Rebirth - DC brought back Green Lantern's sister series from the days before the original Parallax saga starting with a mini-series entitled Green Lantern Corps: Recharge. While the series saw it's ups and downs, mostly stemming from it's fragmented storytelling and too-often reliance on knowledge of events in GL-proper to understand events in Corps., it was a solid book that focused on Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Kilowog, and a cast of nearly six other Lanterns from various sectors.

While it's previous incarnation was good, the 'new 52' Green Lantern Corps feels like it's own book that can stand on it's own stories. Keeping a focus on Guy, John and Kilowog was the right choice for the Corps series of the GL-centric books. Kyle has never been comfortable amongst the Corps (and was thusly given his own series to star in), and the letting lesser known Lanterns pop in and out gives them character context without becoming overbearing or drawn out.

This fifth issue gives quite a bit of back story to the first arc's villains, the Keepers, courtesy of the telepathy powers of newly cynical J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter. It really was a 'BURN!' moment when he called out the Corps for their failures with Krypton and Mars. Tomasi is skillfully employing the Guardians' terrible track record as of late in telling his tale of a planet charged with protecting Green Lantern batteries when they are being stored in the 'pocket dimension' described by GL's for decades. In fact, the batteries temporally travel to the planet inhabited by the Keepers. When the Guardians mysteriously remove all the batteries, the Keepers' world begins to die and they began to lash out for resources anywhere they could find.

In one stroke, Tomasi has not only given the Green Lanterns a formidable foe without resorting to a crisis-level villain, but also provided another great piece of the Guardian's history of fucking everything up. I've read (and thought myself) that blaming the Guardians for everything has become a crutch for writers over the past five years. To many, it seems as if the Guardians apparently acted more like the CIA, killing, cheating and lying to claw they way to the top, rather that behave like the benevolent beings presented over nearly seven decades of comic continuity. But that's the beauty of a race that's as old as time itself; they've had a lot of time to screw things up, and a lot of universe in which to do it.

Grade: B