DC Comics Review: Green Lantern #1 – New 52!

Well it looks as if the Green Lantern comics will be occurring in the same continuity it left off from during War of the Green Lanterns. (Just like Red Lanterns) When we last left the Green Lantern Corps, things were not going so great. Hal Jordan was relieved of duty and his ring by the Guardians and Sinestro was chosen by a green power ring. After the War and the on the verge of an uprising over Sinestro having a ring, all Lanterns have returned to their respective sectors and Sinestro is still under the jurisdiction of the Guardians.

The issue starts with those events still lingering. With Sinestro the Guardians had Sinestro say the oath of the green and then releasing him and ordering him to go and protect his home planet of Korugar. They hope for redemption for this scumbag Sinestro, something I’m not very keen on. To me, Sinestro has done a little too much damage and caused the countless deaths of others all in his so called quest to bring order. Good job doing that with a corps made up of baby snatchers (Kryb) and overgrown psychos. (Arkillo) Will Sinestro have proved me wrong at the end of this issue? Is he truly a green lantern again?

Hal is most definitely doing a lot worse. He’s broke, with bad credit and no car. THE GREEN LANTERN HAS NO CAR!!!! This is just humiliating. And to top it off, Carol Ferris won’t even hire him back as a pilot. But don’t count him out yet, because by the end of this issue it seems that most unexpected person may be able to get him back into the superhero game somehow.

I give this issue a 4 out 5 power rings.

Mahnke’s art is great as always and Johns has basically picked up right where he left off with the Lantern storyline. Readers of the new 52 who are long time readers of DC material will more than likely be most comfortable with the Green Lantern titles since there are no questions of which timeline or continuity these stories are coming from. Readers who are just jumping on? They’re going to not have such as easy time. Stay tuned for the Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 and Green Lantern Corps #1! Also check out my Red Lanterns #1 review!

DC Comics Review: War of the Green Lanterns – Aftermath #1 and #2

The War of the Green Lanterns ended with a bit of a bang. It was a rushed bang, but a bang nonetheless. Mogo died, Krona was defeated, Sinestro ended up with a green power ring and Hal Jordan ended up with no ring. All in all through the aftermath issues it seems to me that the Guardians are screwing things up more and more. They have almost every Green Lantern reeling from Krona’s attack with post traumatic stress, Corps members questioning why they relieved Jordan of his ring and questioning why they are seemingly defending Krona by wanting to give him a decent burial. If I was an intergalactic space cop I’d be wondering the same things….

In the wake of all of this madness there are several issues to deal with. John Stewart’s killing of Mogo to stop the production of corrupted power rings doesn’t sit well with some Lanterns, including Kyle and John himself. John however isn’t going to regret what he did and I applaud him for it. Whether he was right or wrong he’s right when he told Kyle that he did what had to be done and that is the difference between them. I really hope John and Kyle make amends in the future and that in the coming months we see John recover from this, because despite what he says it is wearing heavily on him.

The other big issue is Sinestro and the effect his presence is having on the Corps. Several lanterns including Soranik-Natu agree that Sinestro must be ended once and for all, so they go to the Guardian’s Citadel to do just that. To me this is another example of how the Guardian’s esteem has fallen so far if Lanterns are willing to march into the citadel and kill a prisoner, even if it’s a scum bag like Sinestro. The posse of Lanterns doesn’t get very far as another lantern intervenes. I won’t spoil it but you probably already know who it is.

In defense of the Guardian’s they do finally make a good move to quiet all of the dissension. They order all Green Lanterns to return to their sectors and continue to enforce the law while only the Alpha Lanterns and support staff stay on Oa. The Guardians will also continue to unfold the mystery of why a green power ring chose Sinestro for duty. They also left every Green Lantern with a warning of no more disobedience being tolerated and I kind of think that will be the end of any Green Lanterns questioning them unless they want to be stripped of their rings as Hal was. All of this leaves a whole bunch of stuff hanging in the air. How are Sinestro’s Corps going to react if he remains with the Green Lanterns? Will the Sinestro Corps continue under Arkillo’s leadership or will someone like Mongul step in to try and fill the power vacuum? Kyle and Sora seem to be on very bad terms at this point and now they are going to be separated by duty. Is this the end of their relationship? And what do the Guardians plan to do to Ganthet? He was all alone with them as they wanted to speak to him and the last shot we get is of them eerily reaching towards him. What the hell are they going to do? Embrace him back into the Guardians? Kill him? Hell, I don’t know. I give the aftermath issues a 3 out of 5 bears overall, the art was so-so and the story seemed like a bit of a quick wrap up before the new 52, just like the last part of the War of the Green Lanterns was.

Hopefully many of the questions will be answered in the four new Lantern titles coming out in September to start off the new 52 DC titles! Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, The New Guardians and Red Lanterns! I can’t wait! Stay tuned for more on each of those titles.

DC Comics Review: Green Lantern – Emerald Warriors #12

Things have been kind of hit and miss in the Green Lantern world of comics since the end of the War of The Green Lanterns, but Emerald Warriors #12 was a definite hit for me. Not the most ground breaking of issues, but a nice stand alone to help get us through to the 52 number 1’s in September. I’ve basically come to the conclusion that not much happening in DC is really that relevant because of the so called “reboot” that is coming up, but that doesn’t mean us readers can’t still have fun before everything changes.

This is a Guy Gardner centric issue, so if you don’t like Mr. Bowl-cut then take a hike. I actually really like Gardner even after hating his smug face for so many years. He’s an asshole, but a good intentioned asshole. Simple story, which many times is good: Guy gets summoned by the guardians to deal with a problem: something is destroying Green Lantern Precinct Houses throughout the galaxy and it seems to be due to Mogo being killed during the GL War. (Nice going Stewart.)

Epic failure Stewart….

DC Comics Review: Flashpoint #1

Flashpoint is here and it did not disappoint one bit. Thanks to Geoff Johns for that once more and especially Andy Kubert’s fantastic art! Now to the story of Flashpoint. At the end of the Road to Flashpoint, a three part arc taking place in The Flash ongoing series, it was revealed that the Reverse Flash is the one behind aging people beyond their years and that he is the anomaly messing with the timeline that Hot Pursuit was searching for. Unfortunately they do not catch him by the end of the arc and he settles for killing one Barry Allen (Hot Pursuit) since he can’t kill the real one. Hot Pursuit was a Barry Allen from on the alternate Earths and he is now a pile of dust thanks to Reverse Flash. At the end of that arc a bolt of lighting flashes and everything changes. It was very reminiscent of House of M to tell you the truth, just as the Scarlet Witch changed reality.

Barry Allen wakes up at work at the beginning of the issue, with his co-workers calling Captain Cold, Citizen Cold and a hero. They’re also puzzled by who “The Rogues” are. Flash hears there is a shoot out going on involving this “Citizen Cold” and the Pied Piper and instantly gets up to go investigate “Flash” style. He notices his ring is missing and then succeeds in promptly falling down the stairs… quite literally at the feet of his mother. You know, his mother who was killed by the Reverse Flash? Yeah, instant jaw drop for him but also a touching moment for us to watch as he embraces someone he hasn’t seen in years.

DC Comic Review: War of the Green Lanterns – Part Six

Part six: Emerald Warriors #9

The War of the Green Lanterns has been wonderful, to say the least. It’s been very hard on our heroes who have been on the run since the beginning. And to make it worse it’s from their own fellow corpsmen! After leaving Hal, Guy, Kyle and John last issue they were in the middle of a brawl with the rogue green lanterns and Mogo showed up!

This issue picks up with the Lanterns making a run for it because let’s face it; Mogo is a freakin’ planet! They find a reprieve underground as they plan their next move.

DC Comic Review: War of The Green Lanterns – Parts Four & Five

The War of the Green Lanterns continues this week with two parts being released today! I’m loving this! (is that McDonald’s catch phrase?)

Green Lantern #65 – Part Four

This issue seemed like an incredibly fast read. It seems a little rushed to move the story along, but it gets the characters where they need to be and by the end of the issue I was super excited for Part Five. If the cover is of any indication for what’s next….

Whoa...

If that picture wasn’t spoiler enough then by all means read on…

DC Comic Review: War of the Green Lanterns – Part 3; Emerald Warriors #8

The War of the Green Lanterns rages on this week in Emerald Warriors #8, featuring the ‘love him or hate him’ Green Lantern Guy Gardner. I personally used to hate him, and nothing was better than the time Batman decked him in the face.

Now I see Guy Gardner as the one who balances out the personalities of his fellow Earth Green Lanterns. He is the one who will get down and dirty if things need to get done when the stoic John Stewart, good-hearted Kyle Rayner and noble Hal Jordan can’t.

DC Comic Review: War of The Green Lanterns Begins – Parts 1 & 2

*Please beware of spoilers*

Green Lantern #64-War of the Green Lanterns Pt. 1

It’s here! The newest Green Lantern event! I’m hoping this one is at least almost as good as Blackest Night, and on par with the Sinestro Corps War. And let me tell ya, the first part did not disappoint. Not one bit! In the prologue for War of the Green Lanterns we learn that Krona, a member of the Guardians’ species, and antagonist of the story, was once to be inducted onto the council of the Guardians. And he might still be there if not for his insistence that emotion is a necessary part of being a Guardian, and life for that matter. Because of this he draws the ire of the council and is arrested. It was unclear if he escaped, but the ring leader’s of each emotion are shown visions of Krona’s past where he reprogrammed the Manhunters to turn on the Guardians, and annihilate a whole sector. This sector as it turns out was the homeworld of Atrocitus, the leader of the Red Lanterns who vows vengeance against Krona and those who stand in his way.