One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About GL: Emerald Warriors #9 (War Of The Green Lanterns, Part 6)

GOOD THING: With all of the references to classic Green Lantern stories and mythology, it's nice to see something new introduced here. At the very least, I've never heard of any legend regarding the very first Green Lantern or a monster who lives in the heart of the foundries of Oa guarding his ring.






BAD THING: There's a few odd moments with the flow of the story from panel to panel, such as in this moment when John Stewart tries (and fails) to teleport himself and Kyle. Not where Guy and Hal are standing relative to where everyone else is a moment later...







The Final Verdict: The most enjoyable chapter of the series this month. The Lanterns proved to be much more competent with their adopted rings this time around and - while it seems like a distraction from the main story - I enjoyed the scene regarding the ring of the first Green Lantern. The artwork is excellent and the only thing that keeps the book from being perfect are some awkward panel transitions.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Green Lantern Corps #59 (War Of The Green Lanterns, Part 5)

BAD THING: There seems to have been very little coordination between what Tony Bedard wrote in this issue and what Geoff Johns wrote in Part 4. For one thing, Hal derides Kyle's choosing of The Blue Ring Of Hope as a substitute weapon and brings up a very good point as to why using a Blue Lantern Ring against Green Lanterns is a VERY BAD IDEA... even though Hal was the one who let Kyle pick whatever ring he wanted in the last issue! And he didn't feel compelled to say a damn thing about the Blue Lantern weaknesses then, even though he did stop John Stewart from taking up The Orange Ring Of Avarice.





On the bright side, Bedard does a good job of conveying the desperation of the situation and how Hal seems to have lost sight of the fact that not everybody knows the other Corps rings as well as he does... which results in Kyle and John not being battle-ready and Guy being... well, Guy with a ring that feeds upon his Rage.


GOOD THING: That being said, it is nice to see Ganthet call Hal out on how idiotic his plan is... even if I don't entirely agree with his reasons as to precisely WHY it's an idiotic plan.





For instance, Kyle would, I think, be better suited to a Love Ring - given that last issue said he was a lover, not a fighter. And Guy would be better served by taking up the Yellow Ring... or am I the only one who remembers that he was using Sinestro's old ring for a while as a member of the JLA?



The Final Verdict: Some spotty logic and poor coordination between the writers is made up for with a truly surprising twist in the final few pages. An enjoyable issue, despite its' flaws.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Green Lantern #65 (War Of The Green Lanterns, Part 4)

GOOD THING: The interplay between Hal and Guy is played with pretty well, as you throw two men's men against each other... literally, in this scene.





Guy is a little off, but I'm willing to write that off as stress and not Johns going out of his way to make Hal Jordan looking like the most awesome guy ever. Why? Because...


BAD THING: ... Johns allows Hal to make some pretty big mistakes later on in the issue, when he comes up with the plan to use the rings belonging to the other Corps.





While it's gratifying to see that Hal won't be portrayed as being completely perfect (a frequent accusation in Johns' GL work) one still has to wonder...

a) ... why he lets Guy take the Red Ring of Rage when Guy has already admitted to having trouble controlling his anger after having worn the ring once.

b) ...why he refuses to let John take the Orange Ring of Avarice, saying that the power is totally corrupting and soul-destroying... yet he has no trouble with Guy taking the equally destructive Red Ring of Rage?

c) ... why does he allow Kyle to take the Blue Ring of Hope when - he knows first hand - that the Blue Lanterns can't do much save super-charge Green Lantern Rings... which is a very bad thing when you're fighting an army of Green Lanterns?

d) ... why does Hal allow everyone - except John Stewart - to pick the ring they want?

e) ... isn't it a little racist that John Stewart was given The Ring Of The Indigo Tribals?

There's just a TON of Unfortunate Implications all around...





The Final Verdict: The good news is that Hal isn't portrayed as being a totally perfect hero. The bad news is that he shouldn't be THIS stupid and/or much of a jerk.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About GL: Emerald Warriors #8 (War Of The Green Lanterns, Part 3)

BAD THING: Am I the only one disturbed that things are being set up - once again - for the four Green Lanterns of Earth to be the big damn heroes who save everyone? In Part 2, Ganthet all but sacrificed himself to keep John Stewart and Kyle Rayner from falling under Parallax's corruption or being killed by the enslaved Green Lanterns. Here, Kilowog takes Guy out of the fight, taking himself out of the picture for the time being while telling Guy to figure out what's going on.





It's true to form for Kilowog to want to keep an eye on his fellow Lanterns, even at risk to himself. But it would be nice if he were included in one of these big multi-part adventures without seeming like the token alien.


GOOD THING: The centerpiece of the issue - the fight between Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner - is a thing of beauty, wonderfully illustrated and carefully written. Tomasi draws upon the bad blood in the characters' past, letting it spill over into the current conflict.







The Final Verdict: One of the best fights in Green Lantern history, as Hal and Guy go at it, rings-a-blazing. The only downside is I can't help but be mildly annoyed that - thus far - it seems like the Boys From Earth are going to save everyone. Again.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Green Lantern Corps #58 (War Of The Green Lanterns, Part 2)

GOOD THING: The first two pages do a good job of summing up the lives of John Stewart and Kyle Rayner for any new readers who might be jumping into the series with this issue.









In fact, I think this may be the first time they've tried to reconcile John's original background with the military service that was introduced after it was decided that John Stewart in the Justice League cartoon should be an ex-Marine and that the idea should be carried over into the main DC Universe.

These pages also do a good job of summing up the fears that drive both Kyle and John and the common ground they share, despite their differing backgrounds with Kyle being a natural artist who became a warrior and John being a fighter who learned how to create.


BAD THING: That being said, the fight where John and Kyle turn on each other seems really forced in light of that common ground. If not for Ganthet's intervention, the two might well have killed each other which seems a bit unlikely to me given how capable John and Kyle have been in overcoming their fears over losing loved ones in the past.







The Final Verdict: A good issue, despite the central conflict being somewhat forced. Despite this, everyone remains true to character and the action doesn't suffer for it.

One Good Thing And One Bad Thing About Green Lantern #64 (War Of The Green Lanterns, Part 1)

GOOD THING: Geoff Johns is frequently credited as a "Master Storyteller" on the backs of his graphic novels. Issues like this one show why that label isn't marketing hyperbole. Quite a lot happens in this book that changes the rules and the current status quo of the Green Lantern universe but Johns has been setting things into motion for a while now in the main Green Lantern title. This makes the changes seem more the result of a calculated, criminal plan than the sudden arbitrary whim of a writer wishing to shake things up, which is a difficult trick to pull off.





The net effect of this issue is that Hal Jordan, who was already wanted for questioning regarding his apparent alliance with hostile members of the other Lantern Corps, is left without any allies at all. The rest of the Lantern Corps leaders are trapped inside a Black Lantern artifact. The remaining Guardians of the Universe are captured by Korona and forced to serve as vessels for the various Emotional Entities that exemplify the seven powers. And the rest of the Green Lantern Corps (as far Hal knows) have been taken over by Parallax.


BAD THING: It is a minor thing, but it seems somewhat out of character for Salaak to be quite so gung-ho about capturing Hal for trial and not giving him a chance to explain himself, particularly in light (no pun intended) of there having just been a big explosion and several other power rings falling on the ground in front of Hal just seconds before they arrived.





While Salaak has always been portrayed as being very orderly and rules-obsessed (small wonder then he was chosen to act as mission control and Seneschal for The Guardians) he's also been portrayed as being loyal to The Corps even above the Guardians and trusting his fellow Lanterns to do the right thing.



The Final Verdict: An excellent start to the latest Green Lantern Corps saga.