Green Lantern: Rebirth #3

December 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Yellow

The truth about Parallax – and the Green Lantern Corps!

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Ethan Van Sciver
Inks: Prentis Rollins
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics

A lesser writer than Geoff Johns would have me fuming right now, because of the various theories regarding Hal Jordan’s return as Green Lantern, he seems to have gone with one that I liked the least. However, he’s executing it extremely well, to the point where I find I’m actually accepting of an explanation that I thought would cheapen the character himself and years of stories.

Kyle Rayner and Ganthet find themselves battling maddened members of the Green Lantern Corps, even as the Justice League is battered by brave men who should be their allies. A desperate Kyle heads to the JLA Watchtower for help, only to find the place leveled and only one hero standing – Hal’s best friend, Green Arrow. There, Kyle tells what he found at the edge of the universe, the truth about Parallax, the truth about Hal Jordan, and the truth about the Green Lantern Corps.

This issue, I must admit, really surprised me. We’ve only hit the halfway point of this series, and it seems like Johns has already laid all his cards on the table. All the revelations, all the surprises, all of it is already right here. That seems to leave three issues for an extended fight scene. I hope Johns has more up his sleeve than that.

I’ve also got to deduct points for the last-page surprise appearance by a character that’s died twice already (at least), and who seemed dead for good last time out. He’s apparently going to start trying to rival Magneto in the resurrection category.

Ethan Van Sciver’s artwork is phenomenal. With Moose Baumann giving the entire book a green tinge, this book looks more like a Green Lantern comic than any issue in years. He does a fantastic job not just on the GLs, but on the various other heroes herein. This is a guy who could easy have a spot illustrating the big DC team books – JLA or JSA – they’d be in great hands.

I am enjoying this series. Johns is probably telling the best story about Hal’s return that anyone could, and while I may not be crazy about all of the nuances of the tale, he’s executing it better than anyone in comics could.

Rating: 8/10

Green Lantern Corps (2006 Series) #58

April 2, 2011

Title: War of the Green Lanterns Part Two
Writer: Tony Bedard
Pencils: Tyler Kirkham
Inks: Batt with Rob Hunter
Colorist: Nei Ruffino
Letterer: Steve Wands
Cover: Tyler Kirkham
Editor: Brian Cunningham, Adam Schlagman & Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics

Things are looking bad for the Green Lantern Corps. In part one of War of the Green Lanterns, Krona unleashed an all-out assault on Oa, using the Guardians as hosts of the Entities he’s been collecting and placing the Yellow entity, Parallax, back inside the main power battery, where he was trapped for millennia. This time, though, the battery isn’t a prison, it’s a conduit to power. Parallax seizes the minds of the entire Green Lantern Corps, except for those few Lanterns who have, however briefly, played host to him before. Although Kyle Rayner and John Stewart both manage to ward off his control, the fear and paranoia he creates begins to seep in, and it’s Lantern against Lantern.

The danger behind War of the Green Lanterns is that the whole premise seems to be anchored in that old chestnut  of brainwashed heroes being forced to fight those that aren’t brainwashed. The fact that the “free” Lanterns are greatly outnumbered makes the story more interesting, but there’s still only so much mileage one can get out of that concept. This issue perhaps takes it a bit farther than it needs to, with most of the book focusing on Kyle and John’s battle, with Ganthet trapped in the middle. It’s an intense fight, although (appropriately enough) the intensity comes more out of the emotion that’s spilled on the page than any of the actual action scenes. There’s little fear that either of these two will actually die (not until later in the crossover, at least) so having them hurl rather hateful, painful statements at each other really is more effective. Superheroes can come back from the dead by next issue. Kyle ripping open John’s emotional scars over the death of Katma Tui, or John comparing Kyle to scared, stupid grunts who get their friends killed? Those are the sort of wounds that take time even for superheroes to heal. It’s good, but it’s a bit much. This issue needed something else, a b-plot to break it up a little bit.

Tyler Kirkham’s artwork is solid, with great action scenes and lots of wild outer space elements. The cover is particularly nice, with John’s ring-constructs eating up most of the art space.

This is a good issue, but not great. Hopefully, the rest of the crossover will improve.

Rating: 7/10

DC Universe Halloween Special 2008

October 25, 2008

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Deadline: Halloween and other stories

Your favorite Ghost Detectives take us on a tour of spooky happenings in the DC Universe!

Writers: Dan DiDio, Mike Johnson, Eddie Berganza, Mikey Way, Harvey Richards, Brian Reed, Duncan Rouleau, Brad Desnoyer, Mark Verheiden & Eric Wallace
Pencils: Tony Shasteen, Matthew Clark, Trevor Hairsine, Mateus, Federico Dallocchio, Darick Robertson, Duncan Rouleau, Riccardo Burchielli, Dennis Calero
Inks: Don Ho, Jamie Mendoza, Marlo Alquiza, Norm Rapmund, Kevin Conrad
Colors: Allen Passalaqua, Hi-Fi, Cris Peter, Federico Dallocchio, Trish Mulvihill, Michael Atiyeh, Tony Avina, Dennis Calero, Guy Major
Letters: John J. Hill
Editor: Dan DiDio & Eddie Berganza
Cover Art: Gene Ha
Publisher: DC Comics

I’ll tell your right off the bat the best thing about the DC Universe Halloween Special: the hosts. Everyone favorite Ghost Detectives, Ralph and Sue Dibney, pop in to play Cryptkeeper in this series of Halloween tales from across the DC Universe. I love these two characters and seeing them at all is a major treat for me, so from the first page, I was happy.

After that, the book is like any other anthology – some good stories, some not as good. “Deadline: Halloween” features Clark Kent trying to make a late deadline at the Daily Planet, only to come face-to-face with a predecessor who never quite made it. It’s a cute story, and the punchline at the end is funny.

“Fear of the Dark” is next, and perhaps the best story in the book. As Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner try to bring a little Halloween to Oa, the more Hellish parts of Kyle’s past begin to assault him: the murders of his former girlfriends, the death of his mother, his possession by Parallax and the atrocities he was forced to commit… This is a really strong look into the dark places in Kyle’s heart, and it helps to appreciate what it takes for him to overcome them.

“The Ballad of Jonathan Crane” is a lot of fun – Mikey Way re-casts the Legend of Sleepy Hollow with figures from Batman’s universe. Until the last page, this really has the feel of a lost “Elseworlds” tale, and it’s nice for fans of classic ghost stories. “The Embrace” features Faust in a race to find the soul of a child who seems to have fallen victim to his father, and works as a character piece.

“One Last Halloween” is a riot – two kids who are just reaching that bubble where you get too old for things like trick-or-treating or dressing up wind up with some older, rougher boys… in Gotham City, though, there’s no telling what they may find in a sewer. “Hell Hath No Fury” is a really bizarre story of the Demon that kinda feels like it’s missing something, and “Scarred and Scared” takes us into the depths of Arkham Asylum and the madness that waits there.

Vixen gets a little time to herself in the so-so “Role Model,” and finally, the Dibneys themselves take center stage in “The Elongated Halloween,” in which they set out to solve a murder mystery, a fact made harder by the fact that they are, let’s be honest here, living impaired.

If nothing else, this book has totally convinced me that the Dibneys still have a place in the DCU. Their story worked really well, and they were even fun as hosts. Come on, DC – let’s see the Ghost Detectives miniseries in 2009!

Rating: 7/10

JLA-Z #3

November 23, 2003

Quick Rating: Below Average

Profiles and pin-ups of JLA members, friends and enemies from the Martian Manhunter to Zatanna.

Writer: Mike McAvenie
Aritsts: Too numerous to list
Colors: Tom McCraw & Wildstorm FX
Editor: Ivan Cohen & Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: Phil Jimenez & Hi-Fi
Publisher: DC Comics

As a huge fan of the old Who’s Who and Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe volumes, I was very excited when DC announced they were putting out this three-issue series as a companion piece to JLA/Avengers. My excitement is probably also the reason for my disappointment in this slim volume that’s mostly pin-up and short on information.

It’s a book of profile pages, which is exactly what I wanted, but each profile has less information than even your average Secret Files profile. How do you condense Superman’s history to one paragraph? I understand the need for brevity, but if this is meant as a primer for people reading the crossover that don’t understand the history and dynamics of the JLA, this book could have done much better. Why waste space on superfluous villains like the Weapons Master and the Royal Flush Gang? Why include a page on the Teen Titans? Even if you accept them as the next generation of heroes, as the JLA’s “farm team” if you will, why is the illustration of the Marv Wolfman/George Perez era of the team, with a little inset of the original team and nothing of the current Titans? And for Heaven’s sake, why does Hal Jordan get three profiles in this series – one as Green Lantern, one as Parallax and one as The Spectre?

The best, and almost only, reason to get this book is some of the artwork. As unnecessary as the Teen Titans profile is, Phil Jimenez does a great pin-up of the team (as well as a very nice triptych cover that I’d like to see a poster of). The same goes for Jerry Ordway’s imagining of the Weaponers of Qward. Other high points are a sneak preview of Jim Lee’s Superman, Jon Bogdanove returning to a character he co-created (and one of my favorites), Steel, Todd Nauck on the Red Tornado and Y: The Last Man’s Pia Guerra drawing Zatanna.

If you’re into this sort of book for the artwork, then it’s worth getting. If you’re hoping to pick up new information about DC’s greatest heroes, you’d be better off just asking a friend who already reads the book.

Rating: 4/10