Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Green Lantern Corps #41
DC Comics
Tomasi, Gleason & Buchman
This comic takes the concept of the Black Lanterns fighting the good guys to levels that exceed even the Blackest Night mini series. What we have here is a huge number of the regular cast in this comic book getting their worst fears thrown in their face. It works well in the long term because these are characters that have had time to develop over the course of this series so the build up has been gradual only to have their emotions crash in this issue. The issue has a payoff in the short term because the backdrop of the entire issue is a huge battle on Oa. The issue moves quickly but doesn’t cheat the reader in the story department or in the art department. Having followed this series for a number of years I can’t imagine any long time fan reading this issue and feeling disappointed.
The main threads that are dealt with here are: Kyle, Soranik, Iolande, Kilowog, Guy, Arisia and a terrific exit to the issue with Isamot and Vath. Each character has some level of horrifying confrontation as they face off with some of their worst failures or darkest demons.
Kyle is the easiest to deal with because his problem is fairly simple. Ever girl he ends up with gets killed along the way. His current girlfriend, Soranik, takes to protecting him from one of his dead ones, Jade. After watching the interaction between the three you would be hard pressed to find a reason as to why this girlfriend will survive. Still, this sequence delivers the basics that you would expect from the dead in Kyle’s life as Jade manages to press all the right emotional buttons.
Prior to helping Kyle, Soranik and Iolande are tasked with saving the Green Lanterns in the infirmary. This part of the comic seems to be the most daunting as the Lanterns appear to be dying off left and right. However, the plot gets juicier when it is revealed where they intend to take the wounded. This is one of the cooler portions of the comic.
Arisia is pitted against her family line of deceased Lanterns. This is the weakest plot of the comic because these relationships haven’t been explored very much. We don’t really know if any member of her family had ever doubted her or if they held her back because they felt someone else was always better. This aspect of the war probably could have played out with many other Lanterns in a similar way with deceased family members. The interaction and fighting is still good, but the meaning is the same as it is with others in this issue.
Kilowog and Guy each face dead Lanterns that they have previously had run-ins with. Each one has some good character moments as they overcome their grief from their failures. As supporting plots these two are very good.
The comic closes with a terrific cliffhanger that just adds that much more to the unbelievable artwork in this issue. The issue is a battle. Page after page of fighting. However, the artwork delivers a tremendous amount of details as each panel and page is filled out with background battles, details in the ring constructs and creepy destruction of the zombies. You really can’t go wrong with an issue that is as amazing as this one is artistically.
Between the two main Green Lantern series, the Blackest Night mini series and all of the tie ins dealing with the heroes fighting the Black Lanterns you might get sick of the routine by now. However, this issue is different from all of the others because the stories carry weight within the Green Lantern universe. This is the type of issue that having followed the series for the long haul provides a payoff for your knowledge of continuity. This may seem like just more heroes against zombies but it’s really about characters facing their pasts and coming through the other end successfully.
It’s a toss up as to which issue of this entire event has been my favorite. It’s either this issue or the previous issue of Green Lantern, but I am leaning towards this issue. This comic manages to have a giant battle while developing the key members of the corps and giving the zombies ample opportunity to talk trash. What more could you ask for? This is a terrific comic book.
5 out of 5 geek goggles
