Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Green Lantern Corps #56Green Lantern Corps #56
DC Comics
Bedard, Kirkham, Batt, Hunter, Ruffino & Wands

The battle with The Weaponer continues in this issue as a whole new cast of characters join in the fray. The issue contains a lot of fighting and a lot of excellent visuals to support the battle but the issue is very light on character definition, with one big exception: Sinestro. Sinestro is in some very capable hands with Bedard in this issue as he steals the show. I can't say I'm totally on board with some of Sinestro's actions, but the character does have a history of being a little crazy. Overall this is a fun, but forgettable issue.

The issue opens with Sinestro sending in his corps to deal with The Weaponer. This part was the odd string of dialogue from Sinestro. Sinestro rallies the troops by telling his corps that The Weaponer is trying to steal his dignity. This is about as bizarre a rallying cry as saying they want to beat the Green Lanterns because they don't like their uniforms. I can't believe Sinestro made this statement and I can't believe that anyone would take it seriously.

Once the Sinestro Corps shows up to fight The Weaponer, he then re-arms the Green Lanterns to defend him. They all battle anyway, despite the truce between the two corps with some fun trash talking.

The problem here is that much of the dialogue is so generic and interchangeable that it almost doesn't matter which character utters which line. However, Sinestro is the glaring exception.

If ever there was a case for a spin-off book it's for a Sinestro title. At this point he's a more interesting character than any of the Green Lanterns and because he interacts with all of the colored corps, there is no reason for him to be stuck in just the villain mode. Bedard has a clear knack for writing the character.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe artwork does its job well. Bright colors, creative ring constructs and a lot of flexing and posing is what this issue is about and it excels at it. As was the case in previous issues, the sparkle of the issue is the design of The Weaponer. He's definitely a character that manages to wrestle away your attention from Sinestro from time to time in this issue. The one oddity with the artwork is the inclusion of the Red Hulk in the Sinestro Corps on page one. I wasn't sure if this was some sort of gag or not.

You can't go wrong with this issue if you like fighting. However, the comic really contains no plot or, at times, direction. If The Weaponer simply wants revenge then why wouldn't he just have gone off and hunted Sinestro? Why haven't the people of the planet tried to get help to rid themselves of The Weaponer in the past? I never felt like questions like this were addressed. Instead the issue just seems like a convenient way to get a lot of people to fight. To be blunt, this arc should have been three issues (or maybe even only two) instead of five. But since the build up of Blackest Night, this has been the direction of the Green Lantern books and it's a shame.

2.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles