Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Green Lantern Corps #23
DC Comics
Tomasi, Gleason & Rollins
This installment of Green Lantern Corps gathers up some troops for a mission. There isn’t a whole lot of plot development here, but more of a setting of the chess board. It’s a nice issue, but it doesn’t “wow” you like some of the previous ones in this series. This issue does make use of a very wide array of characters. It’s nice to see such a big cast getting a push in this comic.
First of all, mad props to the title on the cover. The play off of Lord of the Rings with “Many Rings to Kill Them All” is an excellent title with the cover art to match.
The issue begins with Mongul rounding up some plants. I don’t know anything about these things, but it smells of something bad for Green Lanterns.
Next, the Green Lantern’s rings started yanking them out of their assignments to bring them back Oa. The various situations that the Lanterns are pulled out of are very creative and fun to read. The Guardians (or rings) pull out Iolande, Vath, Natu, Isamot, Stel, Sodam Yat and Guy. Guy and Stel’s recall are particularly good.
Next the story finds an interesting villain that joins the Sinestro Corps. The artwork on this gruesome dude is really creative.
Next comes the instructions from the Guardians. This sequence I found to be annoying. They send their best Lanterns on Sinestro ring roundup? I don’t get it.
On the hunt for the rings, things go wrong. The Green Lanterns split up and some go missing. Kyle then argues with the Guardians about leaving behind the missing Lanterns. This is the same stuff that we see from Hal and John Stewart. I am really becoming bored with this pattern of Earthmen Lanterns doing the same exact thing. Are we going to find out later on that Kyle was actually in the Navy? Guy is quickly becoming the only Earth Lantern that is remotely different.
The issue ends with Mongul getting ready to execute (or torture) some of the missing Lanterns.
This issue is pretty good. Oh sure, I have issues with the characterizations of Kyle and the Guardians motives behind sending all their best Lanterns on a recovery job, but in general I liked the issue. Mostly I liked the fast pace to the issue and the mix of clever dialogue and some action. I understand the bulk of the issue is a set up and I am thinking the Guardians have something up their sleeve with why they sent their best on this job.
The art is excellent in almost all areas. The drawings of the villains are outstanding. How cool was the arm in the bubble? I liked the depiction of most of the Green Lanterns, especially Stel and Iolande. However, I have a real hard time telling apart the faces of Yat, Vath and Kyle. They all look the same to me in their faces. Maybe close-ups would help that. Or a stronger prescription, I guess.
This arc is going to be really good. It has the right mix of good guys and bad guys and an element of unknown with what Mongul’s motives are. This story feels like the beginning of something cool.
4 out of 5 geek goggles.
 Green Lantern Corps #23 |
