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Those of you who read my first two reviews of Green Lantern Corps may think that I have it out for Peter Tomasi and Pat Gleason, but you should know that I don’t. I said in my review of the last issue (34) that even though this arc was getting convoluted, it was surely building up to something. With issue 35, we finally get our first taste of that something.

At the outset, there is some devastating stuff happening on Oa. The guardians are gone with Hal Jordan in the Vega system, leaving the second level Green Lanterns to deal with the Red Lantern that has broken free from the sciencells and the yellow ring that are beginning to find their way back to their formerly imprisoned owners. Meanwhile, Lantern Arisia and Ion Sodam Yat have made their way back to Daxam to attempt to save the planets natives from the invading Sinestro Corps that is still led by Mongul. That’s right, Mongul won the power struggle for control of the Sinestro Corps on Daxam and Arkillo now has his own tongue hanging on a string around his neck. Harsh! The final pages of the episode display Lantern Soranik Natu on Korugar speaking to her fellow Korugarians on ways that the planet can recover their identity from the collective memory of Sinestro, but the final page displays the most exciting thing about what is to come when Natu gets a surprise visit from a not-so-secret guest.

Overall, this issue is a big step up from the last two issues. We aren’t getting all of the one or two page scenes that don’t really link to the rest of what’s going on. That means that you won’t see a Star Sapphire in this issue, but if you just have to get some Star Sapphire stuff, you can still dig into Green Lantern. The art is still what it was before however, and it still isn’t my favorite. The colors are awesome (Randy Mayor), but it seems to me that the eyes of Pat Gleason’s characters are a bit too bulgy and weird, and the faces just aren’t drawn to my taste.

Another thing that still bothers me is Guy Gardner. I really don’t like him as a character (“This is not a drill! This is not a freaking drill!” Ugh!!), but I am starting to see that it is not Peter Tomasi’s fault that I hate this character. I am pretty sure that no matter who writes Green Lantern Corps –whether its Tomasi, Geoff Johns, or Samuel Clemons – I will always dislike him as a character. I am sure that Tomasi is just writing Guy Gardner in the way that Guy Gardner should always be written.

At the end of the day, this was a pretty good comic book and well worth my three bucks. Everything about it tells me that reading the last two issues was not a waste of time, but necessary filler to prepare me for what’s to come. I am sure that the next issue is going to get even better because it will undoubtedly have some cool scenes featuring the infamous you-(should)-know-who.

(3.5/5)

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Ever since I began reading Green Lantern, I have been meeting characters that are new to me on a monthly basis. So when I refer to a “new character”, I might not mean new to the DCU or to Green Lantern comics, but someone who is new to me. This issue of Green Lantern opens with a new character, but one that is obviously known GL readers that have been with the series for awhile. Her name is Fatality, and she is the Star Sapphires’ newest recruit. Unfortunately, Geoff John’s only spends two pages on her, while the rest of the issue consists of one sequence.

Though we stay with that sequence for the rest of the book, there is quite a bit going on for the Green Lanterns right now. The Star Sapphires are expanding to more and more potential love interests for the male Lanterns, Larfleeze and the Orange Lanterns are emerging from their home on Okaara, Sinestro is at large, and so is Atrocius and the rest of the Red Lanterns that are seeking vengeance the Green and Yellow lantern corps. On top of all that, Hal Jordan is still unable remove the blue ring from his finger until he finds something to be hopeful for. Now take a breath, and remember that we are only talking about issue 40 for now.

The main sequence that takes place is pretty exciting. Basically, the Orange Lanterns are emerging from The Forbidden Forest of Weeds, and the Green Lanterns are on their way to stop them. By the end of the issue, the two opposing forces have met and an all-out brawl is well underway. Throughout the battle, we also learn how the Orange Lanterns enlist new members. Apparently an Orange Lantern named Glomulus eats the victim/recruit and then replicates him or her using an orange construct wearing a shiny new orange ring. Nasty!

Writer Geoff Johns did a great job with the pacing of this issue, building up the excitement to an action-packed crescendo that knocked my socks off. The art by Phillip Tan is, once again, phenomenal. Emotions the the characters’ faces are easy to recognize and the scarier-looking villains are truly nightmare-inducing.

While I’m on the subject of art, I am sad to point out a mistake that I noticed when I reread this issue. Whip out your copy of GL 40 and turn to the page where Glomulus takes a bite out of his blue-skinned victim. Now look at the frame that contains the sound effect “krrrrppppp” and look at the center of the frame where the streaks of blood all seem to be originating from. That’s not a smudge on your comic book! Look closer. The text seems to read “inks! *something*/black *something”. Whoops! Is that supposed to be there? Do you see that?

“Inks” blunder aside, this is a really great issue. The writing does well to keep the reader captivated, and the art really leaves nothing to be desired. Geoff Johns and Phillip Tan have really outdone themselves so far with the Agent Orange story arc! I can’t wait for issue 41!

(4/5)

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Martian Manhunter is the type of second tier hero that DC could go without for awhile and not take too big of a hit in sales. That’s why his death was more heartbreaking to me than that of Batman. Somewhere deep inside of my being, I just know that Batman will be back soon; but I really don’t know what will happen with J’onn J’onzz. I’m sure he will probably be included in the whole Black Lantern thing, but why would you kill him? Martian Manhunter was probably the most universally likeable of all the DC heroes. I was really pissed during Final Crisis at the guy who brought that all about.

But Mike Miller has a whole lot more than my wrath to fear. In the process of killing Martian Manhunter and pissing off the JLA, the Human Flame managed to sell out half of the villains in the DCU as well. If there were anyone in the comic book world that I seriously don’t want to be right now, it would be Miller.

Run! 1 is the first issue of four mini-series that will be released under the main title Final Crisis Aftermath, and it is addressing the first thing that just about everyone wants to know: What is going to happen to that scumbag the Human Flame?

This is the first comic book I have read by writer Matthew Sturges, and I am pretty darn impressed. He writes the Mike Miller character to be probably the most realistic person I have ever seen in a villain. Sturges’ Human Flame is that guy that we all know that can do a million different douchebaggy things and never thinks it’s his fault. In his own mind all of his evil deeds can be boiled down to his own ignorance or a victim who had it coming. It is always a really fun thing to see a personality trait in fiction that you have seen in the people that I have loved or hated in my real life.

Self-justification isn’t going to help the Human Flame here though. Besides countless unrevealed villains, he also has Green Lantern and Firestorm hot on his tail; and he even managed to make some new enemies within the short time span of this issue. As of now I am hoping that someone like Killer Croc or Cheetah gets a hold of him, but I’m not really sure who I am supposed to root for here. I suppose I’ll decide that by the time this series concludes in its sixth issue.

The art here (Freddie Williams II) is a little subpar in comparison to some of the other stuff I have been reading lately like Battle for the Cowl, Solomon Grundy, or Flash Rebirth. It isn’t bad though, I think I have just been spoiled lately by the more popular style of artistry that some of these event comics are going for. Overall, Run! is a fun read; something that you probably will especially want to get into if you were as affected as I was by the death of Martian Manhunter during Final Crisis.

(3/5)

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Big things are happening with the DCU right now. Superman has vacated Metropolis (so I have heard), Batman was killed by Darkseid, Blackest Night is descending upon the Green Lanterns, and Barry Allen is returning. Now I realize that all of those things sound like negative events except for the last one, but you’re worng! According to Flash Rebirth 1 and 2, Barry Allen’s return could be the most devastating thing for the DC universe since his fall. Flash Rebirth continued this week with Dead Run.

In Flash Rebirth 1, we were greeted by a POV shot of a murderer committing his or her heinous crime against two possibly corrupt forensic investigators. This time it’s by a prophet in Gorilla City who guides us through Flash mythology recorded in pictographic form on cave walls. And just as the caped Gorilla does for his audience, Geoff Johns does for us in this issue.

Throughout the comic we are getting a comfortable mix of Barry Allen’s background and the current storyline involving the mysterious killer, Savitar’s surprising death by disintegration, and the unpredictability of the speed force. In the issue, we find out who the dead skeleton was in the middle of the corn fields that we saw in #1, but I’ll save that for you to read. There is also a villain that is new at least to me. Her name is Christina Alexandrova, a worshipper of Savitar’s speed force cult who wishes to exact her revenge on the Flashes for Savitar’s untimely death.

What I really like about this issue as opposed to the last is that it makes Flash as a character more accessible to readers who are not so familiar with the character. I think it’s very important that his story is kept clear to any reader of this series, as the events and revelations contained are so vital to all that is going on in DC Comics right now.

I really enjoy the writing work that Geoff Johns does here. I enjoy his uncanny ability to keep multiple things going on without confusing the reader anymore than necessary. Of course, it’s exciting to be a little bit confused as to what is happening frame-by-frame, but some other comics lately (ahem-GL Corps-ahem) seem to be having trouble making a complicated plot and keeping the reader on the same wave-length issue by issue.

Ethan Van Sciver did as great of work here as he did last issue, bringing us great images and emotions. When artwork is this good, who needs actors? The cover of this issue is a pretty cool throwback to some vintage Flash. I am pretty sure that I have seen a similar cover on a website covering Flash’s history in comics. If I find it, I will link you to it.

Overall the issue was a nail-biting, stare-at-the-pages-and-ignore-everything-else kind of read. In my review of the last issue, I said that I wouldn’t recommend casual readers to get into this series right away. Today, I rescind that recommendation as I believe that this issue really adds some reader-friendliness to those of us who are still getting acquainted with the Flash. To those of you who are bigger Flashes; don’t worry, there is still some intense excitement here and a final frame that will make you want to run into the future and pick up the next issue.

(3.5/5)

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Last week, I gave Green Lantern Corps 33 an unfavorable review, and my complaints are all still the same. Green Lantern seems to be where all of the beef is going, while GLC is like the hub for everything else that needs to happen to facilitate Blackest Night. Am I enjoying Green Lantern Corps right now? Sure. Is it exciting me? Not in the slightest.

I said before that the reasons I love GL and GLC are pretty much the same reason I like movies like Die Hard. The plots are straightforward and the action is super cool. Sure, the storylines of the Green Lantern world are actually quite complicated and technical, but it’s never really difficult to know what the author wants you to know. Once again, I find myself disliking the abundance of things going on in Green Lantern Corps 34 and the lack of time spent on each individual thing.

Ion Sodam Yat is pretty angry at the Daxamites for his messed up childhood, he and lantern Arisia are off to Daxam to help them against Mongul and the Sinestro Corps, Mongul and Arkillo conclude their power struggle for now, lanterns Rainer and Natu privately express their love for one another as she takes off to Korugar to quelm the unrest following Sinestro’s escape, Kryb is starting to feel some love in her heart, and lanterns Gardner and Kilawog drop off one of the Red Lanterns in the sciencells. Go over that again. It’s all one sentence! A little bit of a run on isn’t it? And that’s exactly how this issue and last issue feel. They’re just a mess of things happening with no real connecting theme. I’m sure it’s all going to come together eventually, but right now it’s really annoying. Writer Carlo Tomasi doesn’t seem to appreciate that we are buying these comics from month to month. And whatever happened to the lonesome lantern Saarek?

Also, I enjoy Tomasi’s use of humor in the Metamorpho character in Outsiders, but something is wrong with the way he writes Guy Gardner. It may not be his fault though, because in my opinion Guy Gardner is the lamest character this side of Oa. Humor is good, but I’m not diggin’ the Disney and whiskey jokes.

Patrick Gleason’s artwork here isn’t exactly my favorite. I don’t know if other readers enjoy his work, but I personally don’t like the way he draws human faces. They’re too saggy or elongated or something. They just rub me the wrong way. My favorite part of the issue as a whole is the coloring done by Randy Mayor.

Don’t get me wrong; the series isn’t ruined or anything. Most of the story for these past two issues seems to be setup. The quality of the writing and artwork still have the potential to conclude this storyline with some fireworks. I’ll keep buying the issues, I just hope they can tie up all of these dangling loose ends that seem to be spawning and spawning with no ending in sight.

(2/5)

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