The covers: Five rings float in space, their owners nowhere to be found. Against a pale blue background of the cosmos, the emerald weapons spin aimlessly. A splotch of red liquid, most likely blood, is on the most prominent ring, creating a trail of crimson as it rotates. Great cover that teases who else might be in this book besides the Green Lanterns. Art and colors by Jesus Saiz. The Variant cover is not a Joker 75th Anniversary cover, but a nice bust shot of John Stewart with his arms folded across his chest. He’s shown from his left. Several swirls of green shine about him, with a smattering of starstuff included. Excellent cover by Ben Oliver that shows the leader of this book looking strong. Overall grades: Both A
The story: This introductory issue begins right in the thick of things as John Stewart, Arisia Rrab, Xrill-Vrek, Kilowog, Two-Six, and Krona trying to destroy crystalline orange creatures that erase foreign matter from the universe. As Xrill-Vrek says, “In this case, we are the foreign matter in question.” Krona bears no ring, so must depend on the others for protection, and is amazed that the ring converts the wearers’ emotions into hard light constructs; you see, he’s lost his memory. Kilowog comes too close to an orange structure and loses a, small, chunk of his shoulder. They realize they need backup, but their rings can’t find their homeworld, Mogo. The rings also cannot locate the central power battery, from which they draw their energy, and cannot locate any other lanterns, save themselves. John realizes they’ve just got to fight their way out of the mass, which triggers a memory to his past when he fought in the Middle East. Cullen Bunn has started this series off correctly. In a few pages he states the characters, their abilities, and introduces the problems of their isolation. He increases tension by explaining who Krona is and by including a familiar character on Page 17. I was ecstatic to see this individual, as he doubles the group’s power and tensions. The group ends up before something not seen before in any Lantern book. The individual from Page 17 sums up things well. “Were ya gonna say (we’re) ‘screwed’? ‘Cuz I was gonna say ‘screwed.'” An excellent beginning. Overall grade: A
The art: There is no credit given to the colorist, so I’m going to assume that Jesus Saiz did both the art and the colors and they look beautiful. The first page has all the characters floating in space attacked by these “cleaners” as one lantern calls them. I don’t believe these unspeaking antagonists were drawn, as they look too much like computer creations, but they look fine against the more traditional visuals of the lanterns. There’s a certain elegance that must be captured with flying characters, such as the GLC, and Saiz has aced it; they all look beautiful and strong as they make their way against these threats. The coloring on these pages is perfect for this series. The first panel shows that Saiz knows exactly what he’s doing in putting highlights on these characters. Look at John as he battles the creatures, the power erupting before Kilowog, the flesh on Xrill-Vreek, and the wonderful spots on Two-Six. They all look fantastic. The book also has a major setting not in space. It occurs on Pages 5 through 7 and it shows that Saiz can also draw a strong “realistic” scene, with coloring appropriate for the setting. There are weapons used on these pages not used elsewhere in the book and they look real. They, and this environment, would be fitting for any story that needed them. The coloring on the sounds are also very strong on these three pages, as they make the energy of the noises powerful. The new color scheme on the character that appears on 17 is interesting and I wish that DC would include this “new” character in its latest release of action figures. If what Saiz has to illustrate and color seems rote for those that have followed the Corps’ adventures for so long, the final page will show that he is more than capable of creating something new. Something epically new. Overall grade: A+
The letters: Dialogue, character identification, ring communication, screams, yells, and closing title and credits are all done by Lantern star Dave Sharpe. The screams and yells on 5 – 7 are haunting and, I know it’s cheesy, but I really like the font used for the character identification. Overall grade: A
The final line: Super beginning to a super new series. I’m looking forward to seeing more of this. Overall grade: A
Share this:
