Yes, there's only one this week that has been circulating in full review mode. I've decided to take a new approach to the others. Unveiling soon.
It's New Comic Book Wednesday!
I have to say I was HANGING on the resolution of this one. Issue #3 ended with such insanity that I was wondering how they would ever get Hal out of it. I have to admit, that while the idea of Hal's survival was a good way to "save" him, it played out very quickly and anticlimactically. I guess it makes me think of some old-time serials where the solution seems so easy and is just brushed aside like it was no big thing. I kinda feel like that's what happened here. Oh, you aren't Sinestro? Then we won't transport you to the anti-matter universe. That is all.
Hal doesn't get off that easily though. He's taken prisoner by the Sinestro Corps to be dealt with after they torture Sinestro himself. Thrown in a de-charging cell, Hal's ring depletes rather quickly. What I was touched by was his desire, in his last moments of power, to use his ring to make a construct of Carol. He really does have a heart and a soft spot even if he is a cocky douchebag. It's what makes him so loveable.
When the Corps can't figure out how to "de-green" him, Sinestro is "thrown to the wolves" for all intents and purposes. He is imprisoned with all of the people of Korugar the corps has been defeating and torturing. They feel that they put their trust in Sinestro and he betrayed them. As much as he tries to convince them he didn't want this, that the Corps is acting against his orders, they simply don't believe him. Would you?
What really speaks to me though is the element that I brought up last issue. "Bad guy" is all about perspective. Did Sinestro set out to be a bad guy in this situation? No. His intent was to protect his people and his planet. Unfortunately, the army he created to do so took on their own mission which didn't involve holding Sinestro's values as their own. Where the people of Korugar once saw Sinestro as their savior, the now see him as nothing but a ruthless tyrant. And all he wanted to do was help. Sinestro even goes as far as creating Green Lantern rings for his people to prove his good intentions, but unfortunately, they turn his own rings against him in the final panel. Fear and rage beget hostil action. I get that. Perhaps these Korugarians should have gotten red rings. It really points out how important it is to consider all of the sides in any skirmish. Maybe understanding the intent behind actions could help resolve our own conflict.
Sometimes people look at me strangely when they find out I read comics. They ask me, as an English teacher, why I don't read "more challenging" and "more thought-provoking" material. My response to them is they have clearly never read good comics and they have definitely never looked at how this medium can really be a gateway to reading for the struggling reader. There's so much about comics that can challenge thinking, especially as social commentary on the world around us. This series and the Red Lantern series have really helped me to see the evidence behind that.
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| I guess that would be my dying wish too. |
When the Corps can't figure out how to "de-green" him, Sinestro is "thrown to the wolves" for all intents and purposes. He is imprisoned with all of the people of Korugar the corps has been defeating and torturing. They feel that they put their trust in Sinestro and he betrayed them. As much as he tries to convince them he didn't want this, that the Corps is acting against his orders, they simply don't believe him. Would you?
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| Oops! Maybe giving my enemies weapons wasn't such a good idea. |
Sometimes people look at me strangely when they find out I read comics. They ask me, as an English teacher, why I don't read "more challenging" and "more thought-provoking" material. My response to them is they have clearly never read good comics and they have definitely never looked at how this medium can really be a gateway to reading for the struggling reader. There's so much about comics that can challenge thinking, especially as social commentary on the world around us. This series and the Red Lantern series have really helped me to see the evidence behind that.
All images copyright DC Comics and used under guidelines of Fair Use
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