Monday, February 20, 2012

Review: Green Lantern #6

Finally, I'm caught up to the most recent issue of at least one of the series that I follow.  Keep up, Jim.

SPOILER ALERT: The following reviews contain them. 


Green Lantern #6

Now that he's back on Earth and deprived of the powers of the ring, Hal has given up wanting to be a lantern in favor of a life of love and romance with Carol and some good old fashioned vigilante justice on the side. He's got the skills, even if he doesn't have the ring.  Why not rough up those hoodlums? You have to have something to keep secret from Carol, right?

In this issue, Sinestro tracks down Yellow Lantern Lyssa Drak (doesn't it even sound like a vampire name? - She's got the teeth to prove it) to strip her of her ring, in pursuit of his "eliminate the Sinestro Corps" mission.  In doing so,  he finds she is in possession of the black book. Through his close call with it, Sinestro learns of the guardians plans to destroy the Green Lantern Corps and create a new army: a destructive one.  Sinestro seeks out Hal Jordan, his new slave, because he knows there's no way he can take this on himself.

This is definitely a good way to finish up the first story arc and lead into the conflicts with the Indigo tribe.  It's a clean stopping point for anyone who wants to jump ship and a strong enough cliffhanger for those who want to stay on the ride.  I have to say though, Carol always gets the short end of the stick.  Just when she thinks Hal is truly hers, another Lantern emergency rips him away.

The saying, "Be careful what you wish for," comes startlingly to life with this issue.  For months I have been complaining about Doug Mahnke's artwork in this book and hoping for the illustrations to change.  Well, I guess I got my wish.  Guest artist Mike Choi lends his skills to this issue with some pros and cons. Choi is certainly an artist of a different caliber. His Sinestro is so much less pedophile that it's comforting. I enjoy looking at Sinestro now and not in some sick sexual way.  Choi makes enough of an effort to be more like Alex Ross, bordering on a soft-focus realism, in his art, and succeeds pretty well in his close-ups.

However his full body panels tell a different story.  While his Hal Jordan no longer resembles a low-budget transvestite, the characters come across more like Archie throwbacks. It's almost as if they are one step away from Tiny Titans.

I'm not sure if Mike Choi comes from a background of undead books, but his characters seem to all have fangs.  This is slightly disconcerting when you enter super-hero world.  I expect to see it in my movies, books and tv, but not when I come to Coast City.

Up Next: The Indigos



"Tor lorek san, bor nakka mur,
Natromo faan tornek wot ur.
Ter Lantern ker lo Abin Sur,
Taan lek lek nok--Formorrow Sur!"



All images copyright DC Comics and used under guidelines of Fair Use

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