NEW GUARDIANS #17

[ ALL WHITE FOR A SALE ] 

Come on, let's all get emotional! I'm sure that it well help with the promotional. In marketing terms, of course. It's far better than kissing a horse. Before getting, overtly, devotional. Amen. Now please let us prey for the very sullen creative team of Writer: Antony Bedard; Artist: Aaron Kuder; and Publisher: DC Comics in March 2013.

Using GENERAL terms, answer the following 4 questions about this THIRD PART of 'Wrath of The First Lantern'.

• WHAT'S THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS TALE: The First Lantern, Volthoom, suddenly snatches Kyle Rayner away from his slumber, and then takes him on a merry go round of ups and downs in a journey through his past, perverting previous scenarios as he goes along.
• ARE THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED: Yes. The f*cker.
• ANYTHING ELSE HAPPEN: We get a glimpse at what it would have been like if Alex lived, Hal died, and if Kyles papa didn't leave him when he was a lad.
• HOW DOES THIS STORY END: With Volthoom getting his own way. Again!!!!

Overall, what is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

In my own opinion this book started off on a really great note, especially when Volthoom said to Kyle...

'My given name is Volthoom. But you can call me the First Lantern. Now, while I would like a nice long chat, I'm on a tight schedule. So if you don't mind, I'll just flip through the pages of your life and linger on the juicy parts'.

I mean -- Wow! --- 'flip through the pages of your life and linger on your juicy parts'? Doesn't that sound very... errr... timely and provocative to you? Like a perverse version of 'It's A Wonderful Life'!

What are the BEST bits about this issue?

(+) All the way through this yarn I just loved following the art by Aaron Kuder. In many ways it just goes to show that an intergalactic adventure doesn't have to always be doom and gloom; sometimes it can be gookie and full of pathos.
(+) I did enjoy the timorous relationship between Kyle and Volthoom myself; particularly how Kyle kept on breaking his hold over him, and attempted to play things 'his way'.
(+) Just like in Green Lantern Corps 17, I got a right kick out of how 'Thoom' tried to break 'the heroes' spirits, this time by tempting him with love, not fear...

What are the WORST bits about this issue?

(-) ... yet, the only slight gripe I had with it -- again -- was that the overall conceit followed very similar lines than its previous instalment. Honestly, by the time Guy showed up to kick Kyle's ass in, just like before, things started to become a bit stale for me.

Pick TWO CHARACTERS out of this comic book, and compare them individually to a HONG KONG ACTION STAR.

NORA MIAO AS ALEX: Now if I had a girl like Alex, and she looked something like Big Boss' Nora Miao, then I would defiantly be like Kyle, and want to keep her safe any which way I could. Sigh!!!!!

CHUNG HSIN-HUANG AS KYLES DAD: In the Bruce Lee film, 'The Way of the Dragon', Huang was a sniveling little git who was prepared to do anything for the quite life. Now doesn't that sound like Kyle's papa to you?

What WORD or PHRASE could you use to sum-up this story?

'Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before' -- Mae West

What SONG, THEME-TUNE, or MELODY, would complement this tale, as well as add and extra dimension to it by default?

'LOVE HURTS' BY THE EVERLY BROTHERS: Given some additional thought, this story is exactly how the Everly Brothers say it is in the aforementioned song title. 'Love Hurts'. Mainly for Kyle at the moment.

ANYTHING Else?

Out of the three 'Wrath of The First Lantern' chapters presented to us so far, this issue of the 'New Guardians' is my favorite part by a small margin. Granted, this doesn't have anything to do with it's 'A Wonderful life' conceit. Nah! I much rather preferred the conceit to Green Lantern 17 than I did this one really. Instead, what I loved about it; was that the art was out of this world, the tale was more intriguing, and the characters had a lot more character to boot.

Yeah. No kidding. In a roll-called fashion: I'd say that Baz's issue was more 'Ohhhh!'; Guys issue was more 'Grrrr'; and this issue was more 'Wellll Helllllooooooo Nurse'!

Do you know what I mean, dear reader? It was more Jim Carrey than it was Jim Morrison. Direct, and less suicidal.

GIVE IT, IT'S DUES: If This Comic Was a Movie, It Would Be a Science Fiction Version of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with more Carrey and less Kate.