GREEN LANTERN #45

[ DEATH COMES AT A PRICE ] 

Look into my eyes. Look deep, deep, into my eyes, and tell me what you see. Do you see a man, a hero, a villain, a power hungry monster, or something else entirely? Something else created in October, 2015, by Robert Venditti, Billy Tan, with a little help from DC Comics.

To QUOTE A Very Unhappy Pediatric Nurse: 'With a face like yours, no wonder why people have abortions'.

THE REVIEW:

Just like Billy Tan's simple yet fairly detailed artwork, this issue of Green Lantern, aptly titled 'Idle Hand', is a very nice and pleasant joyride from one place to the next.

Please picture the scene. Hal sailing on a spaceship with his two cohorts, Virgo and Trapper, trying to figure out what the hell is going on with this so-called 'source wall phenomenon'. When suddenly -- PING! -- he quickly cottons on to the idea that this malady is heading towards Earth, and he has a pretty good idea who's behind it too.

So, being the nice guy he's trying to hide behind, in a flash Hal briskly instructs his pals to take a sabbatical (even the computer, Darleen), so he can investigate matters on his own.

And yes, as you may expect, he does find the culprit. Very quickly I might add. And in so doing starts a tussle that begins on page 7 and end's at the very end of the book --  thus making the overall narrative seem very pedestrian on a contextual level, despite being fairly personal on a tonal one.

How so? Simple really! From my point of view Robert adds character to his characters like nobody else in the business. His current version of Hal is obviously a very conflicted person, with one side of him being very heroic, whereas the other side of him is never quite sure if he's coming or going. Virgo and Trapper, on the other hand, are the ying and the yang to Hal's confliction: with both characters basically epitomizing two halves of Hal's whole, so to speak. And finally there is the villain of the month, who I don't want to say too much about, except that he is a good villain to play with, and I can't wait to see what Hal does with him next issue.

Off with his head? Yeah! Right!  

THE MUSIC:

For this months musical match-up I feel like paring up this comic book with the Smiths song, 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'. Want to know why? It's because they both feature depressive f*ckers!

THE COMPARISON:

For this month's comparison I'd like to take a leaf out of the villain of the month's book. You see, in one scene, he compared himself to the Gorgon sister called Medusa. And in my opinion, his comparison was such a good comparison; I might as well pinch it from him and use it here.

Say hello to 'Medusa', people. Be nice, or else she'd turn you into stone.

THE CONCLUSION:

At the very end of this issue Hal Jordan implies that he's going to do something very nasty to this months featured villain. So, as you might have guessed, I now want you to guess what that something is out of the following eight options.  Could he want to...

1. Give him a kiss.
2. Give him herpes.
3. Explain why it isn't nice killing people.
4. Touch him on his knee.
5. Touch him on his Granny.
6. Elaborate on the concept of global fiscal unity.
7. Explain that last option again in Flemish.
8. Wank.

Nuff said.