GREEN LANTERN #67

[ I NEED A SHAVE ] 

Rage – Love – Compassion – Hope – Avarice – and Fear, what are they? Yep – that is correct – they are all emotions. But on top of that, they are also weapons used in this final part of the ‘War of the Green Lanterns’. As told by Writer: Geoff Johns; Artist: Doug Mahnke; and Publisher: DC Comics, in July 2011.

THE STORY:

The final battle is staged on the planet Oa, with the Green Lantern Corps on the one side, and Krona with his emotionally charged Guardians on the other. Who wins? Hmm? Now that is a story in itself, isn’t it? Firstly, Hal Jordan takes the initiative to commander his troupes into two factions. With the majority of the Corps trying to delay the incumbent immortals with their power ringed savvy, whilst Kyle tries to free the multi-coloured jamboree from the ‘Big Black Diary’ – so that they can then aide them in this plight.

OK, so does this endeavour work out for the best? Err? Kind of – as Kyle does manage to get the incarcerated jamboree out of this darkly hued ledger. However, after this event, Krona takes control of their power-rings, thus making him more powerful than ever. Well? Kind of powerful? As Hal Jordan breaks a cardinal rule, which inadvertently propels Sinestro up the ranks, bestowing onto him with a mantel that nobody ever saw coming. The result of all this is rather shocking I can tell you – as the Guardians are freed – the Corps is reborn – Krona is dead – Sinestro is a Green Lantern – and Hal is... defrocked?

THE REVIEW:

So there you have it folks, the end of the ‘War of the Green Lanterns’, and the beginning of whatever the f*ck is going to happen next. Fair enough, as a story onto its own, this is a paint it by numbers tale. (1) Set up the scene for the final battle. (2) Elaborate on how this battle can possibly be won. (3) Start things off as if they are going to be OK. (4) Add a twist. And (5) Give them a shock ending that nobody was expecting.

Now is this a good thing or a bad thing? Hmm? Not sure. For a singular tale, it is kind of generic. But as for the conclusion of this story arc? POW! WHAT THE F*CK! Listen, I did surmise a couple of reviews ago, that Sinesto would become a more redemptive force in the future. However, I did not one hundred percent foresee this from happening. In addition to this, from a marketing perspective, this does not sit well with me due to the current green hued media environment. The ‘Green Lantern’ movie has just been released – with Hal as the main star – so why de-power him now in the comic books? And on top of that, we all know that that the DCnu is upon the horizon, so...WHAT THE F*CK?

OK, I know that I should not be looking at it from this media perspective. Green Lantern is a comic book – a fairly good comic book at that – and the story’s should only be judged upon the pretext of its comic book facsimile. But – come on – why? Personally speaking, even though I did enjoy the ending, it just did not make sense within the bigger picture. As have DC brought back Hal from the dead, just to cast him aside once more? No – me thinks not – especially after looking at the advanced listing of the month ahead. Still, the answer needs to be addressed – why? Now if you think that you have a good idea of what is happening, please post a comment below. Or alternatively, just agree with my conclusion of this conclusion – and let us just say that the art by Mahnke was great, the story by Johns was bold, and the overall story-arc was a somewhat bi-polar experience.

THE RATING: B+