GREEN LANTERN #13

[ RISE OF THE THIRD DISCOUNT ] 

I quite like this new green chap. It looks as if he's ready for a right good scrap. Unless he becomes disturbed. By a rampaging herd. Of Justin Bieber fans who want to sit on his lap. You know, someone like Writer: Geoff Johns; Artist: Doug Mahnke; and Publisher: DC Comics in November 2012. Well, isn't that just Bieberific!!!!!

So what’s the STORY morning glory?

I'm sorry to say that life is somewhat strained for the new Green Lantern, Simon Baz, in this issue entitled, 'Actions and Reactions'. For a start, the president of America has ordered Amanda Waller to track him down. Then, he gets spotted in the Florida Keys by some Federal Agents searching for him. Plus to top it all off, the 'power ring' Baz is wearing, presents to him a garbled message of doom.

• So what should he do about this, huh? Go to his recently sacked sister-in-law, Sira, because she might be able to give him some direction?
• Well, it's better her than the 'Third Army, right? All they want to do is cause death and destruction wherever they go.
• And I suppose I could say a similar thing about the Justice League as well? Just replace the word 'death' with the word...

POW!

See what I mean? To be continued...

What is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

When I first heard that Hal Jordan was going to 'go away for a while', and then be replaced by some Arabian fellow called 'Baz'; I thought to myself 'Baz! What a cool name', and started to conjuror up pictures in my mind of cartoon dogs wearing domino masks, smoking a pipe. Well, as a name goes, it is a somewhat original 'nom-de-plume' for comic book character, agreed? And kind of illustrates the direction of this series on a certain level too.

Sorry. No sentence or conversation this month. You got a name instead.  

What was the BEST thing about this issue?

One of the most refreshing scenes to read in this issue was the one where Sira tried to reassure her Father that 'everything was going to be alright', before going off to work and being sacked because of her relationship to Baz. Sad scene that was. And in someway epitomises what public concessions can do if manipulated by the media.

What was the WORST thing about this issue?

Listen, I don't want to sound like a 'Moaning Minny' dear reader, but my only gripe with this story, is something Dan Dididdididio said quite some time ago in the press. He's stated that he has prevented 'DC characters' from interacting with the modern day world, as this would date the stories in retrospect. Now if I remember rightly, he gave this statement in relation to President Obama appearing in an issue of Spiderman.  

Hellloooo! President Obama in this issue Danny Boy! Can you smell a U-Turn here? I can. I liked the cameo though. Surprising. But nice.  

What was the most CREATIVE thing about this issue?

STORY: In my most humble opinion, one of the most creative scenes in this book was the one where Baz wakes up and is presented with a garbled apparition of Hal and Sinestro, trying to warning him about the Guardians. Well, not only was it titivating on a certain level, but it was kind of neat trying to piece together what they were trying to say too.

ART: Now there is something slightly different with Doug Manke's pencil work in this yarn, and for the life of me I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Alright, I know that the characters he has drawn are different than the characters he normally draws. Also, the inkers are many, and the colouring is more ying / yang in tone. Still, whatever the case may be... hmmmm... not sure... but not bad either.  

If you had to CAST TWO CHARACTERS in this comic book, who would they be and why?

SIRA: For this beautiful young lady, you need to cast a beautiful young performer, who's pretty both inside and out. So why not Nicole Scherzinger from the 'Pussycat Dolls', huh? I know she's from Hawaii and not of Arabian decent. But I won't tell if you won't.    

BAZ: My last attempt at casing this new Green Lantern was just abysmal (click here to see what I mean), as I literarily did 'a google' for 'Arab looking actors'. This time though -- no -- not problem at all. Admittedly, Adam Rodriguez is Puerto Rican and not Arabian. Though he was in 'CSI: Miami', so that must count for something, right?

If this issue had a MOVIE TAG LINE, what would it be?

He Can Run, But He Can't Hide From The IRS. Yet.  

If this issue were a MOVIE, an OBJECT, or a piece of MUSIC, what would that be and why? 

Mainly due to the 'hide and seek' nature of this piece, plus the rather 'original costume' also, I feel compelled to compare this comic book to the Kinks song 'Dedicated Follower Of Fashion'. Check it out to see what I mean...

FINAL thoughts...

It's strange you know. What I predicted about this series 'last-review' appears to be unravelling in this adventure. For example: (1) The fresh new vibe. (2) Baz's incremental introduction of the DCU. (3) The Arabian slanted flavour. (4) The 'Third Army' segway. Excreta. Excreta. Excreta.

Now to me, this is both a good thing and a bad thing in hindsight. On a more positive note -- this new slant has given this book a new 'lease of life'. Whilst on a more negative note -- it has made it slightly too predicable as well.

Let's hope Geoff and Doug can pull something startling out of the bag soon, huh? Just to prove me wrong.

MARKS out of 10? 8.7