GREEN LANTERN - FUTURES END #1

[ FUTURE STORY - SAME PRICE ] 

Many years in the future the world will be changed forever more. Robert Venditti will become a well-known candle maker. Martin Coccolo will change his name to Aaron Lopresti. And DC Comics will vaguely recollect a lawsuit they avoided, in September, 2014. Say no more. Wink-Wink

To QUOTE Martin Luther King, Jr.: 'In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends'.

THE STORY:

After speaking to an apparition of his dead father -- No. Don't worry. He hasn't turned into an alcoholic yet -- Hal Jordan team-up's with Relic, and together they fend off the evil Guardian known as Krona, plus his forces in the Black Lantern Corps.  

Yeah. I know what you're thinking, folks. Who wins? Who dies? Who speaks in cliché? Right? Well, I'm not going to tell you, pal. You're just going to have to pick this one up for yourself, and find out how it doesn't tie in this 'Futures End' cross-over event.

Thank God.

THE GOOD:

All in all this was a pretty decent issue of Green Lantern to follow. The funny thing is, though, is what I liked about it the most was how it DIDN'T directly tie into this whole 'Futures End' scenario -- despite it having the decency to allude to it in a couple of panels while Hal was having some 'down time'.

Also, another thing I loved about this adventure was how Martin Coccolo and Aaron Lopresti worked so well together illustrating it. Well, even though you can tell who drew what part of the book, at the end of the day this still didn't take anything away from their expressive art-work and bold characterization's.

Oh! And while I'm on the subject of characterizations! Good job, Robert Venditti. Once again you've managed to instill some real character-work into your tales. From my point of view the star of the show was Hal's Dad, Jack. As much as I got a right kick out Hal and Relic's jovial partnership -- Laurel and Hardy, beware -- Jack just had that down to Earth quality about him that kind of reminded me of... errr... no... I won't say anymore. I think I leave that one for my comparison section later on.

THE BAD:

The only slight problem I had with this story-line was that on a narrative level it came across like it started half way through, and in so doing it also made me feel as if I missed out on a couple of unanswered questions. Such as, where are the Green Lantern Corps? How did Relic escape from the source wall? How did Krona spring back to life and take charge of the Black Lanterns? Did Hal actually die in New 52 continuity? Because I thought that part of his life was rubbed out! Electra- Electra- Electra.  

THE MUSIC:

Now for this musical paring I need a song about dead people plus space-men. So with that in mind, dear reader, how can I not sit this story down alongside that haunting melody you can hear in the video-game, 'Space Dead 2'?

THE COMPARISON:

As implied previously, I feel compelled to compare this comic book to the one and only James Stuart, because in my eyes this great actor of yesteryear could easily play Hal Jordan's Dad in his sleep.

THE CONCLUSION:

At the very end of this tale we see Hal Jordan beaten up pretty badly, prompting his cohorts to try to save his life in a most unorthodox manner. So just for fun, can you guess what they try to do out of the following eight scenarios? Because do they...

1. Throw him into a dump-truck and hope for the best.
2. Apply frozen yogurt to his forehead and prey to the great dairy God in the sky.
3. Grab Hal by his balls and scream, 'Stop messing about and get up, punk!! I know your faking it'.
4. Call for an ambulance and hope they can drive into space.
5. Toss him into the source wall until he eventually recovers.
6. Chant Hari-Christa in Russian.
7. Cry aimlessly at no one in particular.
8. Replace his brain with a potato.

Nuff said.