Green Lantern #4

Mark is a bigger fan of the Green Lanterns than I.  I like Guy Gardner and John Stewart and even the first Green Lantern Alan Scott.  Hal's okay, but he's not "my Lantern."  And this GL book is all about Hal.  We're on issue 4 of the New 52, and Hal still isn't officially a GL again, though.  This Sinestro story line is intriguing, but very slow.  I guess we can say the same about a lot of the New 52.  Aquaman did just finish his first story arc, so maybe this one will tie up pretty soon.

So, issue 4 finds Hal and Sinestro prisoners of the Yellow Lanterns (the Sinestro Corps).  They are upset (to put it mildly) that Sinestro is wearing a green ring.  Sinestro is tortured, then imprisoned with the people of Korugar he was trying to save.  They are very mad at him. Hal encourages Sinestro to make green rings for all of the prisoners.  Good idea, Hal.  The angry townspeople are all given GL rings, and who do they decide to go after?  I won't ruin the surprise.  

As an aside, my vacation from school is over today.  Back to the classroom.  But maybe I'll have time to read a few more comics in study hall.  I'm only three weeks behind now!

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors 13

Now, a brief break from Wonder Woman...

If you listen to our podcast, you may know that my favorite Green Lantern is Guy Gardner.  But not the Guy Gardner usually seen in Emerald Warriors.  That guy is a serious GL, on Oa, working with a bunch of GL's of other worlds, protecting the universe or the Guardians.  I think Guy is at his best when he is interacting with non-Green Lantern heroes.  This issue of Emerald Warriors FINALLY brings guy back to Earth from Oa, and teams him with his "frenemy" Batman to solve a murder on the ISS.  

Guy, of course, is NOT the World's Greatest Detective.  But he tries.  He questions the other astronauts aboard the space station while Batman goes and does detecting.  Guy is guy, and tries to find various motives (jealousy, mostly) for the murder.  Of course, though, Batman figures out what happened, but that gives Guy his time to shine by catching the bad guy and saving the space station and Opal City from certain death.  Go Guy!  

Maybe I am a bit of a xenophobe, but I really prefer stories set on Earth.  I am looking forward to the New 53 version of JLI, including Guy, and hope to see some "interaction" with him and Ice.  Please, give me witty badinage!  

Well, tomorrow's the big day?  Are you going to the comic shop at midnight?  (Or maybe noon, when our LCS actually opens?)

A Comic a Day

I am going to read and post about a comic every day for a year.  Isn't that the current "in" thing?  Doing something every day for a year? I figure reading a comic is pretty easy (easier than cooking French cuisine).  Right now, I am finishing up the comics released last Wednesday, some of which Mark and I already discussed on this week's "How I Got My Wife To Read Comics."  But I still have a few I can comment on here.  

Today's comic is Green Lantern Corps 63.  I really don't like the Green Lanterns very much.  I like Hal Jordan.  I like John Stewart.  I love Guy Gardner (he's my favorite Green Lantern).  But I really dislike the Green Lanterns as a group, and this book really highlights why.  The chapers seem disjointed, and touch on the Alpha Lanterns, Lantern/Guardian mistrust, and species tension within the Guardians.  But in spite of all this, the Lanterns can pull together?  I dont buy it.  

I really disliked the concept of the Alpha Lanterns from the time DC introduced them.  They are like Internal Affairs on any cop show that's ever been on.  They made these Alpha Lanterns out of some really good characters, essentially removing all the things about them that were interesting or different.  And now we have these roboticized Lanterns that are going to try to fit back in?  Meh.

And I am not sure why the Guardians even have to be there for the Green Lanterns to exist.  Now that the Crayola Lanterns have appeared, and they don't have short, primary color Guardians to lead them, why do the Green Lanterns need the Guardians.  Throw them over, I say!  

Then there is the infighting between the Green Lanterns.  All of these guys are supposed to be without fear, but it seems to me that all this species/planet/racial hatred is really about fear.  Fear of the other...and in this issue, fear of the human Lanterns taking over the Corps.  And none of them really give us any reason to understand why they dislike/hate/fear the human Lanterns.  It is a very superficial conflict, and as the reader, I don't understand why it is happening.  If they want me to be interested, let me get to know why Palaqua and Turytt and why they object to Kyle.  And don't always make the "haters" the huge, hulking stereotypical racists.  

There are going to be four Green Lantern books once the New 52 hits, and the Green Lantern Corps is supposed to focus on Guy and John, so I will give it a try.  But if it is going to continue on with these conflicts between the Green Lanterns, I'd like it to be more meaningful, and less superficial, by having it involve real characters rather than the odd alien they decide to throw in.  Maybe Gail Simone should write this for a while...

Origins and Omens

I am not sure if the “Origins and Omens” stories are telling me anything or not. Mark seems pretty sure that the stories are foreshadowing, but -- especially in the Green Lantern book this past week -- I wonder if they are just something a little fun for the writers and artists. I did think the whole “Tom Sawyer paints a fence” Green Lantern thing was pretty cute, but the black paint as an omen was a little too over the top!