Albert Avilla Reviews: Green Lantern #14

Green Lantern #14
DC Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Christian Alamy, Mark Irwin, Keith Champagne and Tom Nguyen

“Courage” (Spoilers!)

The Guardians are planning to destroy the Green Lantern Corps. Okay, we covered this before. Now, it’s time for the new Lantern to get into some action. The Justice League is on the scene; there is going to be some major throwing-down going on in this piece, yeah, buddy!

Nope! We get some jibber-jabber about helping Simon Baz get his ring off and finding out what happened to Hal Jordan . Once Batman puts his hands on the ring, Sinestro uses the ring’s energy to slap the Justice League off. Baz decides to run; he makes a car and fast and furiously gets his ass out of that situation. Don’t let the cover fool you; not a punch, a lasso, batarang, or trident was used in the making of this comic. How does Baz make his getaway? He confuses the League by making hundreds of cars and driving away.

Simon gets a lead on the van that blew up in the car factory. The Guardians who were guarding the vault are locked in the vault and the First Lantern is on the loose. Now, the Black Lantern shows up trying to find out where he is. Not finished yet; hold on. Some ominous figure shows up in the place where Hal and Sinestro are, and he’s ready to make Sinestro pay for his crimes. There are a lot of things happening in this story. The background has been set for this story. Now, let’s tie up the loose ends; it’s time to rumble. All this crossing-over and the only place that I can find some action is in the Red Lanterns.

The art is good. It is the strength of the book. The Justice League looks good. The artists are carrying their share of the load.

I rate Green Lantern 14 Read a Friend’s Copy. #3 (of 5) on the Al-O-Meter Ranking

Albert Avilla Reviews: Green Lantern #13

Green Lantern #13
DC Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Christian Alamy, Mark Irwin, Tom Nguyen, Keith Champagne & Marc Deering
Colors: Alex Sinclair with Tony Avina
Cover: Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, and Rod Reis

“Actions and Reactions” (Spoilers)
This is a “Rise of the Third Army” tie-in and the beginning of the Simon Baz Green Lantern era.

The president and Amanda Waller are discussing their concerns about Simon becoming a Green Lantern. Simon is out in the Florida Keys while the ring is mapping his neural pathways. Simon gets a conflicting message from Hal and Sinestro, but they do agree that the Guardians need to be stopped. The tattoo on Simon’s arm is glowing green and causing him pain.

Simon returns to Dearborn where his sister is being ostracized, because he is a suspected terrorist. Simon meets with his sister to enlist her help in his attempt to clear his name. Then, we get minions of the Guardians assimilating two truck drivers. Okay, they are not very discriminating. Simon is trying to avoid the cameras on a building when he gets sneaked. It’s the Justice League that sneaks him. What ever happened to honor? What about innocent before proven guilty?

We’ve been through the set-up process for two issues now. Now, it’s time for some fighting. I want to see what Mr. Baz brings to the table. Once the League is involved things should jump off nicely. I don’t want Simon talking his way out of this predicament. Drama has its place, but superhero fantasies are about earth shattering action. This is an emotional story, thus far; Johns has done a good job of making us sympathetic to Simon’s plight.

Good art, but it is not the kind of art that will bring that sense of awe. It doesn’t stand out from the crowd. Mahnke does a good job with the characters’ faces; that seems to be his strength.

I rate Green Lantern 13 Read a Friend’s Copy. #3 (of 5) on Al-O-Meter Ranking

Albert Avilla Reviews: Green Lantern #0

Green Lantern #0
DC Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Mark Irwin
Cover: Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, and Alex Sinclair

Simon Baz, the new Green Lantern, is the boldest move of The New 52. This is a cosmic shift in the comic paradigm. Let's create a hero from the most despised ethnic group in American Society. I can feel the shock waves reverberating through the comic book universe as I write. The haters are gorging themselves on haterade in preparation for their unfounded attacks on Johns for this visionary move. I don't know if this is the first Arabic superhero, but I do know it is the first to be the lead in a major title from an industry leader.

Ultimately, comic's highest aspiration is to inspire readers to live as heroes. Let's live the American creed. My question is why a car thief? I don't know what the ring's protocols are for choosing Lanterns, but why a criminal? The ring had an error in its functioning. All elements that could lead to interesting storylines in the future did, and that is what this story is about; foreshadowing things to come. I would have preferred to have the complete origin told here, but I'm sure this is going to tie into the events of the “Rise of the Third Army” crossover. The story itself does not live up to the social significance of the event. It was slow moving with action that reminded me of the average car chase in any police drama. It’s about what I’d expect from a story that is basically the prelude to a story.

The art was solid comic art. The first page told volumes in five panels; it invokes an emotional response in the reader. The rest was just good art.

On social significance alone I rate Green Lantern #0 Recommend It to a Friend.

The New 52 Review: GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1
DC COMICS

WRITER: Peter J. Tomasi
PENCILS: Fernando Pasarin
INKS: Scott Hanna
COLORS: Gabe El Taeb
LETTERS: Pat Brosseau
COVER: Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy with Randy Mayor
32pp, Color, $2.99

The best known Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, first appeared in Showcase #22 (September-October 1959). Not only was Hal a Green Lantern (of Sector 2814), he was also a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Technically, the Corps first appeared in Showcase #22 when Hal met Abin Sur, his forerunner. However, Hal didn’t meet another Green Lantern until Green Lantern #6 (May-June 1961).

With the re-launch of DC Comics’ superhero line, “The New 52,” the Green Lantern Corps gets its own comic book series (after decades of one-shots, miniseries, backups, and specials). The leads in this new series are Guy Gardner (Green Lantern of Sector 2814.2) and John Stewart (Green Lantern of Sector 2814.3).

Green Lantern Corps #1 (“Triumph of the Will”) opens with Green Lanterns being murdered in Space Sector 3599. Meanwhile, Guy and John are trying to lead meaningful lives as civilians on Earth.

Green Lantern Corps #1 looks like Green Lantern #1 because both series have artists doing the Brian Bolland-clone thing. In this case, Fernando Pasarin (pencils) and Scott Hanna (inks) have slightly more imaginative environments to draw and, in turn, win over Green Lantern’s penciller, Doug Mahnke. Writer Peter J. Tomasi does a good job setting up scenes involving murder and mystery, and the character drama he writes to depict John and Guy’s difficulties is good – poignant even in the case of Guy.

I’m not afraid to say that this Green Lantern title may be better than the main Green Lantern title.

B+

September 21st
BATMAN #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/batman-1.html
CATWOMAN #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/catwoman-1.html
NIGHTWING #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/nightwing-1.html
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/red-hood-and-outlaws-1.html
WONDER WOMAN #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/wonder-woman-1.html

The New 52 Review: GREEN LANTERN #1

GREEN LANTERN #1
DC COMICS

WRITER: Geoff Johns
PENCILS: Doug Mahnke
INKS: Christian Alamy with Tom Nguyen
COLORS: David Baron
LETTERS: Sal Cipriano
COVER: Ivan Reis and Joe Prado with Rod Reis (Variant cover by Greg Capullo)
32pp, Color, $2.99

The best known Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, first appeared in Showcase #22 (September-October 1959). Like other Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 (which includes Earth), wields a power ring, one of the most powerful weapons in universe. But times have changed.

There have been other Green Lanterns of 2814, and with the re-launch of DC Comics’ superhero line, “The New 52,” there is a new Green Lantern. Now, Hal Jordan’s nemesis, Thaal Sinestro, who first appeared in Green Lantern #7 (July-August 1961), replaces Jordan. Sinestro shares the spotlight with Jordan and apparently takes the lead in the new version of the flagship Green Lantern title.

As Green Lantern #1 opens, Thaal Sinestro faces the Guardians of the Universe on his way to being the new Green Lantern (of Sector 2814). Sinestro’s first stop is his home world, Korugar, which is besieged by Sinestro’s own Yellow Lanterns. Meanwhile, Hal Jordan seems to be having every kind of life crisis he can have but then, help is offered…

Once upon a time, in a rural home far, far away, I was a Green Lantern fan, but the character mostly bores me now. I didn’t read anything in this new Green Lantern to make me become a big fan again, but this is a good comic book, for the most part. The juxtaposition of Sinestro’s ascendance and Hal Jordan’s collapse gives the book some dramatic tension. The Yellow Lanterns and Guardians sequences did not appeal to me, so I see them as problems in an otherwise good comic book.

I must also commend penciller Doug Mahnke and inker Christian Alamy for creating some of the best Brian Bolland-clone art I’ve seen in a long time. I might come back for more that.

B

September 14th

BATMAN AND ROBIN #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/batman-and-robin-1.html
FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/frankenstein-agent-of-shade-1.html
SUPERBOY #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/superboy-1.html