Green Lantern Corps #25 Review

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #25
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art and cover by Patrick Gleason and Prentis Rollins

I'm just not sure what to think about this issue of Green Lantern Corps. It was good, but seemed to lose focus at points and the entire Black Mercy retcon came out of nowhere.

As I said, the Black Mercy's were retconned in this issue. The Mercy queen, Mother Mercy, is sentient and has existed for untold years. It pretty much is the planet and even controls its gravitational pull somehow. Instead of leaving us believing Mongul killed all the people that made up the "dead zone" around the planet, it's actually Mother Mercy's doing.

After discovering she could interface with humanoid beings and induce dreamlike states for them when she found a dying alien crashed upon the planet surface, Mother Mercy decides she will send her children throughout the stars to give peace and happyness to the sick and dying whom cannot be saved. She never intended to be used as a weapon and it was only when Mongul first came to this planet many years ago that this happened.

Seems Mother Mercy didn't want to reveal they were alive or empathic creatures, so just let Mongul take her children every once in a while, opting to stay hidden. The dead zone is due to the fact she needed food for her millions of children and she randomly "pulls" down the dead bodies to feed the Mercy's.

Yes, they spent most of the issue explaining this odd segue into the Black Mercy origins and she only attacked the Green Lanterns because they were killing her children. It looks like they are going to team up to fight Mongul next issue to stop him from genetically altering Mother's children into fear inducing monsters.

However, Mongul noticed the bodies falling to Mother Mercy's location and went to check it out. He blind sides several of the GL's at the end, sticking them with the modified fear Mercy's.

Verdict - Check It. I liked this issue, but it was one of the odder books I read this week. Not sure why they needed to create such an elaborate retcon for the Black Mercy plants instead of just having a big brawl with Mongul and the Sinestro Corps lackies he's recruited.

Click Here to Read More!

Green Lantern Corps #24 Review

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #24
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Patrick Gleason and Prentis Rollins

Well, Mongul is one messed up individual. Apparently, the planet he's seeded with the Black Mercies has a ring around it. Nothing special, right? We've seen lots of planets with ring formations. Hell, our solar system has a bunch of them in the outer parts. Well, not like this one. It's made of dead bodies and it's thick enough to impede the Lanterns' descent to the planet. Awesome.

Oh, speaking of the Black Mercies, I was afraid this issue would turn into a rehash of the last Green Lantern appearance by Mongul where Ollie and Hal had perfect dream worlds for two issues before taking down Mongul in the span of a few pages. Well, not this time. It appears Mongul has reverse engineered the Black Mercies to be more in line with the Sinestro Corps' fear motif and they now generate absolute fears for those they enslave.

Ion and Arisia received a two page splash page depicting their inner fears and Ion's appears to be related to the Blackest Night prophecy from back in the old Alan Moore Green Lantern Annual. It seems to have him getting attacked by shadowy figures with giant metal poles, similar to the White Lobe's stabbing him with the lead pipes in the Annual, a scene where a rainbow of rings pierce his chest, showing the various corps' rings flying through his chest, and other shots of him failing as Ion and being the "last one", in reference to last Green Lantern. Not a spot on reenactment, but pretty interesting nonetheless. Arisia's fear sequence showed her buried alive, from back when she "died", and even a shot of what looked like Parallax escaping from a Manhunter's body and jumping at her. Something to look for in the future or just random fear related dreams?

The rest of the issue deals with some boring, for me, at least, recaps of Mongul's origin and history for those that don't know who he is or only came on during the Sinestro Corps War and the search for Ion and Arisia. The GL's retrieve both, who appear to be alive, but in critical condition, but are interrupted by an angry "queen" Black Mercy that seems upset they killed so many of her children. Not sure how it will put up a fight, though.

Where was Mongul during all this? Well, he was making some kind of planet seeding gun construct as he fired the modified fear Black Mercy seeds into space to, I supose, land on random or targetted planets and begin spreading fear and taking over those planets, too. I suspect he'll show up next issue for the showdown with the Green Lanterns.

Finally, we had a seen with the sciencells on Oa, where Sinestro, and every other Sinestro Corps member held captive, begain cutting themselves and drawing symbols on their cell windows. I'm not positive, as I don't have my Corps symbols memorized, but I think they looked like the Red Lantern logo, but it could have simply been the Sinestro Corps one.

Verdict - Must Read. It was a great issue that had some very interesting developments for everyone. I enjoyed the fear dreams Ion and Arisia had, although I still dislike Ion being out of action so easily, and was impressed with Mongul's continued plans and just about everything was done right this issue with the sole exception being that boring recap section.

Click Here to Read More!

Green Lantern Corps #23 Review

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #23
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Patrick Gleason and Prentis Rollins

I've been reading Green Lantern for a while now, dating back to off and on stints around when Hal went crazy. Oh wait, I mean was possessed by a giant fear bug. What I'm trying to say is, I don't recall ever seeing the rings pull someone, whether they want to or not, back to Oa. Am I just forgetting this ability or is this new? Seems odd it would endanger innocents or prevent the robot GL from reforming his body, which seems like it would be a useful thing to have. However, it was funny seeing Guy getting dragged off by the ring while he was sleeping.

It's definitely good to be back to Tomasi's story. Mongul is busy cultivating those weird "dreamworld" inducing plants of his and has also been busy hunting down and recruiting, or killing, Sinestro Corps members, depending on whether they accept or decline his "offer".

The Guardians have noticed the disappearance of these rings and send the GL's they dragged back to Oa (why not just message them through the ring?) to investigate. This happens to be in the off limits to Green Lanterns Vega system and, as expected, leads to some complications. Ion, fresh off some sun bathing, gets taken out by one of the dream plants of Mongul along with Arisia and taken captive. Kind of sad seeing Ion taken out so quick. Seems to be suffering Sentry-itis where he's too powerful for a story so he gets taken out conveniently at the start.

Still, solid returning issue, but a little light weight, with it mostly being set up for upcoming issues. Definitely worth a read, though.

Verdict - Check It

Click Here to Read More!

Green Lantern Corps #22 Review

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #22
Written by Sterling Gates
Art by Nelson

This two part filler story comes to a close this issue and I'm still left wondering what the point of it was. We didn't learn anything new about Alpha Lanterns or how the changes affect the person and based on this arc, it looks like they are weaker than a regular Green Lantern since a group of non-powered space pirates managed to take Booddika down with relative ease. She got the job done in the end, but it wasn't a very impressive outing for the Alpha Lanterns.

Another thing that made no sense to me was her sister. She, whether she knew it or not, willingly attacked space ships and helped her sisters in their pirating efforts. Ignorance is no excuse for crimes and just because she has strong willpower, the Guardians only punishment for her was to make her have to charge her ring in her sister's chest. She remains on active duty with full priveleges other than that small set back. They don't even make her report to boot camp with Kilowog. Combined with letting a murder victim go free in Green Lantern, the Guardians' are really crappy at the whole law enforcement thing.

Verdict - Check It

Click Here to Read More!

Green Lantern Corps #21 Review

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #21
Written by Sterling Gates
Art and Cover by Nelson

DC, DC, DC, what the heck are you trying to do to Green Lantern and GLC? Between multiple artists, guest pencillers and this issue's fill in writer, I think you got tired of Green Lantern upstaging the Big 3 and are actively trying to turn away new readers that jumped on.

That's not to say this issue is absolutely terrible, but Gates' writing style is decidedly old school. By this, I mean he uses huge walls of text boxes and characters feel the need to use pointless exposition to announce every little detail, such as whether green makes Boodika look fat or not.

There must be a reason for forcing this story on us in lieu of Tomasi's Mongul storyline, which was put on the backburner for a few issues. I don't know if it's because he needed more time or if DC just wanted to milk some Alpha Lantern hype before the end of that arc in the main GL title.

Oh, the story for this issue? Boodika acts like a bitch with her new Alpha Lantern powers. Other Lost Lanterns want her to help save their friend, who's up for murder. She refuses. We get flashback to who she was before she became a GL. Then Guardians conveniently give her a mission that leads her back to her homeworld to stop her sister, who has become a rogue Green Lantern. I honestly don't care how this story plays out at this point in time.

Verdict - Check It

Click Here to Read More!

Green Lantern Corps #20 Review

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #20
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Patrick Gleason & Prentis Rollins

This was a good issue let down by the multiple artist changes throughout. The artists don't even have the same styles or compliment each other like Reis and Van Sciver do on the main GL title. When the art in this issue is good, it's nice, but the sudden dips in quality as you turn the page are really jarring.

The issue basically deals with Guy and Kyle wanting to run away from their lives and all the responsibilities and hardships they've had to put up with over the past year. The two decide to move to Oa permanently. Once there, the two have a hilarious conversation with Salaak as they request permission to open up a new bar on Oa. It might not come off as funny for new comers, but if you know Guy and Salaak and have seen how they interact over the course of this title, there's no way you won't enjoy this scene.

On the Sinestro Corps side of things, Mongul, the big yellow guy on the cover there, gets aquainted with the new ring he acquired last issue. He does this in badass fashion as he request the ring tell him everything it knows about its functions. When the ring informs him it will take roughly a 100 hours to do this, Mongul simply replies do it as time means nothing to him and proceeds to stand there for the better part of a week listening and learning. Later he crows over the body of his dead sister, who he killed early on in the Green Lantern title. Yes, he left the rotting corpse in his throne room so he could gloat over her decaying body. It appears he's going to be hunting down any and all rings that are currently seeking new owners and claim them as his own, but that's just my speculating based on the last page.

One thing that was curious to me was when the Guardians were tracking Sinestro rings A bunch of them just randomly blinked off their scans and they could no longer track them. Did they go back to Qwaard in the Anti-Matter Universe? Is that why they couldn't track them? Do they stop showing up when they get new owners? Were they destroyed or something? Also, what's up with the last page? It says "To Be Continued" and then says stuff about Mongul and the Alpha Lanterns but to check in GLC #23. This is issue #20, so what's up with the next two issues? One last question I have is with Mongul's ring. Why wasn't he transferred to Qwaard when he received it like Amon Sur or anyone else was? Is it because the Anti-Monitor is "dead"? I thought it was just the ring that pulled you into the Anti-Matter Universe.

Verdict - Must Read. Despite the multiple artists, this is still a good read that sets the stage for future issues. Mongul appears to be returning to his father's pre-Crisis status of badass, but I hope they don't punk him out the first chance they get. The guy has been through enough. Let him at least maim a Green Lantern before you have Ion or Guy put a beat down on him.

Click Here to Read More!

Green Lantern Corps #18 Review

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #18
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Art and Cover by Pat Gleason and Prentis Rollins

Well, this was unexpected. With only two issues left to the Sinestro Corps War, I expected this issue to be an all out battle with Superman Prime and Sodam Yat that would finish off their part of this epic and remove the incredibly powerful Prime from playing field so we could see the final Sinestro VS Hal battle. What I got was half an issue of Sodam Yat's "origin", which consisted of showing his motivation and what the xenophobic Daxamite's homeworld is really like, and the other half consisting of the fight depicted on the cover.

The actual fight was excellent, though. I loved the heat vision battle that evaporated the entire lake. It was a nice touch. However, I'm not sure I agree with the use of the Daxamite's weakness to lead. They show how the ring reacts to his lead poisoning, but, considering he's Ion now, I just figured nothing as mundane as that would even play a part in this battle. The biggest surprise, however, is that Sodam loses the battle this issue. The last page has Prime holding his beaten and limp body as Guy and John come to his rescue.

However, that fight turned out a lot different than what I expected, but I have a couple minor complaints. Apparently, Sodam and Prime battled all day long and all across the planet with no interferance or help from any other heroes. I don't mind the solo battle, but, based on the description, they fought for hours and no one came to help him until the very end of the issue? Superman, Supergirl and Power Girl didn't seem to be injured at the end of the Prime special. They couldn't spare a second to help him out? It's a small complaint, and I'll admit I'm nitpicking, but it just struck me as odd, to be honest.

Verdict - Must Read. The review might read a little negative, but this is really another great addition to the Sinestro Corps War and the only thing I'm worried about is the final part in next month's Green Lantern #25. That issue already looks like it will be jam packed trying to wrap up all the loose ends and, with Prime still undefeated or seriously injured at the end of this issue, it looks like they've left another huge plot point to be wrapped up in GL #25. I'm just worried it's going to be a rushed ending that spoils an otherwise perfect story.

Click Here to Read More!

Green Lantern Corps #17 Review

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #17
Written by Dave Gibbons
Art and cover by Pat Gleason & Prentis Rollins

The Sinestro Corps War is building up to its conclusion and the war has finally hit Earth. After last month's Battle of Mogo, the GLC shows up on Earth, ready to put a stop to the Sinestro Corps. This issue was good, but not quite as good as previous parts. I think it might be the disjoint nature of having several parts of the story taking place in different issues, such as the Cyborg Superman or Superman Prime stuff all happening off panel in other books that makes this issue feel like it's missing something. On top of that, there's like 4 or 5 different artists on this issue and some of the transitions are just brutal to see and that Superman Prime at the end is just horrible. It looks like a female transvestite version of Prime.

The contents of this issue deal with the GLC spreading out over Earth to combat the Sinestro Corps' incursion. With lethal force enablea, it appears the GLC is just too strong for the Sinestro Corps lately, which seems to conflict with how overpowered the Sinestro's were earlier in the war. It's still awesome to see many of the Lanterns I know kicking ass and taking it to the Sinestro Corps, but the writers seem to be undermining the entire threat of the SC through the dominating presence of the GLC as of late.

On the GL front, I was glad to see Natu back. She's received a lot of face time in this book and I've missed her since her last appearance when she met up with Sinestro on their homeworld.

The Kilowogg / Arkillo fight was similar to their previous encounters in that it just didn't have enough space devoted to doing it proper justice. It was badass when he dropped the aircraft carrier on him though.

As for Sodam Yat, he continues to impress in this issue. He reminds me of Hal Jordan when he first became a GL with his cocky, "I can do anything" attitude. It was interesting to see him try and take it to the Anti-Monitor when he had no clue how powerful he really was. Having him keep getting up after each assault was pretty good showing his determination in the face of such an overwhelming threat.

The biggest happening this issue, though, is the return of Ion. The Guardians decided they need a new Ion now and speed up their plans. Their choice? Sodam Yat. I honestly wasn't expecting it this soon. I expected post-SCW he would receive the power up in honour of his deeds and actions in the war. Aside from the prophecy, the Guardians have never shown any interest in Yat and there has been no real reason to give it to him in particular. I have no problem with Yat getting it and look forward to his fight with Prime, but it just didn't seem like the time or place for his receiving it.

Verdict - Must Read. Even with the problems dealing with the various plotpoints happening in tie-ins and other books, this is still an awesome addition to the SCW. Action packed and a key moment in GL history with Yat becoming Ion make this a Must Read.

Click Here to Read More!

Green Lantern Corps #16 Review

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #16
Written by Dave Gibbons
Art by Pat Gleason & Prentis Rollins

GLC was easily the Book of the Week for me this week. After being delayed last week, the anticipation was nearly killing me and I was worried I might be putting this book on a pedestal and it would not be able to live up to my expectations. Thankfully Gibbons & Co put together an incredible finish to the battle over Mogo part of the Sinestro Corps War.

Picking up where we left off last month, Mogo is still in danger from the Children of the White Lobe and the sentient city, Ranx. Sodam Yat, another character listed as a key factor in the Prophecy of the Blackest Night with Mogo, is also still in the thick of things. This issue actually spends a lot of time focusing on the new character Sodam Yat. Up until this point he had been mainly a side character and I believe only mentioned by name 2 or 3 times at most and had never had any actual dialogue. They actually make him live up to his 'Ultimate Green Lantern' moniker without it feeling forced. I'm very hopeful he will be sticking around as a main focus in the GLC book.

If you don't know who Sodam Yat is though, he is a Daxamite Green Lantern. Daxamites are basically genetic cousins to Kryptonians and are an entire planet of Supermen characters when exposed to yellow sunlight with their only weakness being lead, which is the equivalent to their kryptonite. It's pretty easy to see how he received the 'ultimate' tag as it is pretty hard to imagine anything more powerful than a Superman with a GL ring at his disposable and that is basically what Sodam is.

The art in this issue is my only complaint. For having an extra week's worth of time, there is a noticeable dip in quality from the last several issues of this book. It still looks good and is better than most books can boast, but was something that immediately struck me. There's a scene with Kilowog that has his head looking like a big pink blob with teeth and almost no details despite him being the focus of the scene.

Despite the minor complaint with the art, this issue was nearly perfect and maintains the high standards of the Sinestro Corps War with an explosive finish to the Ranx / Mogo battle. I loved seeing the reactions of the various Lanterns as the rings revealed that lethal force had been enabled and many of them almost seemed to be in a blood lust afterwards. Not sure if it will relate to the Red Lanterns hinted at in Booster Gold, which is written by Green Lantern's Johns, or just a heat of the moment type response from everyone. Either way, can't wait to get more of this story.

Verdict - Must Read

Click Here to Read More!

Green Lantern Corps #15 Review

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #15
Written by Dave Gibbons
Art by Patrick Gleason

Yet another stellar issue in the Sinestro Corps War crossover. This issue moves the plot along nicely and give the reader an excellent sense of scope of the war and just how big a threat the Sinestro Corps really is.

The bulk of the issue deals with the assault on Mogo, the living planet and member of the Green Lantern Corps. We are given some interesting information concerning Mogo and his importance to the Corps outside regular Lantern duties.

Apparently, Mogo is the guiding force behind the rings and how they choose new Lanterns. Without him, the rings cannot seek out new recruits. Very interesting revelation and makes this battle that much more dire for the GLC. As this is a fight issue, we are given plenty of action.

The artists do an excellent job of displaying the different personalities of each Lantern in the way each is depicted using their ring, whether it is Vath, the ex-solider, using gun constructs to represent his power or his partner, Isamot, using more organic, spike like constructs or even the robotic Stel holding his body together and creating technological extensions with the ring. Each is displayed perfectly and few words are needed to get each person's personality off towards the reader.

The best and worst part of this issue is the fight between Arkillo and Kilowog featured on the cover image. The fight is brutal and awesome all at the same time and Kilowog's, "I care!", line is perfect and emotion packed. The only problem is how short the fight is. No winner was declared and I am sure they will meet up again next issue, but their fight was so good I am left wanting more from it. It is not really a complaint so much as my being greedy.

The issue expands on the Blackest Night prophecy and we see the various omens come to pass as the Children of the White Lobe are revealed to be on Ranx and Sodam Yat is destined to die at their hands. Ranx is also ripping into Mogo's crust to reveal his core, which is also prophesied as to herald the end of the Corps. I love how Johns and Gibbon have built upon this prophecy, first seen back in the 80's in a Alan Moore GL Annual, and cannot wait to see how the Lanterns survive.

The ending of this issue picks up the Lost Lanterns storyline from Green Lantern and shows them meeting up with none other than the Anti-Monitor himself. It was an awesome splash page that gave me an, "Oh f---!" moment and cemented this as one of the best issues in the Sinestro War to date. Cannot wait for next months issue.

Verdict - Must Read

Click Here to Read More!

Green Lantern Corps Archives

Archives - Back Issue Bins - DC - Green Lantern Corps

Green Lantern Corps

Green Lantern Corps #1 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #2 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #3 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #4 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #5 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #6 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #7 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #8 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #9 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #10 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #11 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #12 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #13 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #14 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #15 - Sinestro Corps War - Verdict - Must Read
Green Lantern Corps #16 - Sinestro Corps War - Verdict - Must Read
Green Lantern Corps #17 - Sinestro Corps War - Verdict - Must Read
Green Lantern Corps #18 - Sinestro Corps War - Verdict - Must Read
Green Lantern Corps #19 - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #20 - Mongul - Verdict - Must Read
Green Lantern Corps #21 - Alpha Lanterns - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #22 - Alpha Lanterns - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #23 - Mongul vs. GLC - Verdict - Check It
Green Lantern Corps #24 - Mongul vs. GLC - Verdict - Must Read
Green Lantern Corps #25 - Mongul vs. GLC - Verdict - Check It

Click Here to Read More!