Green Lantern: Blackest Night by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis
Rating: ★★★★1/2
Blackest Night is possibly the biggest crossover event from DC Comics. With Geoff Johns’ run coming to an end this May, I decided to revisit this Green Lantern epic. This series is pure spectacle. We are introduced to the new corps all bearing their own bright lights all of which shine on the pages thanks to the artwork of Dough Mahnke. Take away Johns’ writing and you’ve still got a beautiful book to admire. But, thankfully, we do have John’s writing and, coupled with this great artwork, we get one of the greatest Green Lantern stories ever told. Blackest Night is very close to simply DC’s answer to Marvel Zombies, but it’s done in a much more intelligent way. There’s a lot more explanation behind it, without being unapologetic about having a Zombie story. This series is non-stop action, but it certainly isn’t mind-numbing. There’s a lot of depth behind this story, it really is driven by the characters. Characters that can spread thin, however. The story really revolves around Green Lantern and The Flash, but characters like The Atom and Sinestro still get their moments. However, eventually things become overwhelming and we have almost too many characters. Characters like Superman and Wonder Woman, however, really don’t get a look-in here. “Too many characters” is really the only thing this event suffers from. In almost all aspects, Blackest Night is the perfect crossover event and really sets a standard for all to follow it. It’s build on previous storylines whilst also acting as a game-changer in the comics industry. This is a story that I’ll go back and re-read many times in the future and is one that I would advise any aspiring avid comic-book reader to check out.
Green Lantern: Brightest Day by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke
Rating: ★★★★★
Brightest Day remains my favourite Green Lantern story. Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke are one of my favourite duos in comics right now, and Brightest Day is truly their finest moment. Brightest Day is as much the aftermath to Blackest Night as it is setup to the next big crossover event from Geoff Johns, War of the Green Lanterns. However, Brightest Day never feels like setup, because this is a story that never stops moving. As Hal Jordan must follow the trails of the Entities, we are reintroduced to some of our favourite characters in the Green Lantern universe such as Larfleeze, Atrocitus or Sinestro. All of Brightest Day’s characters are colourful and vibrant with their own interesting personalities and backstories thanks to Doug Mahnke’s astonishing artwork and Geoff Johns’ unmatched storytelling. Brightest Day is almost like an Anthology. With the introduction of each Entity, we gain a new insight into the Corps it fuels, and we learn more about the backstory of that Corps. Each chapter revolves around one different Corps. For example, Chapter Nine focuses on Atrocitus and the Red Lantern Corps. Not only does Johns do a great job of writing a short story interesting enough for Atrocitus to be able to carry his own issue without a protagonist like Hal Jordan, but we also gain a whole new outlook on his character. And the same goes for every other chapter in Brightest Day. Whether you’re reading about Carol Ferris and the Star Sapphires or Larfleeze the keeper of the Orange Light, any fan of the Green Lantern universe will be enthralled by Geoff Johns’ storytelling, and Doug Mahnke’s artwork is as bold and energetic as it’s ever been.
Green Lantern: War of the Green Lanterns by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke
Rating: ★★★★1/2
War of the Green Lanterns is the epic event that has been built to since Brightest Day and the re-introduction of Krona. Not only does this event live up to its hype instead of collapsing under its own weight, like many recent comic-book events of this scale, but it solidifies Krona as a villain worthy of being a part of Green Lantern’s rogues gallery. War of the Green Lanterns is a comic-book event of epic proportions that, instead of being an excuse to sell more books and include non-stop action, ultimately takes the Green Lantern universe into an unfamiliar, unexplored but intriguing direction. Like any comic, it has its share of bad jokes and convenient plot twists, but overall this is an event that has clearly been a long time in the making and comes off as very well-orchestrated by Geoff Johns, who once again goes where no Green Lantern writer has gone before. Although the comic must balance four [very] different characters, it does a great job of giving each character their own heroic moment. Their characters are also well-written enough, that it seems appropriate when, for example, Kyle Rayner picks up a Blue ring (Hope), whilst Guy Gardner goes for a Red Ring (Rage). This is also because we’ve know these characters for years, but Geoff Johns does a great job reminding us why each character is so appropriate for the ring they choose. Johns’ never lets us forget that Hal Jordan is a character who faces death every day, and did so even before he became a Green Lantern, so it’s no surprise that he would pick up a Yellow ring (Fear). The nine issues build to an epic conclusion that does not disappoint, and sets a new path for Green Lantern as we enter The New 52. Although the major characters are well balanced, I would have liked to have seen more of characters like Sinestro, Carol, Larfleeze, Kilowog and others who, unfortunately, are majorly overlooked in this event until towards the end. It’s certainly interesting to see Sinestro become the series’ new protagonist by the end of the event when he finds himself wielding a Green Lantern ring once again, as it sets the scene for Geoff Johns’ new Green Lantern series that begins with the launch of The New 52. Overall, Geoff Johns does it again with this space-epic that never fails to disappoint. War of the Green Lanterns is a celebration of everything Green Lantern and sets the course for a whole new direction for the series.
As we rapidly approach Geoff Johns' final issue of Green Lantern, #20 released May 22nd, I will be revisiting Sinestro (#1-6), Revenge of the Black Hand and Rise of the Third Army, my reviews of which will be up later this month.
"...in blackest night..."
-George