Written by: Geoff Johns
Illustrated by: Doug MahnkeBRIGHTEST DAY blazes on as the New Guardians seeking the Indigo Entity are shocked to discover a sedated Black Hand. Can Hal Jordan trust the Indigo Tribe to house the herald of Nekron?
Unfortunately this book and The Flash have been put on the back burner while Geoff Johns focuses on Brightest Day, but both books tend to be worth the wait. This issue continues to flesh out the various lantern entities, something that fans have been curious about since the introduction of the different corps. Follow the cut to see if Johns still has the emerald touch.
When I first saw that this arc would devote approximately one issue to each entity, I was a bit skeptical. Iintroducing the entities one at a time, each with their own separate sub-plot, seems like an idea that would take a little more page space to accomplish effectively, and I wasn’t sure if Johns would be able to do a good job with limited space he had. In my opinion, though (and other Multiversity writers will disagree with me), he is handling the story really well. At no point does it seem too compressed or rushed, and that’s quite a feat.
Besides the story’s structure and pacing, there were a lot of things that I liked about this issue. What particularly interested me was the twist that Johns gave the Indigo Lanterns, who might not be as compassionate as we were originally led to believe. I don’t know about you, faithful readers, but I definitely want to find out more about that. And how about that last page? If there’s one thing that Johns is good at, it’s giving an incentive to pick up the next issue and find out what exactly is going on. Also, I think Johns has made it a rule to put in at least one silly Larfleeze joke each issue.
There was one thing that really bothered me, though: Barry Allen labeling Green Arrow as a murderer. Seriously? I’m not a master in fictional justice, but just because Professor Zoom came back from the dead doesn’t mean that Barry didn’t kill him. It just comes off as incredibly hypocritical, and it’s pretty clear that Johns doesn’t intend to make Barry come off that way. I understand that everyone is supposed to be giving Ollie the cold shoulder, but it just comes off as continuity porn when the person referencing it has done the same sort of thing.
I can’t forget to mention the great Doug Mahnke. Mahnke truly has an impressive style that is all his own, one that equally works for the normal and mundane and the fantastical and otherworldly. The latter is particularly important for Green Lantern, and I love the way that Mahnke depicts all the entities, both when they are walking free and when they possess hosts (look at all those teeth!). Mahnke always gives a great story the justice it deserves, and his work on Green Lantern is no exception.
Final Verdict: 7.7 – Buy it!
