Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Dough Mahnke“The Secret of the Indigo Tribe,” part 1! The GL team of Hal Jordan and Sinestro must investigate a crime that leads them to the Indigo homeworld in deep space. And what they find there will not only shock them, but also change the way you look at Lantern lore!
Another day, another ring, am I right, guys? This time Hal and Sinestro, the buddy cop movie that almost can continues! But is it worth a buy?
Why do you saunter past the cut for an idea of how good (or bad!) this book is.
Every time he thinks he’s out, they pull him back in! Hal must think he’s Al Pacino right now. First the Corps fired him, and he felt lost. Then Sinestro made him his bitch personal assistant so they could take on the Sinestro Corps. Now he’s actually content not being the Green Lantern anymore, and Sinestro forces him to come along once again! Man, that’s rough.
Some may have thought that Johns’ run on Green Lantern was waning, and it was time for him to move on to tell other stories with other characters. His Aquaman has been one of the best in the New 52, and dammit, I love Justice League in spite of its inherent silliness. The main belief is that, along with Bendis on the various Avengers books, that all the stories that he could tell have already been told. Thankfully, this book bucks that notion completely. One might assume that he’s nearing the end of his epic run of the Emerald Warriors, now that the assumed next event is the attempted destruction of the Corps at the hands of their own creators. Until then, it seems that Johns is tying up any loose ends in his story. This new arc: “The Secret of the Indigo Tribe” hints at that as well, as they were the only Corps that was still shrouded in mystery. Maybe he IS running out of ideas, but this book has been a lot of fun since the relaunch.
What is certainly interesting about the book is the about face Hal has taken in regards to his attitude about BEING a Green Lantern. It’s always been said that there were only two born heroes in the DC Universe: Superman and Hal Jordan. Hal doesn’t seem to want to be a hero anymore, instead being content to test airplanes and have copious amounts of sex spend time with Carol in Coast City. In addition to that, it seems like Sinestro may respect Hal’s skills more than he lets on, because of the fact Sinestro would not threaten Hal like he did if Hal didn’t WANT to, he’d simply go coerce his daughter’s boyfriend (ex-boyfriend?) or get Guy or John or god forbid even Kilowog. There is more here than what is printed on the page.
Some of the things hinted in this book certainly cause for the Green Lantern fan in all of us to get excited for more. For starters, the things in this book that are only hinted at, but are implied to be addressed are as follows:
- Carol is using her Star Sapphire ring again, and will likely play a large role in the upcoming arc
- The Black Hand is back, and if Johns holds to his previous statements, he’s angry.
- The Indigo Tribe are actually quite dick-ish. At least for a group powered by compassion.
- The Guardians are still dicks (but we knew that one.)
Sure these are so obvious they might as well be telegraphed, but that doesn’t detract from the excitement. In fact, having a clear idea of what MIGHT happen makes the excitement all that much more palpable.
I’ve always been more of a writer guy, focusing on the written words and the plot over the art, and in this case, it may be true again, but nevertheless, Mahnke once again proves why he’s one of the big guns, illustrating one of the marquee titles in the DC Universe. His designs are incredible, containing breathtakingly gorgeous pieces with some of the best sense of movements in the business. The inkers are no slouches either, as Christian Alamy and Keith Champagne, create even more depth than what was already on the page. The colors as well are indispensible in a book like this, seeing as how their very concept is based on the color spectrum. Alex Sinclair’s colors make the constructs pop off the page in a very real way. Just look at the page where Sinestro holds a gun construct. The power seems to radiate from the book, and you can almost feel the crackling energy. That is incredibly impressive to pull off, month in and month out. What a team.
Is this book highbrow literature? No, it’s not, but when I’m looking for a Green Lantern book, this is what I want: space cops taking on the universe. This book is a lot of fun, and that is all I ask from a comic. Shouldn’t that be enough?
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy
