“Lights Out” comes to an end, marking the first major climax of the Venditti Green Lantern era. While it fails to reach the quality level of “Sinestro Corps War” or “Blackest Night,” it brings some of the biggest changes to the Green Lantern mythology since the yellow fear bug.
Written by Robert Venditti
Illustrated by Sean ChenDon’t miss the stunning conclusion of “Lights Out!” Can Relic be defeated? Who lives? Who dies? The new status quo for the Lanterns is revealed here!
In many ways “Lights Out,” and the issues that proceeded it, are Robert Venditti’s personal “Green Lantern: Rebirth.” While it took a bit longer to get there, Venditti has essentially remade the Green Lantern universe to suit him, just as Johns did before him. The result is a drastically new status quo that feels wholly different from what fans have come to expect over the last decade.
In “Green Lantern Annual” Venditti does a fantastic job of pulling together the disparate threads of the various Lantern books. The best part of “Lights Out” is how each book has played a worthwhile role in the proceedings. Even the problematic (and generally unlikeable) Red Lanterns have an important part to play. The conclusion has a grand and epic scope, drawing in the still enigmatic Indigo Lanterns, the mysterious Source Wall, and the various emotional entities.
However, even with the large cast and galactic trappings, it still feels as if Venditti is playing with a half empty deck. Major players like Larfleeze and Parallax are conspicuously absent from the issue, likely do to there involvement in other ongoing stories. It’s an understandable fault, but it definitely raises a few “suspension of disbelief” alarms.
Another unfortunate sore-thumb is the character of Relic. While Venditti and company did a great job of building the character up prior to “Lights Out,” he’s failed to make a lasting impression over the course of his first major outing. More plot device than character, Relic is the necessary catalyst for Venditti’s new vision and little more.
Speaking of vision, artist Sean Chen does a respectable job bringing Venditti’s story to life. His style is loose and sketchy, reminiscent of Brett Booth’s work, but far cleaner. Chen nails all the widescreen, cosmic light-fueled mayhem “Green Lantern” is known for. However, Chen’s work isn’t quite as powerful as previous “Green Lantern” big guns like Doug Mahnke and Ethan Van Sciver. That reality alone pulls a lot of the impact out of “Lights Out.”
For all its faults, its hard not feel a sense of excitement after reading this issue. For all that it lacks in refinement and clout, it makes up for in gumption. Venditti has left “Green Lantern” open to a wide array of new story possibilities. Each book spinning out of the crossover bears a distinct new mission statement that is stronger than the one it had coming in, a huge success for any crossover. Venditti has done something I didn’t think possible in such a short amount of time; he has successfully distanced himself from Johns’ run. Some of the changes don’t sit quite well with this reviewer, but you know what they say about breaking a few eggs. Regardless, Venditti and the rest of the Lantern creative teams deserve accolades for their willingness to forego convention in favor of new and interesting stories.
Final Verdict: 7.3 – Browse – “Lights Out” lacks the high “production value” of more recent Green Lantern events, but makes up for it with a strong, game-changing story.
