Green Lantern #16

Summary

Simon Baz, having now cleared his name to Agent Fed, sets off to locate Sinestro’s old Lantern Battery, with B’dg in toe. As the story progresses B’dg begins to teach Baz how to use his ring and be a lantern, which leads to Simon attempting the greatest feat of will power in the history of the Corps. The issue ends with Sinestro and Hal in the dark world, and the reveal of the hooded figure’s identity.

What I liked

· The reveal: The figure beneath the cloak was actually a cool reveal. I completely wasn’t expecting it to be them, and will be a payoff for long long time Green Lantern fans.

· The Sinestro and Hal bits: Hal and Sinestro are both great characters in my mind. They have been through a lot and have both developed thusly. Even though they were in the issue for such a short amount of time, just seeing their faces and reading their dialogue brought some essence of quality and structure into this book.

What I didn’t like

· Doesn’t feel like an event: Sinestro Corps War. Blackest Night. War of the Green Lanterns. These were all Lantern stories that packed a punch. Every issue mattered and every issue left you wanting the next one as soon as you were finished. I think, because this it was a slow transition, it is easy to forget how exciting finishing a Green Lantern (or any DC series, really) was. Instead, The Rise of the Third Army feels weak and disconnected to anything. What adds insult to injury is that the next Lantern event happens... next month. Everything just feels so frivolous and the care attention which DC used to have has been replaced with something that is simply shoddy.

· Lack of quality: I realise I have covered a lot of this in the point above. However, I would like you to do something for me. Right now. It will only take a second. Get an issue of the previous Green Lantern series, anything will do, and now open it and put it next to an open copy of Green Lantern issue #16. Notice how the creative team is largely the same, yet that the older issue has so much vibrancy and quality about it. The art work, the writing, the characterisation was all so much better, pre-new 52.

· Baz: I do not like Baz. He is not interesting and everything he does and represents seems without substance. Not only this, but he also become the Green Lantern equivalent of a messiah in under 24 hours, mastering the ring and using it to its full capabilities within seconds.

· Playing fast and loose with the rules: In this issue Baz brings his friend out of a coma with the power of the Green Lantern Ring. Not a Blue Ring – the one that’s meant to heal, a Green one. With this, and the many inaccuracies and rule bending in New Guardians, the whole lore which made the Green Lantern series so good is coming to pieces. Moreover, to make Baz more powerful than Hal and Sinestro so early on is ludicrous.

Verdict

It is easy to forget how amazing Green Lantern used to be a couple of years ago. Whether it is the simple fact that the series has run out of steam, or that the New 52 initiative is interfering, my once favourite series of all time is feeling tired and a little bit “tacky”. This is not an irreparable problem. The art needs to sharpen up to what it was in the series’ heyday and there needs to be more cohesion between the Lantern titles to deliver something that feels like real Lantern event. Although it wasn’t awful – this may be simply the first step to admitting that I’m done with Green Lantern.

4/10