Green Lantern #3

Green Lantern continues to be one of DC's better and more consistent reads, especially with Sinestro now in the starring role. This is not, however, an issue packed with much substance and story progression, making it a light read that is thankfully at least also an entertaining one.

Much of the entertainment and intrigue value comes from Sinestro. This is nothing new to readers of Geoff Johns' Green Lantern run, though. In this issue, Sinestro spends most of the time berating Hal Jordan and generally acting superior, which is great fun due to how much truth there is to all his behavior toward Hal. For me, faults make characters more interesting, so there is that added benefit to having Sinestro point out all of Hal's rather than the usual tendency of having characters so easily overlook them.

The B-plot of this issue revolves around the Guardians of the Universe as they deal with Ganthet's rebellion and their perceived failings of the Green Lantern Corps. The decision they reach is definitely an interesting one and has me eager to see how it plays out. On the other hand, their decision does come off feeling a little forced and Johns is really risking completely overplaying the dick-ish nature of the Guardians.

Carol Ferris makes a brief appearance early in this issue, and she unfortunately just continues her descent as a character. It is actually kind of amazing how not long ago she was this awesome Star Sapphire and has now so quickly been reduced to nothing but a lovesick puppy for Hal again. I know some had problems with her sexed up Star Sapphire costume, but no one can tell me that this current role is less degrading for her.

The main problem with this issue is one that really isn't restricted to just this issue. It has become more of a problem with Geoff Johns in general. Lately, he has gotten way too comfortable with a badly decompressed style of storytelling. He plots out issues like he is writing for trades and only works out how each issue can end on a shocking cliffhanger moment, even if there isn't enough substance between these moments for a full issue. This leads to issues like this one where very little actually happens. Sinestro and Hal go to Korugar, and something shocking happens to end the issue shortly after they get there. That is about it. Johns' stretches this out to fill the issue. I say stretches instead of pads, because padding implies that at least something of substance is shoved in to fill out an issue. That's just not really the case here. Johns isn't as terrible about it as some other writers are, yet. But this really is a habit he needs to stop being so comfortable with.

An annoyance I am having with this book at the moment is the lack of Soranik Natu, who is not only Sinestro's daughter but the other Green Lantern of Korugar. I hope Johns is saving her for a little later, because it really makes no sense that she is not involved at all in any of this. Her father has been reinstated into the Green Lantern Corps. The Sinestro Corps is terrorizing her home. It really makes no sense to have her absent, and it's really not like there isn't plenty of room in this issue to touch on her status.

Green Lantern remains an entertaining read, but a fire needs to be lit under Johns to either step up the pace of his stories or make them more substantial. Light issues like this one are becoming the norm rather than exceptions. Sinestro being a compelling jerk can only carry so much of an issue, and the thrill of Johns' usual cliffhangers has lost quite a bit of its effect in the past couple of years.