cyclonus_the_warrior's Green Lantern #2 - Volume 2: The Revenge of the Black Hand review

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    Leading towards The Third Army.

    Sinestro returns to Earth with intentions on forcing Hal Jordan back into his service after dismissing him only hours earlier. Sinestro learned something new involving the Guardians of the Universe which will spell disaster for everyone; before he and Hal can make an agreement they're attacked by the Indigo Tribe and Sinestro is kidnapped. Now on their planet Nok, Hal must find a way to rescue Sinestro. -summary

    During the New 52 reboot, Green Lantern was one of the two superheroes whose universe did not change in the slightest, and his story moved forward heavily building on past events, Blackest Night and War of the Green Lanterns most notably. This actually went against DC's intention to restart their universe specifically for new readers to jump on and enjoy their characters. Green Lantern Volume One: Sinestro clearly began as a story going on about things people should know; yet it was so well written by Geoff Johns many of these new readers enjoyed the story anyway. Long time readers whom had been following Green Lantern through out Johns run loved the deeper dive into the GL mythos. Green Lantern Vol. 2: The Revenge of Black Hand continues this and it does everything a comic of this magnitude should do; it continues making cool characters even cooler, brings back an awesome villain, and furthers story development by setting up the next future event. This TPB collects Green Lantern issues 7 - 12 and #0.

    Green Lantern: The Revenge of Black Hand is not exactly newbie friendly. It requires reading the first volume prior, because it better explains the reason Sinestro has full control over Hal's lantern ring, therefore being able to force him into service. I don't believe readers will be lost starting here, but it makes no sense to since the first volume is so easily accessible.

    The story picks up when Sinestro shares the knowledge with Hal Jordan, that the Guardians of the Universe whom the Green Lantern's have served for so long are planning to create what they call The Third Army. The Guardians see the Green Lantern's as failures, to correct this they're going to wipe them out along with all of the color-based corps, thus reshaping the universe and removing free will. This is the Guardians like never before and it was quite unexpected.

    This story is really good. This is not auto-pilot Johns we got for Justice League Origins and The Villain's Journey. This is the Johns whom spent nearly a decade making Green Lantern into arguably DC's best character, and had recently done a wonderful job on Aquaman. If the characters don't grab you for some odd reason, then the story and artwork will. Hal and Sinestro's very uneasy relationship goes through further development, and although Sinestro is still as cold-blooded as ever going so far to threaten the lives of the Indigo Tribe. There's still a possibility for him towards redemption, as we're getting traces of the hero he could be. I like their buddy cop like partnership. They don't like each other which leads to some funny insults at times; but what I enjoy is the amount of class applied by Johns when providing the comedy. He never steps into unwanted territory and it makes for fluid and coherent storytelling.

    This TPB collects two story arcs: The Secret of the Indigo Tribe and The Revenge of Black Hand. Both of these stories are important as far as propelling the main plot is concerned. The latter portion is the best though, as Black Hand begins using his Black Lantern ring to raise the dead once again. The action is good all around so I can't imagine action fans walking away disappointed.

    The artwork by Doug Mahnke, Ethan Van Sciver, and others is still as great as the previous volume. I like the character designs and the backgrounds a lot. There's plenty of detail with the characters from the curvy women to the lifeless eyes and facial designs of Black Hand. There's great imagination for the different species of aliens among the Indigo Tribe. This is just another area of Green Lantern comics I love the most. The sci-fi atmosphere is constantly intriguing because you will always be introduced to another form of life, which further establishes how vast the universe is. The action panels get it on with cool lantern constructs such as Hal Jordan creating a chainsaw to battle the undead or a race car for a get away. The colorist earn their money bringing positive and negative vibes across these vivid splash pages; the graveyard is dark and well done getting its sinister tone across which feels fitting for the undead Black Hand. The rain soaked jungles, the energy clashes in the backgrounds and foreground, all exceptionally well done for those who praise artwork before anything else.

    The Revenge of Black Hand only has one problem I can imagine people having an issue with and it's the cliffhanger ending. This book demands quickly following up the story arc which continues in Green Lantern: Rise of the Third Army. I highly recommend following this story to get all the buzz behind Green Lantern once the New 52 began. There are good reasons why many comic fans hail it is as one of the better runs among the big two.

    Pros: Characters carry the story well, amazing artwork

    Cons: Cliffhanger ending

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