Green Lantern Vol. 5 # 48 - Gimme A Break

Before I get into this issue I really need to address something, and that something is Larfleeze. I feel he's being used inconsistently and I'm bothered by it.

Basically this alien is a self-contained lantern corp. Before he and the Guardians of the Universe came to an agreement Larfleeze was able to murder a dozen Guardians with his light. In fact during the Agent Orange storyline he was able to just materialize through a branding into the Guardian's inner sanctum and threaten them. He has no fear of the Guardians or of any other lantern corps because he's aware of what he's holding onto. That's how powerful he is, that's how destructive and deadly his orange light is, but UNFORTUNATELY that's not how Geoff Johns has been writing him during Blackest Night.
 
So I'm confused why Geoff Johns would establish Larfleeze as an unstable, incredibly powerful, and deadly opponent only to use him as some sort of "comic relief" during Blackest Night. He's used like an inside joke, just for laughs now instead of the savage and power hungry villain he was. I just feel it's inconsistent and throughout this issue it was something I kept becoming aware of.

Anyway, that complaint is minor when compared to how fucking fantastic this issue was. We were finally treated to an event that's been highly anticipated and talked about since Blackest Night was first whispered: the assembly of the seven lantern corps. This issue was driven purely by dialogue and character and I felt Johns did a fantastic job. These avatars he's created for each color in the spectrum (Atrocitus, Larfleeze, Saint Walker, and Indigo-1) have real life and personality flowing off the pages.
When Atrocitus roars his rage and blood starts pouring from his mouth it's seriously palpable.
When Saint Walker tries to assuage his rage it's incredibly sympathetic.
When Larfleeze refuses to cooperate unless there's a deal brokered it's insanely irritating.
And it's all perfect. It's all genuine and consistent with what's already been established with these original creations that Geoff Johns has given us. I couldn't get enough of how these characters communicated with each other.
 
There are some truly golden moments within this issue. One of my favorite scenes was when Sinestro tries to broker a deal with Atrocitus. Sinestro offers his services after the war of light is over allowing, his corps to join the Red Lanterns in their mission to destroy the Green Lantern Corps. Of course Sinestro says this right in front of Hal and Carol, and their responses were genuinely funny… Then Atrocitus frees himself and starts trying to massacre everyone. It was really cool. There was another cool scene where Indigo-1 channels the power of a black ring and her face starts to decay while she's channeling…  But probably the best moment would have to be what causes Atrocitus to finally agree to cooperate… I don't want to reveal much but it was probably the first time I've sympathized with Atrocitus's character and it revealed much about the turmoil bubbling up inside of him.
This is easily, EASILY a five out of five.

After spending several months running parallel to and accentuating the action of "Blackest Night," the main "Green Lantern" title directs its plot and characters right back into the main action. Geoff Johns is the lord of the rings in this issue as all of the colors of the War of Light are represented. The issue is briskly paced, covers a large swath of the DC Universe, and sets the cast used herein upon a path that leads directly into "Blackest Night" #5.

There is a disclaimer in the first panel that states, "This takes place before 'Blackest Night' #6," and the final page declares that the action continues in "Blackest Night" #5. To set the record straight (aside from the fact that 5 comes before 6) this issue is a prologue of "Blackest Night" #5, with the first page from that issue spinning directly from this issue.

Johns does a good job establishing the characters here: Saint Walker, Blue Lantern; Larfleeze, the Orange Lantern; Hal Jordan; Carol Ferris as Star Sapphire; Sinestro; the Red Lantern Atrocitus; Indigo-1; as well as the displaced Guardians who now wield the Blue Light- Sayd and Ganthet. The characters have their own, distinct voices and are each given a chance to shine under the glow of their respective lantern. After solidly defeating a set of Black Lanterns, the wielders of the spectrum decide to forge a delicate alliance here in order to extinguish the Black Lanterns source. The banter and arrangements made between characters to assuage internal turmoil provides some great reading,-------------- from Sinestro's "deals" to Hal and Carol discussing Larfleeze's similarity to Gonzo.

Mahnke's art is dynamic and challenging. When Mahnke draws Atrocitus wielding his power, it is disgusting. Sinestro is haughty and smug, Jordan dynamic, and Walker confident. Through a trio of inkers –- himself included –- Mahnke's art takes on subtle differences, becoming grittier when Atrocitus is grappling with Larfleeze and smoother once the cast reaches Ryut.

This series has been running parallel to "Blackest Night," adding a subplot behind the action going on, filling in the spaces of what is happening to Hal Jordan since he left Earth, and deepening the relationships between characters that have a shared history. Readers of "Green Lantern" were not pressed into action to follow "Blackest Night" and vice versa, but with the conclusion of this issue, it appears as though those two tales will become tightly intertwined. If you've just been reading "Blackest Night," this issue might help provide some background to what happened prior to page one, panel one of issue #5.    

The Blackest Night event can be broken down into 3 rings. The Blackest Night title itself focused on the Black Lanterns main strategy, which was to utilize Earth's dead metahumans as decoys till their rings were powered up and the main battery could be transported to Earth, the center of the DC universe. Every DC title tie-in is a response to this attack. Green Lantern Corps focused on the Black Lanterns plan to cripple and weaken every source of light in the universe by attacking the home worlds of every Lantern.  Finally, Green Lantern followed the travels of Hal Jordan and his eclectic rag tag group of Lanterns banded together by the Indigo Lantern to restore balance to the universe and defeat Nekron. 
 
Of all the three rings of Blackest Night, its the Green Lantern title itself where Geoff Johns shines brightest. This issue clarifies Hal's destiny brought on by the fate of Atricitus' planet, Abin Sur's quest to prevent it, and guilt that the two former Guardians feel for their collective's manipulative ways.  It sorted out where every one's role in events that lead to Blackest Night and refocuses their reasons for being a part of this Fellowship of Rings (ok, I'll stop the references).
 
Larfleeze almost steals the issue with his confusion. After being isolated to one part of the Galaxy for so long, he struggles in his ability to understand and socialize with other life forms. The only thing he understands is bargaining and I wonder exactly how his barter of a Guardian of his own in exchange for his services pans out.
 
The real star of the issue is Atrocitus whose agenda wasn't really about bringing about Blackest Night but preventing it. It is the Guardians whose thirst for control and order that make it possible and the reason why a spirtual shaman of life became a hateful war monger of rage. 
 
Doug Mahnke handles the sticks with a lot of precision. His images are very confrontational. If they aren't engaging the reader by eye contact in the opening page, then they are battling cell by cell. Even without dialogue, there's always a sense of pulsating tension every time he juxtapozed the bearers of opposing forces of light. It captures this desperate atmosphere of a group of individuals thrown into a situation that none want a part but nonetheless find themselves forced into for the sake of survival and the emotions they feel as a result. This is Blackest Night boiled down to its essentials. 
 
Rating: Buy it. Geoff Johns has made Green Lantern the center of the DC Universe somehow.

I think what makes The Blackest Night such a great event for Green Lantern is that it gets to show the diversity of the different Corps. Every colour of lantern is different and so are the main character representing said colour. That's why it's kind of a downer to see all the colours teaming up to fight the "big bad". It's not as trite as I was exspecting, Red and Orange don't really fit in with the other kids, and Sinestro appears to just hate everyone but it still seemed like they teamed up way too easily. I almost felt I needed an issue of Atrocitus and Larfreeze joining forces before they met up with others (especially because the first few pages when it's just them fighting the Black Lanterns is really well done).
The main criticism I have for Blackest Night is that it focuses too much on the reanimation of dead characters and not enough time on progressing the story. This issue goes too far the other way and progresses the story forward by leaps and bounds. 
While it's not a bad issue (Doug Mahnke has another spectacular performance and Johns continues to develop some of the most interesting characters comics have seen in years) I can't help but feel a bit cheated.

*NOTE – Read this issue before Blackest Night #5* 
 

This series has been at an all time high in my opinion since the start of Blackest Night so I looked forward to more of the same this issue and it was good, but slower and very wordy . There wasn’t the same amount of action as the previous issues had but we do have some good padding out of the lantern characters, Johns has really established these as great new additions to the DCU. After some fighting and bickering amongst themselves the lanterns decide to unite (for now) to battle the common threat of the black lanterns, which leads into Blackest Night #5. An okay, solid issue but a must pick up if you are following Blackest Night.

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