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Green Lantern Corps #26 - Homecoming

5

John Stewart has a few words to say to Hal Jordan. But instead he punches him in the jaw. Meanwhile, the Lantern recruits take an unexpected stand against a personal injustice.

The Good

After a momentary look into John Stewart’s past, we return to the Corps’ present as they regroup on the surface of Mogo in the wake of Relic’s crusade against the spectrum warriors and the deaths of the original Guardians. Van Jensen, with Robert Venditti, has seized the reins on the Green Lantern book that was the most in need of new direction and a fresh voice and has been given both. I’ve often heard it said that John is the most “boring, underdeveloped” of the Lanterns by some comic fans, and I think that’s a pity because he fills a very necessary, interesting role: the builder and the destroyer. This is the man who saw no recourse but to destroy a corrupted Mogo, but is now tasked with rebuilding Oa (in addition to being a marine, Stewart is an architect) and if you want more from him, look no further than Geoff Johns’ superlative Green Lantern: Rebirth. John Stewart is the rock in the raging river of the Corps, and while the river might be more dynamic or interesting to watch, ultimately the rock ultimately stands out more.

Bernard Chang is back on linework and in absolutely top form as he draws the weird and wild characters that populate this book. We get a great B-story about about the war-starved Jruk needing to return home to settle a political dispute...which means battling in an arena as might literally equals right on his planet, but an enemy from Stewart and Yrra’s recent past rear their hideous, tentacled head and Chang captures every animated, fluid moment of it wonderfully. Marcelo Maiolo’s colors are, to put it mildly, gorgeous to behold. This is a book that absolutely thrives on the visuals, you can pick it up and be instantly entranced by them and part of that are the sharp, crisp colors that Maiolo brings to each and every panel.

The Bad

There’s very little to dislike about this issue. The disparate storylines are juggled very well, we get to see John’s background as an architect come to the fore, and an old storyline gets some new payoff. If there’s anything worth pointing out, it’s that a few very legitimate complaints are sidelined, as they have been in other titles, without enough discussion. There’s nothing preventing a real, meaty debate on whether or not it’s moral to continue using the spectrum powers, or what Hal’s new declaration truly means for the other Corps, but a lot of it is tossed aside even though there isn’t anything more pressing to attend to at the moment, making it an ideal time to hash out details.

The Verdict

This is absolutely the sleeper hit of the Lantern books. Since it’s more focused on the Corps, with Stewart as the leader, we get a lot of new and very interesting characters as well as one of the most well earned romances in the DCU. I’m incredibly happy with how the Lantern recruits have come into their own in a very short amount of time and issues like this that bring their pasts and cultures into sharp focus are welcome additions to a cosmic series that is very human focused. I’m also always a fan of seeing Hal Jordan put into his place, so this issue is especially delightful.

14 Comments

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The_Greatest_Green_Lantern

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This book is SO funny. Not many big 2 comic books actually make me smile or laugh. This one does. A lot of heart warming moments too. This book is probably one of DC's top 3.

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mysoulz

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Edited By mysoulz

Solid issue. Good to see Arisia's appearance. I'm starting to prefer Jenson's GLC over Venditti's Green Lantern.

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Mrgreenlantern

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Why does nobody speak of the Greatest Gladiator Jruk!!!!

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WaveMotionCannon

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One of my favorite DC books and favorite books period. John is my favorite Lantern after Sinestro and he'd make a far better leader than Hal. He can be the force that keeps the Corp together and restores their reputation in the galaxy because between the Khunds, Durlans and Hal's instigating a war between the spectrum users the Corp need some stable leadership.

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Ando123

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One the best Dc books ,

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Knightfall225

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John is the better leader.

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Captain13

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Edited By Captain13
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deactivated-5fbfd5d291164

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@captain13: You forgot to mention Maro best GL ever.

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Captain13

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Edited By Captain13

Jruk rules. So does Feska. They've earned their insignias. Oh, and you can't forget Arisia. :D This book is cosmic in all the right ways.

@timelord said:

Does anyone know when the first female Lantern from Earth is suppose to turn up and in which book?

No word yet, but it's been teased as a Forever Evil development.

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CheeseSticks

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Go John, Hal is a d*ck.

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Black_Claw

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Been waiting for this issue ever since I read the premise for it! I might pick it up tomorrow.

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Captain13

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Edited By Captain13

GLC and RL have vastly improved with the new creative teams. The Four Corpsmen (Venditti, Jensen, Soule, and Jordan) continue to impress. You can tell they're all good writers, and they seem to have picked up on how to do inter-team conflict well from the X-Men books (conjecture, of course).

I have to wonder if DC is going to rename all the books "Green Lantern" though. There is so much overlap that these series are practically a weekly title. I mean the Khund appeared in Green Lantern's last issue out of nowhere. I could see that name change move boosting sales.

Speaking of the Khund, those are some GREAT villains. They feel really menacing. We are building up to something great here.

@undeadpool: You're right about John playing a necessary and distinct role in the Corps. Interesting that you should mention that John is both the builder and destroyer. He was called the master builder by the Guardians for the obvious reasons--his architectural background and his ability to lead a team (see Mosaic). Maybe they should call him the Hammer instead. :D

Thor Odinson, my heir, my first born. So long entrusted with the mighty hammer, Mjöllnir, forged in the heart of a dying star. It's power has no equal!It's a weapon to destroy or as a tool to build. It is a fit companion for a king. I have defended Asgard, and the lives of the innocent across my realms in the time of the great beginning.

-Odin, during Thor's Coronation

http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/thor-quotes.html

I do have to disagree with the notion that Johns did anything for the Emerald Engineer on his 9 year run other than a few vague lines in Rebirth. He didn't write John in character most of the time, other than use him to prop up Hal, and he didn't get nearly as much development as the other Earth Lanterns or Johns's original characters. Luckily Venditti and Jensen have been repairing his rep with real development.

Great review, btw.

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Captain13

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@timelord said:

I hope John ends up leading the corps he is far more qualified than Hal.

^Yup. He's the thinker, architect, activist, soldier, and trainer, which are all things that are useful as a leader. Hal is an act first, think later guy who seems to make a better fighter than leader. I thought his conflict with Hal was a HUGE cop out. None of John's points were actually resolved.

  • How are they going to rescue Guy from the Reds? Just hope for the best? John pointing out they had no game plan and weren't even trying to come up with one was a good one.
  • And why do the Greens think they have more of a right to light energy than others like the Star Sapphires? Heck, even the Reds can be useful. Isn't waging war just going to waste more light?

I guess John is just much more concerned with his other responsibilities. He's trying to fix things from the inside, which is cool. And at least they are trying to show John and Hal as friends.

If John does become leader, at least we'll know he earned it instead of it being handed to him.

I have to admit that I like how the 4 Corpsmen have me totally onboard with this new best friendship between John and Guy though.

Kinda sad that John thinks Kyle is dead though. :'(

I don't know how he does it so well, but Jensen can pack A LOT into a single issue without it feeling rushed.

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timelord

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Edited By timelord

I hope John ends up leading the corps he is far more qualified than Hal. Does anyone know when the first female Lantern from Earth is suppose to turn up and in which book?