Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #37 – Robert Venditti, Writer; Rafa Sandova, Penciller; Jordi Tarragona, Inker; Tomeu Morey, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8.5/10
Corrina: Non-Stop Battle With Zod
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: Over the last few arcs, since the Sinestro subplot finally ended, Robert Venditti and his art team have found a near-perfect balance between big, explosive action stories and surprisingly strong character development. Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #37, kicking off a showdown between the Green Lantern Corps and one of Superman’s most iconic villains, pulls us in right from the start as Hal lies beaten before General Zod, his family, and his loyal lieutenant Eradicator. The story then flashes back to Mogo, where John Stewart is angrily tendering his resignation as a Lantern. This threw me for a second, but it makes sense – the return of the Guardians is going to anger a LOT of Lanterns, given how they left. However, Ganthet is humble enough to convince John to stay on and remain, leader of the Corps, while they take a more advisory role.
The Lanterns soon get dispatched on a mission, to investigate a disruption on a primitive planet – only to find massive new structures being built. In a tie-in to Action Comics this week, that is the work of General Zod, beginning the first steps of building New Krypton. The Lanterns quickly make a move against Zod – which was a mistake, because as he points out, he wasn’t making any illegal moves until they attacked. And now he has license utterly dismantle the Lanterns, shattering Hal’s hand and beating Kyle within an inch of his life. The Lanterns don’t go up against Kryptonians often, and this issue shows exactly why. Rafa Sandoval isn’t one of the most talked-about artists in DC’s stable, but this issue shows why his star should be rising fast – few artists do a better job with the constructs than he does. A fast, rock-solid read that continues this book’s climb up the DC ranks in recent months.
Corrina: There are times, despite my dislike of Hal Jordan as a character, when I enjoy Venditti’s run on this title. That’s especially true of this issue, where the creative team brings in one the DC Universe’s heaviest hitters, Zod, to make things miserable for Hal, Kyle, and the Corps. There is a terrific ebb and flow to the fight sequences, with it almost seeming Hal and Kyle could pull out a miracle with teamwork, until the inevitable defeat. (I say ‘inevitable’ because this is part one and the heroes generally don’t win in part one of stories.)
But what truly caught my attention was John Stewart nearly quitting over the Guardians being back and town and wanting to be part of the Corps again. More advisors than being in charge, but John is not having any of their excuses for the mayhem and destruction their horrible decisions have cost through the millennia. (I’m on his side.) But John decides to give them a chance, to see if they’re truly changed. I’m crossing my fingers for benevolent Guardians this time.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
