Green Lanterns #51 – Dan Jurgens, Writer; Mike Perkins, Artist; Hi-Fi, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Two issues in, it’s very clear that Dan Jurgens’ Green Lanterns is much more of a Green Lantern Corps title than the Simon-and-Jessica-centric title that it was for the first forty-nine issues. It’s a pretty darn good Green Lantern Corps title so far, filled with high stakes and thrills. However, although Simon and Jessica remain prominent fixtures in the book, it feels like a much less unique title than it used to be. Still, this issue picks up the pace a lot, kicking off with a chilling segment as obscure Jurgens villain Eon escalates his war on the Green Lantern Corps. The opening scene involves him waging war on a planet occupied by an intelligent cephalopod species, one of whom is a Green Lantern. Not just targeting the Lantern, Eon essentially commits genocide against the planet, a fact which is only discovered by the Lanterns later. They’re more concerned with the fact that both John Stewart and a Guardian are on death’s door as a mysterious environmental crisis hits the planet of Mogo. Salaak is able to save John, but the Guardian isn’t so lucky – bringing the rest of his species to the crisis center.
The mystery of how a Guardian could be killed so easily hangs over the issue, and Simon – as the Lantern who found him near-death – is instantly thrown under suspicion. Jessica’s ring continues to try to warn her that not everything is as it seems, but everyone is paranoid. There isn’t much time for internal conflict, as all the available Lanterns are pulled into the task of building a shield around Mogo to try to isolate the planet from the massive storms that are hitting it. They seem to succeed, but Eon is continuing to attack the Lanterns’ interests across the galaxy, and they’re forced to split up, weakening the shield. Mike Perkins, now at DC, is the star here, as he manages to give the events a very dark and foreboding feel. This is a big crisis for the Corps, maybe even bigger than the Darkstar war going on in its sister title, and he manages to infuse the scenes with a sense of claustrophobia and terror. It is hard to get over how Simon and Jessica feel like they’ve been shoved to the back burner, but the title as a whole is hard to criticize. It’s a good, classic, thrilling Green Lantern comic that lets everyone shine.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
