The Green Lantern: Season Two #4 – Grant Morrison, Writer; Liam Sharp, Artist; Steve Oliff, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The biggest strength of Grant Morrison’s Green Lantern run so far has been that he’s a bit more restrained than his usual fare. Sure, it’s bizarre and cosmic, but it’s usually been a pretty linear affair. Well, in this issue he finally goes full Morrison, and your mileage may vary depending on how much tolerance you have for his very weird style. It starts out pretty normally, as a team-up between old friends Hal and Barry, and a meeting with Hal’s old flame/rival Olivia Reynolds. Calling back to Hal’s time working for a toy company is a deep cut, one of Morrison’s strengths. She wants their help investigating the origins of some mysterious golden giants that she wants to use in a museum exhibit. But first, she needs to make sure that these titans aren’t actual ancient beings with pesky things like rights. Before Flash and Green Lantern can investigate, Olivia is snatched through a portal and the heroes give chase.
What follows is one of the most bizarre comics I’ve read in a while as the heroes confirm that, yes, the giants are very real and have an ancient civilization of their own. Or is it ancient? On a massive world that looks like Pangea but may be entirely artificial, the heroes soon find themselves in massive danger. While Hal is put on trial by a council of ancient beings who seem to be offended by his very presence, Barry and Olivia find themselves in the garden of a massive golden child who wants to play with the Flash until he’s broken. The giants talk in strange broken English that makes their dialogue hard to follow at times, and that adds to the surreal experience of the comic. It’s visually stunning, but the story doesn’t totally come together. And in the last few pages, we get several major twists that upend the concept of the story and what’s to come. It’s a vintage Morrison head-trip, for those who like that.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
