Green Lantern #4 – Geoffrey Thorne, Writer; Tom Raney, Marco Santucci, Artists; Michael Atiyeh, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: The high-intensity action continues in this issue, but with high intensity comes casualties–and I wouldn’t be surprised if this issue causes quite a bit of controversy. When we last left John Stewart, he was trapped on an alien world without his ring working. Much of this story fits very neatly in with the Future State miniseries, which also took place in the aftermath of the Central Power Battery being destroyed. John was saved and given refuge by the aliens on the rural world he found himself in–and now he returns the favor as a band of brutal slavers invade the world. While John might be without his powers, he is also a highly skilled veteran and warrior, and this issue does a great job of reminding us that he can more than handle himself without a ring. The first half of the issue has some great action scenes, although his resolution to the crisis may be a bit more brutal than some might expect from a Justice League member.
But the controversy is going to ramp up as John escapes and the focus shifts to the second story, as Jo Mullein and Keli try to maintain order on Oa. While John managed to escape his captors, many fellow Green Lanterns weren’t so lucky. Longtime fans will notice many names in the Lanterns who were killed, including several prominent supporting characters from the Johns era–and one major Lantern who has been hanging around the books for several decades. There’s an intense bleakness that hangs over the title, as the Lanterns are desperately swimming against the tide and trying to figure out who did this to them. Thorne does a good job with Keli in particular, as the young girl reaches her breaking point and makes a fateful–and potentially fatal–decision as the issue ends. But it’s hard to see how there’s any coming back for the Green Lantern Corps after all they’ve lost.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
