Green Lantern #16 – Jeremy Adams, Writer; Xermanico, Artist; Romulo Fajaro Jr, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The All In era of Green Lantern kicks off in the middle of chaos, as we jump right into the cliffhanger from the Civil Corps special – with a Red Lantern-possessed Mogo smashing right into Thanagar and killing billions, as the rebel Lanterns manage to save a select few refugees and flee. But the cosmos is at war, and while Thaaros is seemingly dead, his empire is anything but – the Durlans plan to take advantage of the chaos to create a far more stable fascist regime to finish Thaaros’ mission. And at the same time, the sinister Star Shroud and his blood grudge against John Stewart are still in the wild, and determined to rip apart any progress they make. It’s the kind of high-intensity issue that picks up right from the start and never lets go, and the first half of the issue feels almost hopeless in how many hits its heroes take – but there are some big surprises in store by the end.
The Lanterns are still scattered, with many to be rescued. Jo Mullein gets pulled out of a tube by Guy Gardner, leading to some very funny dialogue, but there is a much more intriguing segment as Keli Quintana – trapped in her own mind as part of a strange research project – is found by Ellie, who seems to be evolving more and more into her own being separate from John’s will. The friendship between the two youngest Lanterns should be intriguing to follow. Add in Larfleeze on the rampage, and there are a lot of stars here – but the biggest may be Carol Ferris, who has to stand on her own and save the ship in a dramatic segment that goes a long way toward explaining her rise as a member of the Justice League. Adams has also been doing some great work in building her and Hal’s relationship, potentially elevating them to the status of one of DC’s true power couples.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
