Absolute Green Lantern #4 – Al Ewing, Writer; Jahnoy Lindsay, Artist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: Of all the Absolute books, this is the one that feels the most like a horror movie – with the mysterious Abin Sur descending on a small town, encasing it in a dome, and seemingly picking off people one by one as part of his “judgement”. When Guy Gardner was quickly claimed by Abin Sur’s mysterious green light, it was a shocker – but nothing compared to what happened last issue, as John Stewart’s desperate gambit failed and he was claimed by the light. We know what’s happening in the future – as Jo Mullein winds up in command of the first Green Lantern ring on Earth, while Hal winds up possessed by a strange shadow entity calling itself the Darkstar. But we didn’t know how we get there. As this issue opens, the town is becoming more and more empty, as the few survivors become increasingly desperate. And so Jo decides to try something no one has – talk to their captor one on one.
One thing Ewing does really well – this is one of the first cases I’ve seen where an alien actually talks like an alien. Abin Sur’s dialogue is often inscrutable, as he describes concepts that we have no way to understand. That works really well at setting a claustrophobic tone – and one that gets only more confusing when he explains that no one is actually dead with a few exceptions, and they’re going through some sort of judgement. Is this strange alien specter not actually the villain here? It makes sense – but I’m no closer to understanding his motives than I was before, and I love it. The end of the issue, however, does give us a much more clear-cut villain as we’re introduced to one of Hal Jordan’s most famous rogues with a very different appearance. This continues to be one of the most intriguing books in the Absolute line, packed with mysteries and scares in the best Al Ewing fashion.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
