The epic battle of Hal Jordan and Sinestro ended last issue, but the war isn’t over yet. What will the Corps do, can Sinestro’s daughter convince the Lanterns she’s not evil, and more importantly, is it good?
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #8 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? For the full DC summary just read this:
“BOTTLED LIGHT” part one! The Green Lantern Corps may be back up and running, but how will they protect the universe with the Sinestro Corps as partners? Plus, what happened to Hal Jordan—and who can bring him back from beyond?
Why does this book matter?
Robert Venditti has written a very epic and exciting series thus far, pushing the characters to make hard choices as the universe threatening villains try to hold on. The art by Ethan Van Sciver has been top notch and suits the event level series thus far too.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Have we ever seen the planet recharge his ring?
If you’re new to the series this is a great jumping on point, as characters explain what has happened before and what their goals are moving forward. Venditti establishes the fate of Hal (and Sinestro for that matter) isn’t entirely clear, though the issue does open with a somewhat definitive answer. That said, Hal’s willpower and ability to transform into green energy itself is something to keep in mind and that adds a flair of intrigue as far as any future appearances.
This isn’t a table setting issue all the way through though, as the Green Lanterns must thwart a threat (that Venditti actually spoiled in our interview a few weeks ago!) which gives the issue a bit of action. The issue ends with a major conflict for our heroes and a new development involving Hal’s ring. Exciting stuff.
The art by Sciver is incredibly detailed, with plenty of panels and pages jam packed with a ton of characters. There are plenty of splash pages that do their job, feature the epic nature of being a Lantern (regardless of color) and the weirdness of space characters. John Stewart might do way more screaming that I’d like, but he looks good doing it anyway. A key flashback page also sells the proceedings events nicely and serves to prove a summary page to open your book isn’t always necessary.
It can’t be perfect can it?
New readers will have no trouble reading this, but it does mean you’re in store for a lot of dialogue. I suppose when characters aren’t fighting the only way to resolve an issue is to talk, but it drags the pace down and anyone following along at this point will be bored to tears.
Sciver stuffs a lot of characters in every panel!
Is It Good?
A slow start doesn’t mire the overall experience too much, as new questions arise as to what happened to Hal, what the Green Lanterns do next, and whether or not the Yellow and Green Lanterns can coexist. This issue sets up the next arc well, quickly pivoting in interesting ways.
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