Comic Books

Green Lanterns #27 Review

The Green Lanterns don’t know where they are, but when you find out you’ll be shocked too!

July 19, 2017

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Green Lantern has always been a series that showcased the weirdness of the universe, but now it’s showing us the weirdness of time itself! Sam Humphries is building a compelling series that revealed how the first Green Lanterns were created 10 billion years ago. Now that’s what I call epic.

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So what’s it about?

The official summary reads:

“OUT OF TIME” part two! Cast back in time, Jessica and Simon must survive on the savage Earth of ten billion years ago! With a single ring between them, can the Emerald Knights locate the first Green Lanterns?

Why does this book matter?

Though this is a part two, readers might be able to jump right in as Jessica and Simon have no clue where they are just like the readers. This issue also reveals another original Green Lantern and readers will be surprised what he is!

Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?

That’s not a good look for you.

The fish out of water story is taken to the nth degree in this issue as Jessica wakes up on some kind of lava planet with giant monsters trying to eat her. Meanwhile, Simon is being carried off by giant birds and has no ring to protect himself. Humphries has certainly put them both in a pickle and this issue is all about the characters finding their bearings. When your Green Lantern ring doesn’t even know where in the universe you are it’s time to panic!

While the characters attempt to keep themselves alive Humphries gives them little time to figure out where they are. That is, until the end, which reveals a lot! Humphries builds towards this reveal very well by using Jessica’s ring, who narrates via captions. The ring has a bit of a personality which is fun, but also has Jessica and Simon run around trying to find help. The help they’re after ends up being surprise after surprise, with the cliffhanger being one hell of a hook for the next issue. I’m greatly anticipating the next issue because Humphries has spent many issues building up the original Green Lantern characters and it looks like we might actually get to see them in the “now.”

Ronan Cliquet draws all the monsters (or are they beasts?) really well in this issue giving them a varied look that’s unique. Some of the constructs that Jessica creates are quite fun too (the giant cat to scare off the birds is a highlight) and two full page splashes that reveal to the reader what is going on are downright jaw droppingly good. There’s also a double page splash involving White Lanterns that’s out of this world good. One part angel, one part alien, but I’ll say no more to avoid spoilers! There’s a section that shows off another original Green Lantern and the character design is a lot of fun. It’s straight out of the B-movies of the 60’s and should have readers anticipating a very strange Green Lantern indeed.

What a strange beast!

It can’t be perfect can it?

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Once again, Humphries inserts a Green Lantern flashback out of nowhere and it’s jarring. You’ll turn the page expecting more from Jessica and Simon’s story only to see–in this case–computerized lips and eyeballs talking. Huh? The transition is out of nowhere and seems to be inserted at random, which ends up making the entire read jarring and confusing. He’s done this a few times now so it should probably be normal at this point, but it’s confusing to me why they didn’t just do this via backups.

Is It Good?

Whoa, you haven’t seen a Green Lantern story like this before! This is a blast of a comic that defies expectations and will have you dying to read the next issue.