You need a really big threat for the Green Lantern Corps or there’s really no reason to publish the darn thing. Last month DC proved the threat was quite large in part because the Corps are in some kind of dead universe! They want to get home, but decide to help the only planet they’ve come across. The stakes are dire, but is it good?
Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion #2 (DC Comics)
The Green Lantern Corps are helping some black chin/mouth giant people, but one of their own is dead. We learn more about these strange beings and Guy Gardner gets angry. What’s new right?
Why does this book matter?
When it comes to stakes if they are raised high enough I couldn’t really care less what the story is trying to do. An internal battle or an external one—it doesn’t matter. The heroes need to be pushed so hard their emotions bleed out. This story has that.
This is how the story opens.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Writer Tom Taylor is writing what feels like an old school comic. The bad guys are mysterious, evil as hell looking and the heroes are brandishing hot heads and big hearts. What we have here is an issue where a bit of detail is given about the big bad guy and a ton of obstacles are put in their way. Taylor focuses his character lens mainly on Gardner and Kilowog. They’re the ones who are most emotional and willing to put up a fight.
I’m also really digging the basic setup of characters and concepts in play. The mysterious giant aliens for instance are clearly hiding a secret. When they reveal the evil that lives literally inside their planet it’s pretty weird and sets up what could be a cool reveal.
Ethan Van Sciver draws a strong comic with a lot of detail and some neat digital effects to showcase the rift in the universe. Characters always look spot on—Kilowog has a lot of detail going on with his face—and the giant size of the good guy aliens never looks awkward. The head of one of these things is the size of an entire Lantern which puts a lot of pressure on Sciver to make it work with a variety of panels and angles. There’s also a fantastic page that’s nearly all white save for some green wisps of the Lantern power that’s haunting but also rather cool.
It can’t be perfect can it?
Like older comics the remaining good guys make proclamations and rush in to fight which ends up feeling a bit pointless. It’s not certain what the rules are yet; the stakes aren’t really set, so when characters get hurt or even die it’s tricky to believe any of it!
The villain is hard to fear or care much about either due to very little being revealed. Some kind of never-dying cyborg who lives inside the planet? It makes the character less fearsome and really just boring. For that matter the planet is rather confusing. It has jets because…? Basically we’re getting a lot of action for action’s sake and not a lot of purpose.
This villain is so far rather boring.
Is It Good?
Classic comics are back with heroes punching and rushing to save the day with as little thought as possible! This proves to be troublesome for a complex story and the lack of understanding the villains or stakes hurts it in the end.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
