The Green Lantern Corps have, despite the odds, emerged victorious from a war with the wielders of the yellow light of fear, the Sinestro Corps - but at a price. Hundreds of Lanterns are dead, and the scattered members of Sinestro's band of terrorists wreak havoc on the loved ones of their willpower-wielding adversaries. Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Universe, in their attempt to prevent the passing of the Prophecy of Blackest Night, journey to Zamaron, the home of the Star Sapphires; a corps of ring-bearing women who draw their energies from the power of Love.
Dramatis Personnae:
Kyle Rayner
Guy Gardner
Soranik Natu
Amnee and Matoo Pree
Arisia
Sodam Yat
Queen Aga'po
Miri Riam
The Zamarons
The Guardians of the Universe
Guardian Scar
Mongul
Kryb
Plot Summary:
After the events of The Sinestro Corps War, Green Lanterns across the universe are engaged in huntng down and capturing the remaining members of the Sinestro Corps. One such wanted criminal is Kryb, who has gained a terrible reputation for murdering married Green Lanterns and kidnapping their children. Kyle Rayner, now a simple Lantern once more, is aiding two such Lanterns, Amnee and Matoo Pree, capture her before she can do any more harm.
Meanwhile, Newly-weds Kered and Miri Riam are attacked by Mongul, who has escaped from the Mercy Planet; in the ensuing confrontation, Kered is killed. Miri is utterly submerged by her grief, but before she can commit suicide and join her husband in death, a violet ring locates her and offers her a choice: die, and fade from the universe, or accept the ring and the powers that go with it, and devote herself to protecting love from those who would destroy it.
Verdict:
Sins is a very brave and worthy addition to any Green Lantern fan's collection, in my humble opinion.
One of my favourite things about this collection is that it is brave enough to deal with some very dangerous issues; the role of parenting, and the kidnapping of infants is always shaky ground, and if this had been mishandled it could have been disastrous. As it is, however, Sins has delivered well using these topics, and has done so in a way that does not cheapen the themes or events. That, in itself, is quite an achievement, and I remain impressed with it even now.
On to the characters. We see the development of the Guardians as they plunge further into their paranoia over the Blackest Night, and as a result, they begin to make ever more radical decisions over the Book of Oa, and the laws of the Green Lanterns. This, again, impressed me a great deal; the value of emotion and what emotion truly means is often questioned in this series, and it opens the reader to the debate; do emotions really cause chaos?
Miri Riam is a great new addition to the Green Lantern mythos, and is a very appealing and likeable character. Like all Sapphires, she is motivated by love, but hers is a love born out of tragedy; unwilling to allow anyone else to suffer in the manner that she did, she becomes a Sapphire simply to protect love. It's hard not to like such a character, even if some of the things she says sound naive now and again.
And the Green Lanterns? Well, they're as cool as ever. Guy always has some solid dialogue, no matter the situation, and let's face it, he's just an all-round badass. It was interesting to see the return of Soranik Natu, whose role has increased dramatically in importance since the Sinestro Corps War, and her growing association with Kyle Rayner, hinting at things to come. Well, not quite hinting as much as out-and-out declaring at the end of the series, but hey; it's not as simple as you might think at first.
Throughout, the art is of good quality; if anything, it's actually slightly superior to Sinestro Corps War, in that it is more consistent in quality. The character designs for both Miri and the Zamarons are excellent, with Miri avoiding the stripperific look of some of the earlier Sapphires, which, as appealing as it may be to the male demographic, gets a bit tiresome in the end.
Sins of the Star Sapphire is, as I said, a very worthy addition to any Lantern Fan's collection, and at £11.99, there's plenty of reasons to buy it.
Rating:
8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment