Even as his allies on Earth struggle to contain the newly awakened dead, Hal Jordan and his partner, John Stewart, have problems of their own to face - gathering the separate Corps for battle, as well as avoiding the wrath of their own hunters. Whilst Hal, along with Indigo-1, attempts to ensure co-operation between the opposed and confused members of each of the Lantern Corps, including Sinestro, Atrocitus and Larfleeze, John Stewart has encountered a much bigger problem - planet-sized, in fact. The dead world of Xanshi has risen again, but for what purpose?...
Dramatis Personnae:
Hal Jordan
John Stewart
The Justice League
Sinestro
Atrocitus
Saint Walker
Carol Ferris
Indigo-1
Larfleeze
The Black Lantern Corps
?????? (hidden)
Plot Summary:
After their battle with J'onn Jonzz, Green Lantern and Flash escape to the JLA Watchtower, where they attempt to safeguard the corpses of the villains they've faced. However, their efforts are in vain, as the black power rings enter the morgue and raise every villain stored there. Faced with such odds, it seems that Hal and Barry too will fall, until help comes unexpectedly; Indigo-1, leader of the Indigo Tribe, arrives, and uses the powers of her ring and staff to teleport Hal to safety. Once away from the Black Lanterns, Indigo informs Hal of their mission; the Black Lanterns can be stopped, but only with the combined force of all of the Corps.
Meanwhile, John Stewart has made a terrifying discovery - the planet Xanshi, which he failed to save, has returned, and with it another ghost from his past. However, when the night seems blackest, unexpected allies will appear....
Verdict:
Much like Blackest Night itself, BN: Green Lantern is a collected edition you would be a fool to miss. Though the events of this book are the same fundamentally as those of the main collection, it is told from the perspective of Hal Jordan, and as such the reader learns of the other battles in the Blackest Night, and how the rise of those long dead is affecting them all.
Of note, really, is the unlikely alliance between the aforementioned Corps, and their most prominent members. I have to say, this section once again reminded me of why I loved certain characters in the Preludes. Larfleeze, in particular, ends up showing his quality (though not exactly in a heroic manner) and amuses me no end with the dialogue and mannerisms he displays. His initial reaction to Atrocitus is particularly great; I can't help but laugh at the almost slapstick imagery of the skinny, frail Agent Orange squaring up to the hulking Red Lantern. The writing of Sinestro seems to have recovered from the oddity of Rage of the Red Lanterns, and he's back on form as the purple-skinned mastermind we all know and love, complete with some witty dialogue of his own; Sinestro's more serious and tactically-minded inputs complement the weirdness of Agent Orange's ridiculous demands and complaints well, and make for a good contrast when pitted together in the more hectic scenes. Atrocitus is, well, very angry, but that's no bad thing; he even gets a moment worthy of any action superstar when confronted by the resurrected Inversions, which I utterly loved. It's hard not to root for him in that scene, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who did.
One of the more interesting character choices in the book is Carol Ferris reprising her role as the Star Sapphire; this time, though, as a member of a Corps of such females. Unfortunately, the "male gaze" in comics is somewhat evident in her costume, but at least Geoff Johns has the good sense to make fun of it in a tongue-in-cheek style. Her dialogue is, for the most part, sharply witty, especially when she and Sinestro face off on Zamaron. I don't know about anyone else, but I do so love it when a character has the keen wits to be able to take Sinestro's jibes and make him look like a twit.
Hal Jordan and John Stewart are, as ever, just great. John Stewart in particular really shines in BN: Green Lantern. Even before we travel with him to the surface of Xanshi, we can see that Geoff has deliberately chosen the one thing that John Stewart feels guilty about most; he was unable to save Xanshi before due to his refusal of backup, and the failure has lived with him ever since. However, it is in this collection that Stewart shows his quality, and, in my humble opinion, dispels the nay-sayers who claim him to be inferior to Hal. John's fight against the vengeful Xanshians is easily one of the greatest heroic scenes I have ever had the pleasure to read, and I cannot stress enough how much I have been impressed by Geoff John's handling of it; it could very well be a rival to the ending of Batman: RIP in my opinion.
The art, really, is of the same good quality as Blackest Night, and I'd be wasting time really to go over it once more; suffice to say that it is consistently good quality, and I was happily engrossed by it throughout, especially given the scope of some of the centrepiece pages of the collection.
Overall, then, I hold Blackest Night: Green Lantern in the same high regard as the central collection itself. It's about £18.99 in stores, but a canny shopper could find it for £12.99 or thereabouts on Amazon or sites like it. Easily a must-have for any DC fan.
Rating:
9.2/10
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