REVIEW: Green Lantern #65War of the Green Lanterns Part Four

Welcome to Green Lantern Tuesday at MLD!

DC Comics’ cosmic epic War of the Green Lanterns continues tomorrow with the release of Parts Seven through Nine in Green Lantern #66, Green Lantern Corps #60, and Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #10. We’ll have our discussion/review of those soon, but to get you ready Kevin and I will spend the day breaking down the latest chapters of the War of the Green Lanterns.

As always, spoilers will follow.

PTB: I really don’t like that two of these books ship in the same week to begin with, but the cover to Part Five (Green Lantern Corps #59) gives a lot away regarding the story contents of Part Four (Green Lantern #65) and it’s right there on the shelf next to it.

Admittedly, it was something I saw coming, but I’d rather not find out that way.

KevinMLD: I have to agree. I saw that cover on Tuesday afternoon before the books shipped and it definitely felt like a huge spoiler. I don’t understand why DC does things like this… Unless they really think that image will help sell more comics.

PTB: While we’re on the topic, this was also a really misleading cover to Green Lantern #65 with the assembled Yellow Lantern Corps.

KevinMLD: Overall, I like chapters four and five better than the previous issues in this crossover. It feels like the various story threads are being pulled together more tightly and we’re no longer seeing events from a variety of perspectives. This is how a cross-over should be run in my opinion. Each issue should build on the previous issue, not just jump to another scene featuring different characters that has very little to do with the previous chapter.

PTB: I agree about this being the way to manage crossovers, but I liked getting a sense of what was happening in each book in the first month. These aren’t titles I normally read and Chapters 1-3 got me right up to speed on Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps and Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors.

KevinMLD: I guess that makes sense for people jumping aboard just for this storyline.

PTB: The recap of Killowog and the Earthborn GLs experiences with Parallax was exceptionally well handled by both Geoff Johns’ words and Doug Mahnke’s art. This book looks good once again, but I notice a long list of inkers and that may have led to some pages looking sharper than others. Also we have confirmation that Krona has been miniaturized over time.

KevinMLD: I’m sure you enjoyed that this issue picked back up with Guy and Hal on Hoth, but it seems mighty convenient that Hal has a spaceship stashed there.

PTB: There aren’t enough snow scenes here, but I did appreciate that they picked right up where they left off before the convenient fall into the hangar with the convenient spaceship. I haven’t read a lot of Hal Jordan, but the wild and reckless pilot I see here doesn’t seem familiar at all.

KevinMLD: I don’t know how he’s traditionally acted, but since his relaunch we’ve seen he’s a pretty reckless pilot. I guess he’s just supposed to be that darn good.

PTB: I know this is Green Lantern and all, but the ship seemed to be powered by the same green energy as the rings and I guess I don’t understand how it isn’t compromised by Krona and Parallax as well. This was especially weird in light of the heroes taking up the other rings of the spectrum.

KevinMLD: I really wish someone had picked a Star Sapphire ring just because there are no male members of that corps to my knowledge.

PTB: I liked the ring selection but having Kyle powered by love could have worked from what I know about him. Guy’s reaction to the prospect of a pink ring is exactly how I think of the character. The red ring makes a lot of sense for him.

KevinMLD: Also I think a convincing case could be made for Guy to be an Orange Lantern based on his ’80s and ’90s appearances.

PTB: That sounds about right too. They way Hal talks about the orange ring, it sounds like he’s had more than a casual exposure to it. He’s also had experience with the yellow ring, is he on his way to wearing them all at some point?

KevinMLD: Yeah, he’s worn most of the rings at this point. I don’t remember him wearing an Indigo or Star Sapphire ring… Yet. But I think he’s worn the rest.

Hal aside, could the could the color swap be a long term path for these lanterns? I have to say when the spectrum was first introduced it seemed like a great way to keep these guys in the spotlight but still distinct from one another.

KevinMLD: I used to think that where this was all headed. If that is the ultimate goal, however, they sure have taken their time setting up that status quo.

Follow all of our War of the Green Lanterns posts:
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #8 (Part Three) / Green Lantern Corps #59 (Part Five)