I don’t know who put drops of liquid acid into Geoff Johns’ cheerios but the trip he’s on with Green Lantern is awesome to behold. So often after a run as massive as Blackest Night the main heroes involved then have a year of downtown, standard issue per issue battles, but not the Lanterns. Instead Johns whips out Green Lantern #54, which clearly is getting all of the Johns’ writing flair that Brightest Day is not. So much happens in this issue and Johns never loses control of any of it, he guides you through so the specific stories each have their own impact.
Green Lantern #54 starts with a subway robbery being thwarted in a grisly and violent fashion by Atrocitus and his pet kitty (nope, not a joke). Then we’re thrust back to the pit where the White Lantern sits unmoved as Sinestro, Carol Ferris (in Star Sapphire mode) and Hal Jordan try to figure out why it doesn’t move. I loved Sinestro in this exchange from his sarcastic barbs about the romance between Hal and Carol to his complete lack of understanding when Carol and Hal compare the unmoving White Lantern to the sword in the stone.
Did I mention the dark figure that removes Sodam Yat from the planet Daxam’s sun with devastating results? It was probably because I was too busy thinking about the battle revving up between Hal, Carol and Sinestro and Atrocitus that indicates the Big Red Machine might have love in his heart? Don’t think on that too long because a B-List character shows up ready to throw down with Hal, a curve that will leave you desperate for the next issue. Like I said, lots of things go down in issue #54 and I haven’t even touched the details of what goes down.
Doug Mahnke delivers some outstanding art within these pages, especially the stuff involving Atrocitus. There’s a wicked humor beneath the surface in those panels that ramps up the enjoyment just a bit. Mahnke also delivers one of the best front face shots of Sinestro I’ve seen in a while on page 8. The lines and shadows are perfect on it and it gives Sinestro a weird humanity that often goes missing in other representations of the fallen Lantern. I was also impressed with the coloring from Randy Mayor and Gabe Eltreb. The two use their palette not only to illuminate the pencils but also to create a sense of mood for each story arc.
I’m not sure why Green Lantern (and Green Lantern Corps) continue to be so good while Brightest Day struggles to find its footing. I can only assume that while Green Lantern is Geoff Johns' alone, Brightest Day is a collaboration clearly showing who the weaker talent is. In Green Lantern #54 Johns and his crew keep the momentum of Blackest Night going and open these characters up to new challenges that don’t seem derivative or forced. Green Lantern #54 is so good I must use the word my fellow Green Lantern fan Sheldon Cooper would use.
BAZINGA!!
