Rage of The RED Lanterns

Still continuing my current GL fixation, I decided to get for myself the prequel to the much anticipated Blackest Night.

One of the prequels called Rage of the Red Lanterns, takes place after the Sinestro Corps War with Sinestro behind bars in one of the science cells in OA; with the guardians contemplating about the ramifications of the war just past and the different scenarios leading to the formation of the other colors of the spectrum, like Red and Orange.

Now for those not initiated into the mythology, the Green Lantern is what you could call an intergalactic police force comprised of humans and beings empowered with Green power rings and enforcing order and peace throughout the known parts or sectors of the galaxy. Green stands for will and the force behind to shape it. But after the Sinestro Corps War wherein former Green Lantern Sinestro was able to wield the color of yellow and power his own rings and recruit like minded beings who can harness the power of Fear; represented by the color Yellow, the color spectrum has further grown and divided into a new spectrum representing Rage; which is Red.

Without giving too much away, the collection begins with a Green Lantern named Laira who killed a Yellow Lantern, Amon Sur. She claims that it is but in adherence with the new law of the Guardians permitting lethal force be used against members of the Sinestro Corps. But as evidence shows, Amon Sur was willing to surrender and thus her actions are put on debate until she harnesses her rage and makes herself eligible to join the new Red Lantern Corps.

This prequel bridges events leading to Blackest Night and gives Lantern fans stories of other members of the Corps and how one choice affects all; from the new laws enacted by the Guardians, to the restrictions that some Lanterns feel and how they allow themselves to be true to what they feel regardless of the consequences.

For someone who would want to start with reading the Green lantern series, I would suggest that one begin instead with Origins by Geoff Johns in order to orient oneself about the world of the Lantern and how the original Green Lantern of Earth, Hal Jordan came to be selected.  As the series progressed, newer Lantern’s for Earth have been selected and added to the franchise like John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and the latest selection graphic artist, Kyle Rayner.

You could follow this with Green Lantern: Rebirth then with Green Lantern: No Fear then Revenge of the Green Lantern Corps before moving on to the 2-part Sinestro Corps War.

  

 Addendum to this reading is Tales of the Sinestro Corps then followed by Rage of the Red Lanterns and then Sins of the Star Sapphire before proceeding onto Blackest Night and Green Lantern: 

Blackest Night.

At the time of this writing, I am still waiting for the paperback release of Green Lantern: Agent Orange which introduces Larfreeze, a new Lantern who harnesses the power of the Orange lantern; representing Greed. And he is quite the character and as per Hal Jordan himself looks like a cross between Gonzo and Scrooge. :)

So far my journey to rediscovering Green Lantern continues as I delve into the Lantern mythos and look for more back issues and compilations. In reading this much, have to say that the Guardians themselves have much to answer for. You may also check out Avengers VS JLA which also features the villain named Krona who like the Guardians come from the planet, Maltus. And this journey of discovery continues and culminatesnext year in anticipation of the Green Lantern movie which stars Canadian actor, Ryan Reynolds.

 For now, I am counting the days till the December release of Brightest Day; the next tumultuous saga in the Lantern universe, following Blackest Night.