Red Lanterns: All About Rage or...More....

When I first heard about the New 52...my reaction? Why!???

When I saw the line up for the New 52 and it included a separate storyline for the Red Lanterns; borne out of their "following" after the successful DC crisis, "Blackest Night", I made the same reaction (along with some head scratching)... Why!??

And then when I read the recent Vol 1 compilation that collects the first 7 issues of their New 52 run...I had to stop, nod my head and say...Oh, that's why? :)

In short, reading this compilation has surprised me and made me wonder what was the reason for choosing to highlight Atrocitus and his Rage-filled band of Red Wielding Lanterns instead of the others in the Lantern spectrum. As I figured, Rage would be the least important emotion of the spectrum, because aside from destruction and tearing down what you know and love all in the name of Rage, you're pretty much left with nothing save for the consequences of your actions. And if we equate the need to resolve and address consequences in the wake of any destructive streak, it definitely needs to be met head on. And who better than the master of rage, Atrocitus, himself.

And while I don't want to be a Master at SPOILERS, better be warned now before reading further. :)

The compilation which collects the first 7 issues of the series,opens in Ryut, Space Sector 666, Atrocitus' own homeworld, with a hunter named Zuuq flaying a prisoner alive. He is interrupted by the arrival of our favorite Red Cat and later Atrocitus coming to his cats rescue and pondering a change that he has been feeling. Inspite of the carnage that he inflicts upon these hunters, he acknowledges that he seems to be merely going through the motions; that his Rage is not what is used to be. It is waning. And more than that, the effects have already begun to be felt by other members of the Red Lantern Corps, like Bleez, Ratchet and Skallox among others and like a singular organism body, they are restless and have begun to war with themselves.

Atrocitus believes that this unrest can only be solved by making another blood prophecy and he does this by reaching into the corpse of the dead Guardian Krona, killed during the War of the Green Lanterns by Hal Jordan. By Krona's blood and with his own ways of necromancy, Atrocitus offers Krona's blood as payment for his desire to be shown the answer to his dilemna. Thus he is shown visions of his past. From being a father on the planet Ysmault and suffering the brunt of the massacre of his people at the hands of the Robotic Manhunters before the Green Lantern Corps were formed, to other crimes of war and injustice on other planets. He thus accepts the visions as a sign to take on the rage and outcry of the Universe as his own. And is thus recharged and renewed for a new and higher purpose. And in line with this, he accepts the necessity of having a helper, and is left with his ruminations of which Red Lantern to "promote" and join him in his renewed quest. That is, if they really need him, at all.

Meanwhile, in another Sector, on Earth actually and better known as Sector 2814, and more specifally in the UK, another family is undergoing a crisis of its own as the grandfather of Jack and Raymond Moore was the casualty of a mugging. Bereft without a guardian who has become a surrogate father to them, brothers Jack and Raymond are each dealing with the crisis the best way they know how. One decides to punish the guilty by going after the mugger named Baxter, while the other decides to curtail his own anger and frustration and accepts the situation for what it is.

But when an attempt on their grandfather's killer, carried out by the outspoken Raymond and botched and intercepted made by the repressed Raymond which later results in his arrest and subsequent beating by the arresting cops for his refusal to cooperate, Raymond is left to deal with his guilt, his frustration, and his Rage at his situation, and so opens himself up just as a Red Ring flies and slips onto his fingers and thereby makes him the first Red Lantern of Earth; and named Rankorr. Following his insticts, he goes after his grandfathers killer only to be stopped further by Guy Gardner, who like us is surprised to find out that this Red Lantern is able to speak "normally" without spewing tons of napalm at the person they're talking to.

Back on Ysmault, Atrocitus himself has his plate full with having to deal with drafting Bleez as his second-in-command and returning her "normal" state of mind by submerging her into the River of blood and making her re-live her trauma and rage until she rises from it fully aware of who she is. (Note: When one becomes a Red Lantern,  your heart stops beating and is replaced by the Red Ring. Along with that you become a blathering drone spewing Napalm from your mouth, as a Red Lantern doesn't have coherent speech, except Atrocitus)

Bleez begins to question her existence and her life before being drafted and flies to exact revenge on her tormentors who sold her first to selected members of the Sinestro Corps. But Bleeze, as the story pans out, isn't the only one thrown into the river as Skallox and Ratchet followed suit and relived their own hellish life before equally questioning the morality of their cause. And it is this speaking and mentally capable band of Lanterns that Atrocitus brings with him on the search for the body of Krona after he returns to find it missing and not on the empty slab of stone where it has been since the events of Brightest Day .

Ironically, Atrocitus blames Krona for the massacre of his people and yet Krona is the only confidant he has and it is only after a ritual involving Krona's blood does Atrocitus  find his sense of purpose once more. For someone being the object of one's hate, Krona still has some use long after his death.

The search takes Atrocitus back to the Abominable Zone, a ruined city built from the bone of marooned space travelers where he began his experiments with first Red Lanterns. And with that journey, he discovers that one of his failed experiments named Abysmus has stolen Krona' corpse, ate is and has absorbed his power. And if that were not enuf, the abomination named Abysmus, has breathed life into the other corpses of the dead Red Lanterns, re-animated and apty named them the Abysmorphs. Add to this surprise is the arrival of James Moore; aka Rankorr of Earth which gives Abysmus the perfect timing to skewer Atrocitus from behind and leaving Rankorr to face the onslaught of the "Zombie"Red Lanterns and we are left to wonder who will eventually get the upper hand and win.

And win is what this first compilation of the Red Lanterns does for me as it certainly mirrors one's struggle in grappling with anger in real life. How long must one be angry? About a person who may have wronged us? About a situation that we feel powerless to change? Or even anger at ourselves for not being as driven as we feel we should be or even anger at how others can impose their expectations upon us. Truly there is much to be angry for and if you have a short attention span like Atrocitus, you may find yourself moving from one thing to another to focus on; from finding a helper only to realize that she will plan your downfall eventually because she shouldn't have been given that much credit, or the things you did in the past will bite you in the ass if you assume that it is dead and buried, or you are surprised to find that your anger is not only abating but equally moving into new territory. Anger can only be a primal source of power if it is focused and unrelenting. Something that Atrocitus should've learned and known all along. In short, no points for wanting too many things all and once and distracting oneself from the task at hand.

But to give our Red napalm spewing Lantern some credit, he himself is focused, its just that the results of his focused planning is not living up to his expectation and hereby as a reader we are thrown in for that unexpected ride, and if you like a semi-rollercoaster ride, with the promise of more turbulence, then I suggest this one should get you started and don't be surprised if you crave for more.


How could you not? With a cliffhanger at the end of issue 7, I can only wait for the release of the next volume next year on my Bday, which is March 12. But in the meantime, let me treat you for the cover of Issue #8. And if that doesn't get your blood boiling for more? Then perhaps better check your Red battery, it may have been affected by a roving Blue Lantern. :)

Catching up on Green Lantern -New 52

** spoiler alert ** When I first heard of the New 52 retcon of DC last year, I feared for the worst.

That is, most of us will have to bear with origin retelling of the stories that we have been glued to and following for the past 5 years, or in most cases for the past decade, including major DC events like Inifinite Crisis, Final Crisis, the earth shattering and successful crisis of Blackest Night and the subsequent Brightest Day and not to mention the much polarized Flashpoint.

But good thing for us Lantern readers, the New 52 GL not only takes on a surprising twist but mainly follows events after the most recent GL crisis which was War of the Green Lanterns and the subsequent sequel called Aftermath.

For most readers who have been following Geoff Johns’ (winning) writing streak and take on our Emerald crusader, Sinestro now seems to be the main torchbearer of the GL Corps after the Guardians disowned and fired Hal Jordan following his actions on War of the Green Lanterns, which I felt was rather harsh. But then again the Guardians will always have their way.  

Now, having gone back to Earth and in search of a normal life, Hal Jordan can’t seem to make ends meet and mend the relationship that he so wants to have with Carol Ferris, who at this time has shelved her Star Sapphire status and current Reign as Queen of the Corps of the planet Zamaron. Hal for the better part of the Compiled 6 issues of the New 52 GL, is a displaced and aimless Lantern wanting to relive his purpose as a member of the Corps and one who feels that he can effect change from that elevated status rather than an ordinary citizen of Earth.

Of course, this doesn’t stop him at an early point in the first issue, from jumping through the window of the next door building after witnessing a woman being attacked by a odd looking skinhead that had veins protruding thru his arms and weird tattoo shapes on his head. He simply does this in a beat only to find himself in the middle of a movie shoot and later had to be bailed out from jail by Carol herself. 

Nothing seems right up until Sinestro arrives for a surprise visit and asks him to do everything he says if he wants to have his ring back. As proof, Sinestro wills and contructs an extension of his own ring which naturally finds its way to Hal’s fingers, and transforms him back to the Emerald Warrior we know. But true to his crafty nature, Sinestro has built specific failsafe precautions into the ring, so much so that Hal’s blast directed at Sinestro the moment he receives the ring is proved futile and inert as the Korugarian reveals that the ring cannot turn against its maker. And that Sinestro can easily take the ring and its power away as he easilly as he gives it. 

It seems that Sinestro has need of Jordan’s help to wipe out the members of the Sinestro Corp harnessing the Yellow Power of Fear on his home planet of Korugar. Naturally, Sinestro still feels that he is the sole savior of his home planet and thus proves to be an effective villain, as one other review said, for he is a bad guy who doesn’t seem to know he is the bad guy. Yup, talk about ultra righteous thinking.

Sinestro then gives Jordan a tempting offer that he can’t refuse. Help him get rid Of the Sinestro Corps on Korugar and he gets to keep the ring.

At the same time this “deal” is being forged, another one is being re-written and wraught on OA, as Ganthet, the former Guardian and once leader of the Blue Lantern Corps that channels the emotion of Hope and later self-inducted Green Lantern of Sector Zero, has been taken by the remaining Guardians and stripped off his emotions.
Ironically, the once champion of conscience and emotion for our Emerald heroes now has become as closed minded as his brethren and is in agreement, that in spite of the Green Lantern Corps embodying the sentient emotion of Will, they are not without fault. Hal Jordan, they deem is the example of all drive and without foresight and Sinestro its extreme polarity of all drive but without a shred of altruism. And on top of the past debacle with the Manhunters and the recent Manipulation of Krona in the recent GL War, the Guardians surprised us all that it is time for the creation of the 3rd army and that the Green Lantern Corps needs to be replaced.

That line has just left me in awe and shaking my head in disgust with the Guardians and by the time I got to issue #6, another wave of change can be felt as the original drawings of Doug Mahnke have been taken over by guest artist Mike Choi who continues the task of softening the look of our favorite GL and aptly making him look younger in his drawings as Hal and Carol seem to have, this time around, officially dated again and are enjoying each others company when she brings him to the Aeronautical Museum of Coast City. This both serves as a good chance for the two star crossed lovers to bond once more as Sinestro flies off to the planet Ogoro in Sector 1417, following the defeat of the Yellow Sinestro Corps on Korugar. 

As it is, I’ve neglected to detail how this was accomplished and would hopefully serve as enough incentive to either read or better yet collect, the first volume of the new 52 GL which is aptly entitled Sinestro. On that planet, Sinestro finds the means of locating his once keeper of the Book of Parallax, Lyssa Drax, who now is enthralled by the Book of the Black. He manages to subdue her but not after ripping out a page of the “accursed” book and getting a glimpse of the future, with the Guardians being true to their word of bringing back the 1st Lantern to lead the Third Army against the Green lantern Corps. As part of that image gruelling visage, he also sees his own death along with Hal Jordan's.


This thus brings more questions to the fore as to who the first Lantern is and who are the 3rd army that the Guardians speak of. With a Guardian holding up the White Ring on the panel depicting Sinestro's vision, could the White Lantern Corps be the Army they are referring to and how much of it as well will affect other members of the DC universe should this come to pass?

The compilation ends once more with Thaal Sinestro coming back to Earth, powering up Hal’s ring and summoning him to another mission, just after Hal has finally accepted the state of normalcy that has to happen in his life in order to have that normal life with Carol.

After reading another brilliant and layered compilation effectively brought to us by Geoff Johns, I am so half-tempted to pick up the loose issues that follow. As of this writing, the current issue is #9 and I would have to wait till next year to get on track with Vol 2 of this edition. But patience will always be the value to cultivate when collecting hardcover graphic novels and with Geoff Johns we know we are always taken cared of and will be very much rewarded.

War Of The Green Lanterns - Gotta Love It!

It’s been about 4 years now since I last re-visited Green Lantern and realized why I had this penchance for rings when I was a kid. Fast forward to today and after major yearly crises that has plagued OA and the rest of the DC Universe; I am still hooked and proud to be a Lantern at heart. Reading War of the Green Lanterns this month as it only came out in hardcover and compiles the entire storyline via different issues of Green Lantern and Emerald Warriors; Geoff Johns has once again won my heart and proved why he is the man who wears the DC crown.

Touted as the big crisis following the successful and my favorite GL crisis, Blackest Night and its 3 part sequel, Brightest Day, one would think that there would not be another crisis than can come close to equalling these past 2 big events. And it so happens that they didn’t have to create another villain to spin a brand new crisis that would incapacitate and affect our ring wielding friends because they already have one in their midst. And this came in the form of a renegade guardian named Krona. The hardcover 10-issue compilation collects the different runs of the storyline as it appears in Green Lantern #63-67, Green Lantern Corps #58-60, Emerald Warriors #8-10.

Having met Krona first in the 80’s series, Crisis on Infinite Earths and then have him associated with past DC events like Infinite Crisis and the 2 most recent GL crises, it was but natural that they bring him back to finally tie up loose ends with his fellow Guardians and to give Krona the centerstage attention that he so long desired. (I’m not saying, deserved either)

With Krona’s entrance, it’s also the resolution of the damage that the so called Guardians have had to answer for. From the secrets and lies that they told in order to keep the Lanterns in the dark of what they must not know and limit their knowledge to what they need to know, this war was very much a war among the Guardians themselves and not just confined to their Green “police squad”. Following the events of Green Lantern: Brightest Day, we find our hero Hal Jordan working alongside with the other members of the different corps, branded as such by the Guardians as enemies, in protecting the various emotional entities from Krona’s influence.

So far Krona has succeeded in obtaining all the emotional entities (Ion for Green; Parallax for Yellow; Ophidian for Orange; Butcher for Red; Adara for Blue, Proselyte for Indigo and Predator for Violet) and have “led” this temporary truce-bound group of lanterns to the Planet Ryut; which is in Sector 666, and homeworld of the red lantern leader, Atrocitus. This same planet where his Red Lantern, representing the emotional spectrum of rage, was formed and tragically is also site of the massacre of his people by the robotic Manhunters made by the Guardians eons ago.  According to the Book of Oa that contained a history of the Lantern Corps, the Manhunters were robots manufactured by the Guardians to ensure peace in the galaxy but a glitch in their basic programming caused them to massacre everyone on the planet Ryut and thus begin Atrocitus’ lifelong dream of exacting his revenge on the Guardians.

On Ryut, the multi-colored Lanterns fell susceptible to the Book of the Black kept by Krona and protected by now Black Keeper Lyssa Drak who once was a member of the Sinestro Corps and wielded a yellow Ring that represented the emotional spectrum of fear. The Lanterns were thus given a glimpse into the true secret that the Guardians have kept for so long. The “secret” was actually the omitted and torn out passages or journal entries from the Book of Oa and were replayed in their minds as they are strapped to the book by Black Chains for the duration of their “virtual history lesson”.

As the book shows, Krona was one of the original Guardians hailing from the planet Maltus who sought out the meaning of life; the origin of creation. 

He was a brilliant scientist that dared to question and in his result bungled his own experiment and created the opposite of all life called The Anti Universe. For this and for recognizing the existence and use of emotion to which the Guardians were totally against he was sentenced to death and was in pursuit by the Manhunters. The book further revealed, much to the horror of all that It was Krona who re-worked the programming of the Manhunters and to randomly select a world to kill; a point which he had hoped to bring across to the Guardians that he meant business. That an “emotionless” police force is not without flaws and must be corrected.

Having thus learned the truth, the Lanterns were sucked into the book, but not before Sinestro and Hal detonated their own rings and enabled Hal to be free of the chains that bound him. Which was well and good, had it not been for the arrival of several Green Lanterns lead by Salaak who were commanded by the Guardians to arrest Hal and bring him back to Oa for sanction.

Krona as this time had already returned Parallax, the yellow entity of Fear into the central battery and have begun manipulating the bearers of the Green Lantern ring thru Parallax and was havin them fight against Hal, former Guardian Ganthet (but now a self inducted Green Lantern), John Stewart, Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner.

That basically is the gist of the run of the storyline and I’m stopping here lest I be tempted to reveal more spoilers. Just like my favorite GL crises, The Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night, this compilation has all the action that any GL fan has come to love and expect with its own share of character introspection and plot twists. Only when I re-read this a second time did it dawn on me that Hal for all his bravado and will is turning out to be rather Machiavellian in his ways and it is perhaps in this that the Guardians have begun to fear him and regard him as a threat; that he perhaps could be another Krona in the making. But in his defense, Hal is aware of the radical steps that he has taken and in one panel, has admitted he has bitten off more than he can chew at the height of this crisis.

Suffice to say, Johns has given us another reason to love the Green Lantern Corps and what it stands for and in the process have given two major lanterns a shot of soul searching and redemption. If you like your reads action packed and unpredictable  then 

War of the Green Lanterns is a must this holiday season. And although the end certainly paves the way for the new reboot of the franchise by way of the new-52 by DC, I can only imagine the next chapter that all our favorite Lanterns would have to go through following this devastating blow of a war. No one said that war will exempt the brave and the lucky ones from being a casualty. But after this, the word “casualty” is certainly being redefined as the Corps itself is being reshaped and put into the ringer. Power up Poohzers. Time for a new beginning!

Brightest Day Vol 3 - Is it really Bright?

One review that I read prior to finishing the 3rd and last volume of Brightest Day asked the question that I also found myself asking at the end of it all, was that, “Was it needed?”

If we go by the Lantern Oath and pick up on the beat of Geoff Johns thinking, then perhaps yes. Because after Blackest Night, something should follow suit, and true to Oath form of the Green Lantern Corps, Brightest Day does follow. But does it make sense? Does it strike a chord in the characters, much less the readers?

It did when I first finished Blackest Night, which by the way was a tour de force in itself. From storyline to the artwork, the pacing of the panelling and how the entire arc of the story affected the entire DC universe. It was brilliant. And having the creative lightning strike hard and strike gold, could it have been possible to do it a second time?

Picture this.

At the end of Blackest Night, several DC characters who were dead were brought back to life by the sentient living entity that was hidden underneath the Earth. It spoke of the path that follows the dark. And metaphorically, I do get it. That after the dark and having been touched by light, what do we do? After epiphanies of our own, being in the dark for some time before that, how do we deal with the consequences? Of course, we move forward, live our lives and go where the light takes us. But somehow, somewhere in the midst of my reading all 3 volumes, I was asking if I wanted to be taken there in the first place.

As opposed to the first crisis that involved dead superheroes becoming Black Lanterns and corrupting the living, Brightest Day doesn’t add much on that scale and narrows the “crisis” down to the resurrected characters and how their lives and choices affect the others in the DC universe. Vol. 3 continues the battle of Hawkman and Hawkgirl against her mother in beating out the life and death Prophecy cycle that they have been subjected to. Aquaman battles for his place in the underwater kingdom and mentoring the new Aqualad, who just happens to be the son of his nemesis, Black Manta. Not to mention dealing with Mera’s revelation that she came to Atlantis to kill him but not counted on falling in love with him. Firestorm for his part had to deal and reconcile that being fused into one as Ronal Raymond and Jason Rusch has its advantages and drawbacks while being transported to the Anti-Matter Universe. Martian Manhunter dealt with D’Kays treachery and deception while Deadman, had to face with how it is to live his life and discover love with Dove in the process. All of these lives and their subsequent choices are as the White Lantern reveals all part of the process.

But after the process itself was revealed, I felt for Deadman. He was duped and manipulated by the White Entity to push these returned heroes to live out their choices because they were being groomed to take part in another battle to come. And that was against the so called, Dark Avatar; a residue of Nekron’s influence on the Earth during the Blackest Night crisis.

When I read Blackest Night I felt that it could have been longer. I wanted more action scenes played out as it was indeed in the truest sense of the word a worldwide crisis. But after this Brightest Day “crisis” which spanned the whole year long before it was compiled and doled out in 3 increments, I felt that it could have been shortened. Was Geoff Johns like the White Entity manipulating and cashing in on readers to buy his latest effort? One would surely look at it that way. But from a creative side, one would argue that he had a story to tell.

And yes while I applaud the effort for a story, it could have been shortened and heightened with more kick ass action rather than the low key and philosophical implications that we are left with and only to be sparingly laced with action and manipulated mystery along the way. No doubt that I may yet get some gem of wisdom from reading all 3 of them again. But I like my superheroes, swinging, flying, shooting and beating the crap out of the bad guys. But with given that Life itself is the challenge to deal with this time, there really are no bad guys; just bad choices stemming from a different form of perception.

 And that perception itself may have come from a place of capitalism in order to cash in more profits for one’s coffers or the perception that if a story is stretched to the limit, it may make for a good yarn of a tale. And because it is such a yarn, consider me like the cat that buys in on that ball of yarn and brings it back to you, looks you in the face and with utmost hope, purrs, “What’s next, Geoff Johns?”

FlashPoint – Abin Sur: Green Lantern #2

Some things never change.

This is what I learned in spite of the life altering events borne about from the current DC crisis called Flashpoint. It’s the current storyline following the previous years biggest event, Blackest Night that involved our favorite Green Lantern, Hal Jordan and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps as well as all other DC superheroes. It was that much of an “EVENT”.

This time around for Flashpoint, of which I myself am trying to wrap my head around, centers on an altered timeline in which Abin Sur, the original Green Lantern who bequeathed Hal Jordan his ring, is actually alive and is on his way via orders from the Guardians, to retrieve the White Entity (as revealed in Blackest Night) from Earth in order to be brought back to Oa for safekeeping from Nekron and the rest of the Black Lanterns. Apparently, in this time line, the Blackest Night was not stopped and took hold of the best, even our favorite drill sergeant, Kilowog.

Issue #1  ended with Abin Sur’s craft being shot down. The bolt was colored Violet, so I may be thinking what your thinking but that has yet to be revealed. I am hoping the last issue which is #3 will tell us that. Simultaneously, Sinestro is on the planet Ysmault talking to the crucified Atrocitus and extracting information about a prophecy; or should I say The Prophecy about Flashpoint.

Issue #2 begins with Abin having sought out Hal and giving him the ring but was stopped by Cyborg of the Teen Titans, nursed back to health and begins his own quest to save Earth from harmful elements of society, as a personal penance from not being able to save his own planet Ungara and his beloved sister, Ariana.

Sinestro soon arrives to tell Abin Sur of the prophecy and that it is caused by someone from Earth who has altered not only events in Earth but in the entire Universe as well. If you must know, in this current story line Aquaman is Emperor of the Seas and Wonder Woman is married to him; Batman is working for the government and Clark Kent is still a reporter. Here comes in what I mentioned about things not changing as Thaal Sinestro has revealed that The Flash is currently fixing to alter and fix the timeline once more. For Sinestro, he can make the Flash change the world in “Their” image. And only he being Sinestro can “fix” it all.

I guess in any timeline, ego will always be ego. And in so doing, Sinestro is blind to all and follows the prophecy to the letter; for as revealed by Atrocitus, as long as Abin Sur is alive, he is doomed to fail. Needless to say a battle between these two ensues and we are left hanging for the next issue.

Figuring that these stories are just supplementary tales to the main arc of Flashpoint for DC this year, I decided to collect them and found myself enjoying these changes. Plots involving timelines are certainly not new in any form of fantasy writing. Shows like Charmed, Legend of the Seeker, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have certainly incorporated this “alternate universe” angle and it does freshen up any franchise and gives us a peek into the the world of the “What-If”.

What if Sinestro does fulfil the prophecy to the letter, does that fulfil and rectify his timeline and complements the “work” that Flash is doing, or will this timeline be an added running story that the writers can continually reference and go back to whenever they just wanna spruce up the stories. I guess I would have to wait for Issue 3 next month. And looking up to the calendar, it is only a week away. 

Can’t wait.

FlashPoint -Hal Jordan #1

Having re-written and given birth to a new and alternate timeline that involved Abin Sur being alive in the current Flashpoint story arc involving Green Lantern and the rest of the DC superheroes, why should Earth’s first Green Lantern, Hal Jordan be any different and out of the action right?

Picking up the story from Abin Sur Green Lantern #1, Hal Jordan in this timeline is still a pilot flying for Ferris Air, pining for Carol Ferris and dealing with the loss of his father from that tragic airplane accident when he was a kid and just dealing with the attack of a shark-man that latched onto his plane in one of his flying sessions with Carol. 

And like Sinestro, in this timeline Hal is still as brash and hardheaded as he is in the timeline we know. Along with that, he crashes a multi-million dollar plane into Carol’s own in the process of saving her from the shark but not before taking off in another one and bearing witness to Abin’s own craft being shot down and be offered the chance to save Earth.

 As it is, this is only Issue #1 and so we can only wait for the next issue to see how different this timeline featuring Hal will play out and with a man legged shark up and about looking for meat as reminiscent of another compiled issue of GL featuring mutated animals due to some alien experimenting that also brought William Hand’s back but with much dire consequences, some things just needed to be played out in time, much like this 3 issued storyline. Strap in and wait.

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps

Much has been said about Green Lantern’s Blackest Night, not to mention the subsequent back stories and tie-ups. In my “immersion” course into the Green Lantern Universe two years ago, collecting the many graphic novel compilations and tie-ups has been a journey for me and with Brightest Day Volume 1 released last year and Volume 2 and other tie-ins this year, I know my “work” is cut out for me. 

But for this time, I got pulled into collecting another tie in for the Blackest Night and this chronicles different Tales of the Corps; from the history of how Kilowog was during his own days as a Lantern in training, the becoming of Blume Godhead into an Orange Lantern, how St. Walker’s life was before and how he got drafted as a Blue Lantern, to the reason why Carol Ferris chose to be a Violet Lantern to the rise of Nekron as well as The Book of Black as written by Black Hand.

There are many back stories in this compilation to supplement one’s reading and sometimes after having immersed in the main storyline and knowing the full outcome of the whatever storyline, at times the back stories that were not included proves to be an interesting read. And it is to John's vision and writing that makes it so. 

Suffice to say that this is not compulsory reading for those who are merely after the main storyline of The Blackest Night, but nonetheless Geoff Johns has not held back on giving us some interesting reads and writing new historical data for Lantern nuts like me. 

Should I get pulled and compelled to collect the 2 remaining compilations of the Black Lantern Corps, consider me addicted and fully drafted. 

Go Poohzers!

Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps

Having been immersing myself in the last year, not to mention couple of months with the current Green Lantern series, Blackest Night and it’s almost never ending prequels and tie-ins, I figured that I’ve had it and would not be tempted, bullied, seduced to get another tie-in. 

Boy, was I wrong.

After much “research”, I knew I just had to reneg on that promise I made to myself and just had to get the Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps. 

I know I was burned into collecting the last one which was Rise of the Black Lanterns on harbound (ouch!), I apparently have not learned from this lesson. 

Now shouldn’t I be rewarded with an Orange Ring? Ah paging Larfreeze! 

This compilation collects Green Lantern Corps #39-47 and shows us the damage (not to mention carnage) that the Black Lanterns inflicted on OA, while the main Blackest Night Storyline takes place on Earth, with Hal Jordan and the rest of the Justice League, Justice Society, The Titans and the rest of the DC folks all keeping the bad guys (and Guardian) in check. J

The book starts with Guy Garnder and Kyle Rayner on their way back to OA, after having come from Earth to attend Tribute Day. (Yes, Flash isn’t the only one who has this). They are met by Lantern Soranik of Korugar and Lantern (Princess) Iolande of Betrassus. They are the first to encounter a horde of Black Lantern Rings making its way to OA, and realizing that willpower-powered barriers erected to stay their flight proved futile.

Sure enough the Black Lantern Rings find their way, infiltrating the Lantern Crypt, overwhelm caretaker Lantern Morro of the desert planet Sarc, and revive all deceased Green Lanterns and turn them into Black Lanterns. 

Some of these include casualties of the preceding Sinestro Corps War like Lantern Jack T Chance of Garnet; Lantern Katma Tui of Korugar; Tomar Re of Xandor;  

Lantern Jade (daughter of Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern) and Lantern Ke’hann who was then rumoured to be harboring feelings for Lantern Arisia inspite of his marriage. After his death, she became a Red Lantern, successfully channelling her rage and frustration.

Most Green Lanterns were not spared with meeting the deceased and corresponding Black Lantern that held the most emotional connection to them in their lifetime. 

Like Kyle was met by Jade; Guy Gardner by Lantern Bzzd of Apiaton and Lantern Ke’hann. Trainmaster Kilowog wasn’t spared as he was met by his mentor and now Black Lantern Ermey!

The onslaught of the Black Lanterns was so overwhelming that even the main power battery on OA was threatened. These conflicts were just some of things that happened and why I felt I had to have this as part of my Green Lantern collection in an effort to bring me up to speed in my Lantern education. 

Wouldn't want to give anything else away if in case you are contemplating whether or not to collect this volume. And would want to keep other aspects of the storyline a surprise. But if not for anything else, seeing Guy Gardner aptly channel his rage and become a Red Lantern should be a good reason for you to get this.

Why then did he become a Red Lantern?

Well I guess you would have to get your copy and sign up in the Corps to know all about it.