Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #6 Review and **SPOILERS**



Hal Hath No Fury

Writer: Robert Vendetti
Penciller: Rafa Sandoval
Inker: Jordi Tarragona
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Sandoval, Tarrgona and Morey
Cover Price: $2.99
On Sale Date: October 12, 2016

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

This is it, folks! The showdown between Hal Jordan and Sinestro for the fate of the entire galaxy! I assume whichever color corps wins will be the dominant hue of the prevailing force, so if Jordan wins it will be a Greenish-Yellow Lantern Corps about the color of sickly phlegm, while if Sinestro wins it will be a Yellowish-Green Lantern Corps about the color of baby poop. Hmm…what if the Red Lanterns get involved, we could end up with something like the Pumpkin Lantern Corps. And the power source could be a Jack O’Lantern. Halloween is right around the corner, so this couldn’t be any more timely. Of course, Halloween is less than three weeks away, while issues #7 and #8 were likely done four or six weeks ago, but I don’t see why this can’t be accommodated. It’s just a color change, really. You won’t find the Pumpkin Lantern Corps in this issue of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, and I can prove it if you read on

Explain It!

It’s all coming to a head now, everyone! John Stewart and Kilowog stand on the bridge of a lantern ring construct, leading a rag-tag group of ships in an all-out assault on the Sinestro Corps headquarters, Warworld! But first, Hal Jordan’s got to be a glory hog! And hog the glory he does, talking smack and batting away Sinestro Corps members like so many obnoxious flies. Hal creates a lot of fighter jets that tear through everyone and make a shit-ton of noise because he’s basically an overgrown child. Down by the Fear Engine, Guy Gardner’s torturer from the Sacrament hearts all kinds of calamity happening on the surface, and is then visited by Lyssa Drak with a message from Sinestro: increase the power of the Fear Engines! Turns out one Guy Gardner is just the thing to stoke the flames, so the Sacramentorian puts a funny-looking helmet on Gardner and plugs him into the Fear Engine with a coaxial cable.
So the yellow rings power up to 200%, which should be mathematically impossible, but this seems to have no effect on Hal Jordan’s swagger. He continues to pummel the crap out of them while Sinestro meditates near the Fear Engine and absorbs its power all the way up to the ludicrous extent of 500%. He orders the ring to remove its safeguards and allow the Fear Engine’s energy to flow through him, and it climbs to the absolutely meaningless mark of 1,000%. All the while Hal Jordan clobbers everyone in the Sinestro Corps, making the streets of Warworld run green with, uh, green clouds. Hal stands over the defeated Corps and talks some more smack, and then Sinestro finally shows up wearing Killer Moth’s cape!

Well, this was a bit of a tease. Will the Green Lantern Corps actually do something meaningful in this book for once? It’s always John Stewart hanging back like, “When I get my hands on Sinestro, I tell you what! Oooh, he makes me so mad!” I am a fan of Hal’s overbearing attitude and snarky dialogue, but the fact that he took out the Sinestro Corps alone is kind of bullshit. Especially with their rings at 200%, which had no effect on him at all. I understand he’s become embodied will or whatever, but I didn’t really need an entire issue to understand that meant he could snuff any rank-and-file wielder of a yellow ring. The art was nice, a little crowded at times but still very much on point. I get the feeling, however, that this issue could be skipped entirely since the big Green Lantern Corps attack on Warworld hasn’t happened yet. And at this rate, it may not happen until issue #23.
 
Bits and Pieces:

Are you ready for some Green Lantern Corps action??? Well, keep waiting. This issue reads like a placeholder, for some reason, despite being issue #6 and therefore the conclusion of a swell trade paperback. So people that get the trade collection of this won't even get a complete story? Great. This seems really well thought out.

6/10

5 comments:

  1. My biggest complaint with Rebirth...double shipping titles means that a lot of these stories get really drug out for no reason. The art is amazing though!

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    1. what dude really old stories come out very two weeks have read superman , batman , flash , very story cool dude

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    2. I thought the extended action scene was really well rendered...but it was still an extended action scene of little consequence!

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    3. Exactly. I'm not saying this is a bad issue or that I didn't like it. I think this book has been well executed from the beginning, but Reggie says it perfectly, it's "an extended action scene of little consequence." I think the same can be said for most of this entire arc. It doesn't make it bad, I'm disappointed that we're six issues in and we don't have a complete story.

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  2. I just don't get a sense that Venditti has a sense of WTF he wants to do with this comic except rehash the same decompressed derivative stories that we have seen before. This comic needs a whole new premise. It is just not a big deal anymore being a Green Lantern. And Hal Jordan remains one of the least developed characters in the DCU, next to WW. It's all action, no character development, whereas WW is no action and no character development either (unless you consider platitudes and forgiveness character development). Hal Jordan and WW are unlikely to remain on my pulllist at this rate. Both are 6-7 issues in with no end in sight with no compelling reason to stay on board.

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