Wednesday, April 3, 2019

The Green Lantern #6 Review and **SPOILERS**


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Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Liam Sharp
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterer: Steve Wands
Cover: Liam Sharp & Steve Oliff
Variant Cover: Tom Raney with Alex Sinclair
Associate Editor: Jessica Chen
Editor: Brian Cunningham
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: April 3, 2019

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

You wanna join de Blackstars, eh? Yer gonna hafta do some doity woik, see? Yer gonna hafta prove yerself to the fellers and to the capo de capo, Controller Mu hisself, see? Don’t ask questions! Just head on over ta de review of Green Lantern #6, dey’ll loin ya de rules around here.


Explain It!

As it was when we left the last issue, Hal has to prove his allegiance to the Blackstars and the vampire lady by killing Adam Strange. This is actually all part of an effort by the Blackstars to take control of Rann without widespread violence; by proving their intent to murder its greatest champion, they hope Queen Alanna will subvert herself. Well, Hal shoots Adam Strange in the guts, and Alanna breaks down, so things go pretty much exactly as Controller Mu expected.
This gains Hal an audience with Controller Mu, who, now infused with the Power Cosmic or some shit, is completely bonkers. His plan is to bring peace to the universe through his “my way or the highway” brand of order, and suggests that the Blackstars are like his Power Ring, in that they’re extensions of his will. His while soliloquy reads like something overheard at the bar near closing time, and it’s surprising that Hal doesn’t just slap the guy silly—but he does have Adam and Alanna’s daughter nearby, playing with something shiny. Speaking of Adam Strange, he’s fine; Hal merely put him into a coma.
Controller Mu wants Hal to unlock the secrets of his Power Ring, but Hal sort of stalls and claims that he can’t. When Mu reveals that he knows Hal is a mole, things heat up quickly and Mu reveals a universe-collapsing bomb within his body that will go off upon his death. Hal is able to stop a charging Adam from blasting Mu, but not Alanna—a mother’s vengeance and all that. To stop the bomb, the Guardians infuse Hal with a super-charge of green juice, which seems to have done the trick and saved everyone…except for Hal, who is trapped inside of his own ring, with amnesia!
I finally understand the look Sharp and Morrison are going for with this series: it very much appears like old British sci-fi comics, like 2000 A.D., and even the earlier pulp material it was based on. Truth be told, I detected a bit of Al Williamson influence in these pages. I have no idea how that will fly with the general reading public, but it tickled me right in my Reggie bone, and I found this issue to be a complete blast. Sure, it got weirdly complicated when Controller Mu busted out the U-Bomb—it was unclear to me what his game was there—but I still enjoyed the trappings of a desperate bomb-defusing in the grand tradition of James Bond. Great fun, gents, huzzahs and what-have-yous all around.

Bits and Pieces:

There’s a stylistic gimmick happening here that somewhat supersedes actual Green Lantern characters or continuity. If you enjoy the gimmick, like I do, then you could enjoy this book. If you’re Eric, then this series will leave you furious.

8/10

9 comments:

  1. Being a huge GL fan, I so wanted to like this series but I don't. I just find it annoying and even the art is turning me off now.

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    1. Disagree guys . Love the art . Sharp has been somewhat inconsistent but most panels are outstanding . This issue was amazing . The writing is so unique . Best thing on the stands for me .

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    2. Oh I have to apologize guys because I was looking at the comic digitally but my reader copy looks far worse . They are not giving Liam Sharp the time he deserves to give his best job . The inking is very sloppy in this issue . So you guys are right , the art is sub-par now . Some parts of the story I was not getting either .

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    3. Hmm , i am looking at it again and wondering why there is such a difference between digital and paper . The digital looks great which makes me think this is an issue with printing and the paper and not the art .

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    4. my issue is less art, more story.

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  2. For all the build up, the ending felt kind of rushed. And I dont know how I feel about that...I dont want the story dragging on, but I was a little confused that Mu would detonate a bomb so quickly. Wouldnt he have a better plan if he knew Hal was a mole?

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    1. Ending felt rushed yes unless it is not actually over .

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    2. It feels like we should get back to this story...... you know, because of how people write stories, but even with that...... I'm still not positive we will.

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