Green Lantern: Blackstars #2 Review and **SPOILERS**

Dear Mr. Bendis

Writer: Grant Morrison 

Artist: Xermanico 

Colorist: Steve Oliff 

Letterer: Steve Wands 

Cover: Liam Sharp 

Variant Cover: Darick Robertson & Diego Rodriguez 

Associate Editor: Jessica Chen 

Editor: Brian Cunningham 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: December 4, 2019

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Back to the alternate—or actual??—world of Green Lantern Blackstars! Hal Jordan is gonna marry a space vampire, Earth is under the scrutiny of Controller Mu, and Mongul…well, he’s still punching the hell out of people. But under orders of Controller Mu now! Check out what’s new in my review of Green Lantern Blackstars #2, right here!

Explain It!

Belzebeth and Hal…er, I mean Parallax continue their pre-wedding jaunt through the galaxy, spreading Controller Mu’s persistent insistence on peace––or else! Some time has elapsed since last issue’s cliffhanger, and now Hallalax is talking to Superman about Earth’s compliance a second time—the first having ended in a stalemate after Jonathan was convinced by the Blackstars’ groovy threads.Hal points out that life on Earth sucks, that people are dickwads, and cruel things continually happen due to their being adjacent to the Depressoverse. It’s a sly commentary on the current, Bendis-driven DC Universe and if it doesn’t make you chuckle, then fuck you. 

Anyway, Superman doesn’t agree to sign over the Earth to Controller Mu, which won’t sit well with the Blackstars, but in the immediate is Belzebeth and Hallalax’s wedding! To be performed, in secret, by a curiously addled Controller Mu. Before they swap their nuptial spit, Beth tells Hal her origin story, which is about how everyone treated her like a piece of shit, until Controller Mu found her and fed her loyal planets to revive her. Beth repaid his kindness by killing him at the end of the ceremony, for she intends to take over the Blackstar cult—but not before Hal Jordan’s team of deep cover agents have something to say about it! 

Wow, I really liked this issue! The stuff at the beginning, Hal and Clark commenting on the current comics landscape. But Belzebeth’s crazy backstory was really the meat of this issue, and…it was okay. Definitely made her out to be an opportunistic type, which was the point. But, as usual, Morrison’s overblown florid writing turns out to distract from the actual events on the page. Luckily, Xermanico’s plotting was clear enough to tell the story, but sheesh! We coulda done without all the Goth poetry.

Bits and Pieces:

An overly-wordy look at how Belzebeth went from space-Lady Dracula to second in command of the Blackstars. Plus, a little sarcastic commentary on current-day comic books! You gotta love that.

8.5/10