Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Green Lantern Corps. # 40

By Koppy McFad
September 12, 2009 - 21:55

Dead Green Lanterns and dead Green Lantern enemies are all resurrected as Black Lanterns-- murderous zombies intent on killing Green Lanterns. And they all converge on the planet Oa to kill the remaining Green Lanterns.

This is an extremely dense story, not merely for all the characters that are included but due to all the plotlines as well. Each of the main characters gets his own sequence where we see how the Black Lanterns use sentiment and terror to undermine the character's willpower. Aside from the main conflict between the Green Lanterns and the zombies, there is also a sidestory involving a certain Sinestro Corps. member and a Star Sapphire and another sub-plot concerning a conflict between the Alpha Lanterns and the other Green Lanterns.

There is no re-cap or summary of past events so those who have not been following this comic and who aren't aware of the events concerning the Black Lanterns might be lost. The art, while innovative and imaginative, also sometimes gets confusing. That is largely because of the burdens that the story places upon it. It was hard enough drawing a book with a hundred different alien races. But now, they have a book with a hundred different alien races-- many of them in different coloured uniforms and half of them in a state of decay.

It takes some doing to get into the story and to make your way through the art but once you do, you will find scenes of great drama and real emotions. The confrontation between Salaak and the Alpha Lanterns, Arisia's encounter with her family, Kyle Rayner's dialogue with 'Jade' and even Guy Gardner's brief attempt to reason with his old ally, all leave strong and favourable impressions.

One odd thing in this issue is the Green Lantern infirmary: Oa is suppose to be one of the most technologically-advanced planets in the universe and yet their infirmary looks like just another military field hospital-- complete with cots lined up in a large hall. This book is largely the story of a military unit at war but surely they could have come up with something more futuristic.

 

Rating: 7.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12