Green Lantern #25

Posted by Graig on December 22, 2007

(DC)

After many, many years of decent, if underwhelming crossovers and events — Civil War and Infinite Crisis most notably — it’s good to finally have something epic in size, but doesn’t buckle under the weight of having to change, well, everything. Both of the Big Two have found success with smaller, tighter, more character-centric storylines: Marvel with World War Hulk, and DC here with “The Sinestro Corps War”, and that is the way it should be.

Event comics that change the universe demand a lot of investment, both from a reader and creator perspective. The fan has to start recontextualizing what they know about a superhero universe in total and how the changes affect each of the characters they enjoy, putting the pressure on the creative staff to guide them. If an event, put bluntly, sucks, then the writers, artists and editors either have to admit their mistake and restore status quo, or hold fast to their botch job and strive to make the best of it (see Countdown). These Earth-shattering crises can be a lot to manage and after a while, exhausting enough for a fan (or creator) to give up on altogether (dubbed “event fatigue”).

More contained epics, like Marvel’s Annihilation or the 11-part “Sinestro Corps War”, are exactly how these things should be done, on a character or sub-section of a shared universe basis. By isolating a big brew-ha-ha to one defined character (or group of characters) it allows the situation to have a much bigger impact on fewer characters, giving the book keener focus and providing the creative staff with much fewer headaches in creating, executing and moving forward from the event. “The Sinestro Corps War” does involve more than just the Green Lantern Corps: when Sinestro brings the fight to Earth — his crew of yellow-ring wearing villains including Superman-Prime, Cyborg Superman, and the Anti-Monitor (strange how characters who should be Superman’s rogues have been appropriated as Green Lantern’s) — the whole of Earth’s superheroes, from the Justice Society to Superman himself, join the fray, but the focus is never removed from the Green Lanterns, it always remains their story.

Cudos for DC for keeping “The Sinestro Corps War” contained to primarily the two Green Lantern titles (with a quartet of Tales Of The Sinestro Corps and a Secret Files the only peripherals) and not blowing this into something overblown in scope, as it could have easily infiltrated every DC Universe title on the stands. Also allowing the story to develop without confining itself to the Countdown-restricting continuity no doubt saved this story from a disappointing conclusion.

Issue number 25 of Green Lantern is the “super-sized finale” to what is, hands-down, the biggest epic in Green Lantern’s storied history. It successfully keeps the momentum from the previous ten chapters going right to the finish line, and with more than one big payoff, not only meeting but exceeding expectations. Geoff Johns, having orchestrated some good (and not-so-good) epic storylines in the past, has delivered his crowning achievement here, with such an immaculately tight focus, and a predefined outcome that will change the shape of the Green Lantern legend forever, and organically so. Impact and change are what every good epic should strive for, without making change just for the sake of change.

I’m not the biggest of Green Lantern Corps fans, as the concept of an intergalactic policing agency has never been executed to its fullest potential. But that potential is reaching closer and closer, with recognizable law enforcement procedures sneaking into the stories, as well as incorporating a galaxy wide military angle, it’s starting to examine on a much wider scope the impact the Corps has on the Galaxy. Not only that, but for the first time in a long time, there’s a healthy Star Wars or Star Trek-like familiarity to the universe the Lanterns police. Everything isn’t a new discovery, but the universe is still not without its wonder, and the Lanterns aren’t without opposition. I also enjoy the fact that there’s a sense of brotherhood in this title, that Green Lantern isn’t just about Hal Jordan or Kyle Raynor, but both, and John Stewart, and Guy Gardner. If you have a favorite Lantern well, they too are the Green Lantern.

Spoiler Alert (this paragraph)
The big reveal of “The Sinestro Corps War” is there is more than just one kind of power ring in the galaxies, but in fact seven, each drawing from their own strength and experiencing their own weaknesses. Johns has incorporated prophecies and potential future conflicts between these seven different agencies (?), and has set an intriguing foundation which he and other writers can build upon for years. He’s also set up a third major Green Lantern story arc (the first being Rebirth) which seems exciting enough (another spoiler, Black Lanterns, aka, Zombie Lanterns), but not as epic as this and, in part a little trite.
End Spoilers

While the Green Lantern Corps issues in this saga have been somewhat middling in both art and writing, the core-title issues have been fabulous, with this ultimate chapter the finest feather in the cap of the proceedings. Ivan Reis, throughout this series, has been incredible, constructing fight sequences and meaty drama with equal fervor. But here, in issue 25, he pulls out every stop, including a handful of two-page spreads and full-page splashes that are so packed with characters even George Perez would be impressed. This issue is balls-out action, with fists flying, rings slinging, and buildings collapsing seemingly every other panel. Reis has an undeniable Neal Adams-esque flair, equally comfortable with human and alien, Earth structures and those out of this world. Ethan Van Sciver also pitches in for ten pages, providing with hyper-detail the groundwork for things to come, but without stealing Reis’ thunder at all.

Though explosions and death abound, Johns never loses sight of what really represents heroism. Having unleashed the Green Lanterns from various restrictions, even throughout the mayhem, Johns still manages to address some of the weightier concepts that have emerged as well as dole out more than just a few poignant character-defining moments for some Lanterns and villains.

Really, even if you’re not much of a Green Lantern fan, this storyline does prove really exciting stuff: large enough in scope to have the right amount of intensity, but remaining small enough that the payoffs were satisfying while still leaving somewhere for the story to go in the ongoing title. This issue capitalizes off everything that it had built up to, and still manages to propel itself forward.

5 out of 5 Vikings