Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #11
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Publisher: DC Comics
Part four of “Bottled Light” in Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps # 11 sees the return in full of not only Hal Jordan and Larfleeze, but also the answer to the question of how Agent Orange added the greatest collector in the Universe to his own growing menagerie. This issue is the perfect combination of story building, drama, and action that has become the hallmark of Venditti’s lantern series of late. Don’t be fooled by the cover, there is much more going on in this issue than just another Green vs. Yellow clash, the effects of which will undoubtedly drive the story going forward for many issues to come.
The issue opens with the revelation that Brainiac and Larfleeze are not teaming up for a galactic version of Antiques Roadshow but rather that the mechanical villain, or at least and older model of him, was captured by one of the many light construct corps members that the Avatar of Avarice surrounds himself with and subsequently overridden by the orange light of greed and forced to serve the grand collector. This is an especially clever bit of storytelling because it brings up the idea that there are multiple versions of Brainiac still in the universe and answers he question how these two perpetual loners are now allied. After realizing whom their captor truly is, John Stewart comes up with a plan to escape, but will the Green Lantern and Sinestro Corps be able to put their differences aside long enough to enact it?
Elsewhere in the Universe a recently returned Hal Jordan is still trying get his head around the reappearance of Kyle Rayner, the White Lantern, and Ganthet and Sayd, who he believed to be dead with the rest of the Guardians of the Universe. After detailing his trip to the Emerald Space and he reconnection with fallen Lanterns and lamenting about his inability to find a living lantern, Hal finally learns the secret that had been holding him back in his search. Although he had been scouring the universe for any sign of his former comrades, it had been a blind search. All he had to go on was hope but not a shred of evidence. With Kyle and the Guardians’ help, he is able to locate Mogo, and more importantly, the location of the Lantern’s imprisonment. With a destination now set, Hal and Kyle fly of to the area of forbidden space know as the planet Okaara. What waits for them in the Vega system remains to be seen, but with their determination and the two Corps of Lanterns attempts towards freedom, a reunion of old friends cannot be far off.
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #11 is the strongest issue of Venditti’s run, and that is saying something. Although he has always worked to balance the story between all the major characters, none have seemed so effortless. The way the story seamlessly moves from Hal and Kyle to John and Guy is something that I hope continues in all the issues to come. Rafa Sandoval and Tomeu Morey again prove to be a powerful one two punch for the art. As we take one step closer to Earth’s four lanterns reuniting, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps remains one of the most satisfying books put out by any publisher today.
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Publisher: DC Comics
Part four of “Bottled Light” in Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps # 11 sees the return in full of not only Hal Jordan and Larfleeze, but also the answer to the question of how Agent Orange added the greatest collector in the Universe to his own growing menagerie. This issue is the perfect combination of story building, drama, and action that has become the hallmark of Venditti’s lantern series of late. Don’t be fooled by the cover, there is much more going on in this issue than just another Green vs. Yellow clash, the effects of which will undoubtedly drive the story going forward for many issues to come.
The issue opens with the revelation that Brainiac and Larfleeze are not teaming up for a galactic version of Antiques Roadshow but rather that the mechanical villain, or at least and older model of him, was captured by one of the many light construct corps members that the Avatar of Avarice surrounds himself with and subsequently overridden by the orange light of greed and forced to serve the grand collector. This is an especially clever bit of storytelling because it brings up the idea that there are multiple versions of Brainiac still in the universe and answers he question how these two perpetual loners are now allied. After realizing whom their captor truly is, John Stewart comes up with a plan to escape, but will the Green Lantern and Sinestro Corps be able to put their differences aside long enough to enact it?
Elsewhere in the Universe a recently returned Hal Jordan is still trying get his head around the reappearance of Kyle Rayner, the White Lantern, and Ganthet and Sayd, who he believed to be dead with the rest of the Guardians of the Universe. After detailing his trip to the Emerald Space and he reconnection with fallen Lanterns and lamenting about his inability to find a living lantern, Hal finally learns the secret that had been holding him back in his search. Although he had been scouring the universe for any sign of his former comrades, it had been a blind search. All he had to go on was hope but not a shred of evidence. With Kyle and the Guardians’ help, he is able to locate Mogo, and more importantly, the location of the Lantern’s imprisonment. With a destination now set, Hal and Kyle fly of to the area of forbidden space know as the planet Okaara. What waits for them in the Vega system remains to be seen, but with their determination and the two Corps of Lanterns attempts towards freedom, a reunion of old friends cannot be far off.
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #11 is the strongest issue of Venditti’s run, and that is saying something. Although he has always worked to balance the story between all the major characters, none have seemed so effortless. The way the story seamlessly moves from Hal and Kyle to John and Guy is something that I hope continues in all the issues to come. Rafa Sandoval and Tomeu Morey again prove to be a powerful one two punch for the art. As we take one step closer to Earth’s four lanterns reuniting, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps remains one of the most satisfying books put out by any publisher today.
A Look Inside
