Green Lantern #37
Written by: Robert Venditti
Art by: Francis Portela
The Green Lantern franchise is infamous for always being in the midst of a crossover. Since Geoff Johns’ departure, we’ve had Lights Out, Uprising and now Godhead. I kept seeing comments of people complaining about all the events but I see no point in doing when all of them are this good. Godhead has been the best event for the GL franchise in such a long time and Green Lantern #37 kickstarts the final act of the story in great fashion thanks to an inventive portrayal of Black Hand, great story progression and the usual great moments this book has to offer.
I’ve really enjoyed Venditti’s Green Lantern run but I’ve always thought that if you wanted to have an amazing Green Lantern title, you couldn’t shun Sinestro. Venditti did a good job on the book without the egotistical anti-hero but this series has gotten so much better with his recent inclusion and prominent role in Godhead. Venditti nails Sinestro’s haughtiness in an opening scene that continues to prove that he writes a great Sinestro (which is imperative for a Green Lantern writer). The scene involves an argument between John Stewart and Sinestro where the later disparages the former and proceeds to prove that he in fact isn’t the superior figure that he believes himself to be. This type of segment is the reason why Sinestro is my favorite DC villain and I’m so glad he’s been given a large role in this story.
We also get the follow up to last month’s cliff-hanger with Black Hand. While under Johns’ pen, the villain was scary and had an unnerving presence, under Venditti he’s much more comedic and it works excellently. We’re dealing with a character so obsessed with death that it one could say he can’t focus on anything else. Around the middle of the issue, Black Hand describes why he believes he will always be victorious no matter the circumstances and his views are twisted and this monologue made for my favourite part of this issue. His obsession is fascinating and he’s a great addition to the cast of this story.
The one issue I have with this comic actually involves him showing Hal a dead version of his father. The reason I disliked this is that Venditti already utilized papa Jordan similarly in September’s issue, which made it feel like a regurgitated idea. A small problem in an otherwise amazing issue.
Francis Portela returns on art duties and I’m starting to wish had he could stay on as ongoing artist. His pencils are slick, and remind me of the early days of Geoff Johns’ run. He’s an incredible fit for this series and does a great job depicting the psychotic Black Hand and his black lanterns. I like Billy Tan but he doesn’t show the consistency that Portela does and I’ll definitely be following the artist in the New Year!
Godhead has been one massive story. I’m always very impressed by an event that can sustain over 10 issues of quality and Godhead falls into that category. We’ve got a grandiose scale, imposing villains and a set of awesome characters who are allocated many great moments. Issue #37’s main attraction is an awesome new portrayal of Black Hand that hopefully won’t be neglected in the upcoming storylines. This is by far Venditti’s best work on the title, and if you stopped reading this book when Johns left, Godhead is the time to jump back on, it won’t disappoint.
Art by: Francis Portela
The Green Lantern franchise is infamous for always being in the midst of a crossover. Since Geoff Johns’ departure, we’ve had Lights Out, Uprising and now Godhead. I kept seeing comments of people complaining about all the events but I see no point in doing when all of them are this good. Godhead has been the best event for the GL franchise in such a long time and Green Lantern #37 kickstarts the final act of the story in great fashion thanks to an inventive portrayal of Black Hand, great story progression and the usual great moments this book has to offer.
I’ve really enjoyed Venditti’s Green Lantern run but I’ve always thought that if you wanted to have an amazing Green Lantern title, you couldn’t shun Sinestro. Venditti did a good job on the book without the egotistical anti-hero but this series has gotten so much better with his recent inclusion and prominent role in Godhead. Venditti nails Sinestro’s haughtiness in an opening scene that continues to prove that he writes a great Sinestro (which is imperative for a Green Lantern writer). The scene involves an argument between John Stewart and Sinestro where the later disparages the former and proceeds to prove that he in fact isn’t the superior figure that he believes himself to be. This type of segment is the reason why Sinestro is my favorite DC villain and I’m so glad he’s been given a large role in this story.
We also get the follow up to last month’s cliff-hanger with Black Hand. While under Johns’ pen, the villain was scary and had an unnerving presence, under Venditti he’s much more comedic and it works excellently. We’re dealing with a character so obsessed with death that it one could say he can’t focus on anything else. Around the middle of the issue, Black Hand describes why he believes he will always be victorious no matter the circumstances and his views are twisted and this monologue made for my favourite part of this issue. His obsession is fascinating and he’s a great addition to the cast of this story.
The one issue I have with this comic actually involves him showing Hal a dead version of his father. The reason I disliked this is that Venditti already utilized papa Jordan similarly in September’s issue, which made it feel like a regurgitated idea. A small problem in an otherwise amazing issue.
Francis Portela returns on art duties and I’m starting to wish had he could stay on as ongoing artist. His pencils are slick, and remind me of the early days of Geoff Johns’ run. He’s an incredible fit for this series and does a great job depicting the psychotic Black Hand and his black lanterns. I like Billy Tan but he doesn’t show the consistency that Portela does and I’ll definitely be following the artist in the New Year!
Godhead has been one massive story. I’m always very impressed by an event that can sustain over 10 issues of quality and Godhead falls into that category. We’ve got a grandiose scale, imposing villains and a set of awesome characters who are allocated many great moments. Issue #37’s main attraction is an awesome new portrayal of Black Hand that hopefully won’t be neglected in the upcoming storylines. This is by far Venditti’s best work on the title, and if you stopped reading this book when Johns left, Godhead is the time to jump back on, it won’t disappoint.
A Look Inside
