Green Lantern #21

The Team
Writer Robert Venditti Penciller Billy Tan

Green Lantern #21 is a major departure from previous installments of the series, yet it keeps a similar tone and feel. So what exactly is different here? For starters under the hood of the comic there is a brand new creative team. Robert Venditti is now writing the title with Billy Tan in charge of pencils. A huge shift is also accounted for in the status quota of the characters. Hal Jordan is now in charge of the corps. and is still as impulsive as ever. The brand new Templar Guardians are also a fairly big adjustment in the mythos of the Green Lantern franchise. It is a bit of a shame that the writer did not alter much else about the title, as these are all changes that were implemented last issue. Venditti may not be capable of doing justice to the work of previous writer Geoff Johns' universe, so not changing the tone may be a detriment to his writing here. Although it does seem like the new guard is here to stay in the title as they have already begun teasing what is next for the comic book.

Protagonist Hal Jordan is still the DC Universe equivalent to Han Solo. In this issue particularly he is completely off of the rails. Watching him a take a leadership position in the title is going to prove interesting if this issue is any indication. One part of the book that was lacking seemed to be Carol Ferris. The last time time that Hal was with Carol he really put his heart and soul into making it work until Sinestro whisked him away. To see her completely disregard the change in his character is appalling, as superhero comics too often set things back to status quo. Fortunately that is one of the few missteps this comic book takes. The opening scene is a full out action packed romp that should have fans clamoring for more. It is also gives readers an engaging look at a brand new villain for the Lanterns to face.

When Billy Tan was announced as the penciller for the book I was scared. The artist’s previous work has looked rushed and thrown together at the very last second. Here he takes some huge leaps at adapting his style to a cleaner look. The super heroics of this title look consistently fantastic in addition to being vibrant and realistic. The only problems art wise lie in the slower scenes with Carol and Hal. They both look dull and uninspired and amount to being boring talking heads. The problems here do not detract from the rest of the great work turned in here. Hopefully with some focus Tan can continue delivering work that looks this good.

This is a new era of this wonderful gem of the DC Universe. Based on the last page of this issue there are some massive things incoming for the title. The mythos is also has picked up some great new talent. Giving the title to a fairly fresh writer like Venditti is great move on DC's part, stick around to watch this bold decision be paid off in future issues.