Green Lantern Corps #21

Writer:  Van Jensen

            Robert Venditti

Artist:    Bernard Chang

    It’s a new day for the Green Lantern Corps with the aftermath of The Wrath of the First Lantern, and the Corps title finds itself with a new creative team, new ongoing artist Bernard Chang and writer Van Jensen, with co-plotting from the main Green Lantern title’s Robert Venditti.  This is a new direction for the Corps, the old way of the Guardians is done and they are moving forward under Hal Jordan’s guidance.

    This is a setup issue in the truest sense of the world.  We are treated to glimpses of each of the core members the series will follow, those being John Stewart, Fatality and Salaak, and we have several new recruits hastily introduced.  We don’t get enough insight into the new Lantern recruits to form an opinion, but several archetypes are represented, the single mother fighting for her child’s well-being, the soft-spoken one, the wise elder, and, most out of place, the arena warrior.  How these characters will play into the title will be interesting, but they are included for no other reason than to briefly introduce them to the reader.  Most notably absent from this title is Guy Gardner, who seems to be moving over to the Red Lantern series.  I do look forward to seeing Salaak more active in the Corps now that he has relinquished his position as Protocol Officer (even though this is old news if you read last week’s Green Lantern #21) due to his relationship with the now-deceased rogue Guardians.

 

    

    A new threat is exposed in the New 52 introduction of the Durlans.  I’m not sure if these creatures have made any appearances in the New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes titles are not, but they are new to at least the Green Lantern line of titles.  Shapeshifters by nature, it is obvious they have a grudge to bear against the Lantern Corps.  The whole interaction between Stewart, Fatality and the in-disguise Durlans during their raid on a power core was flat, without much happening despite the implication of action.

 

    

    If you jump in your way-back machines, you’ll remember that back in March I, Vampire’s Joshua Hale Fialkov was announced as the scripter for Green Lantern Corp and Red Lanterns in the post-Wrath of the First Lantern world.  This, however, was nixed due to unknown circumstances (in addition to Andy Diggle’s proposed run on Action Comics).  DC is undergoing a lot of flak, and it’s obvious there are some issues.  If you go to their website, you’ll still find the original solicitation for Fialkov’s issue of Green Lantern Corps #21 with him credited as the writer, as well as a cover with Guy Gardner.  The same goes for Red Lantern #21.  I try to focus on the issue itself, not the politics, but having had 3 months, this is something I would have expected the DC editorial staff to handle.  Compared to the issue that was delivered, I’m curious as to how Fialkov’s story would have turned out had he been able to run with it.

 

    

    I would like to chalk this issue up as rushed, as I did with Venditti’s Green Lantern #21, but I doubt that would save it.  This installment fell flat and didn’t leave me looking forward to the storyline at all.  I want to see the Crops book as the members tracking down problems and getting back to the basics of being Green Lanterns.  A character early in the issue made the point that the Corps has been focusing on the big issues as of late, and shadows have started to spread across the galaxies.  I love this approach, and would have liked to have seen that touched on more throughout the story.

    Chang’s art is solid, if not a little on the bland side.  One of the most important abilities a Green Lantern artist needs to master is the ability to draw alien species.  Some artists have this, and some don’t.  I see promise in Chang’s work and look forward to seeing how he grows in issues to come.