Green Lanterns #52
DC Comics
Written by: Dan Jurgens
Art by: Marco Santucci
Colors by: Hi-Fi
Letters by: Dave Sharpe
There is a presence that is infecting the rings of Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz and it seems to have extended itself to the power battery itself. What it wants continues to be unclear, but what it’s doing is more sinister. As the Lanterns attempt to stop the attack on Penelops, the Guardians are trying to determine how John Stewart’s ring failed him at the most critical moment. While the Lanterns continue to fight the Ravagers and their rings continue to sow suspicion among them, Hal Jordan is taking some leisure time on a secluded planet when he gets the call to action.
With the Corps engaged in battle against an enemy who is decimating an entire planet and the source of their power failing them in different ways, it’s going to be difficult for this core group of Lanterns to find a way to stop the attack, especially with communications cut off and the Guardians unable to communicate with the Power Battery.
While the overall story continues to be interesting and the pseudo reveal of the entity affecting the power rings is well told, there are some character choices and logic holes that took me out of this issue at various times. First, do we need another arc where Simon and Jessica don’t trust each other? It seems to keep happening to the point where I question why these two are even teamed together. The last arc was literally about Jessica being on the run from the corps with Simon hunting her and no one believing her. The arc before that was Jessica not confiding to Simon about the deal she made with Singularity Jain. This is becoming too easy a story to tell.
Also, many of the conflicts in this issue could be resolved with a conversation. Anyone of the Lanterns taking a moment to listen to the other could have foiled the miscommunication that seems to be what this entity is mainly doing from inside the rings. I want to see where this story is going and who this entity is, but the plot issues make it hard to stay involved and invested in this particular story. Santucci’s art is a highlight though with some great visuals and awesome action splash panels.