Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #48
DC Comics
Written by: Robert Venditti
Art by: Rafa Sandoval
Inks by: Jordi Tarragona
Colors by: Tomeu Morey
Tomar Tu recounts the history of the corps as told to him by his father. His philosophy was formed by it. His actions were formed by it and now that he is a Darkstar, he recounts the flaws in both. Tomar has brought the Darkstars to Mogo and is taking on the corps itself with their sights set on the prisoners currently residing in the sciencells. Their attempt to make a huge show of their victory to the universe prompts Kilowog to press their defense even harder as he goes after Tomar personally. The battle even causes the Guardians to come off the fence and start fighting.
Meanwhile, Hal, Guy, Kyle, and John have assembled their ragtag group of warriors to take the fight directly to the Darkstars base. This is the first piece of real strategy that I’ve seen from this arc and it is both welcome and executed well. Hal and company are definitely a motley crew, but they seem to be finding a way to work together. There’s also some moments of humor, especially when Hector Hammond tries to make everyone “happy”.
Venditti has crafted an interesting and compelling philosophical arc with these last few issues and this one has the feeling of a calm before the storm. There is a breathless quality to a lot of the moments and exposition that make me think that the real action hasn’t even begun.
The same can be said for the artwork by Sandoval. While there is definitely some stand out moments in many of the panels, especially when Guy and Kyle start charging into the fight, a lot of the art seemed subdued. This is actually a good thing. It goes back to what I was saying about the narrative. The whole issue, both words, and art, feels like an intake of breath before the real action takes place in the next issue. Goes a long way towards making the reader interested in what comes next.
