“Fugitive”
Writer: Dave Gibbons
Artists: Patrick Gleason and Tom Nguyen (p), Prentis Rollins and Tom Nguyen (i)
Publisher: DC Comics
DC is well on the way to their next mega crisis event. The multiverse has officially returned, and the secrets and meanings behind this revelation are just beginning to unravel, and there are major things coming to combat the heroes of the DC Universe. One of the greatest threats to the universe is Sinestro, the renegade Green Lantern who enslaved his own people and has terrorized Hal Jordan and the Corps ever since. Green Lantern: Rebirth revealed that while the green power rings of the Green Lantern Corps represent willpower, the yellow power rings of Qward, such as Sinestro’s, represent the impurity of the Green Lantern. The yellow represents the exact opposite of willpower, the living entity of fear. It’s no secret that Sinestro has been gathering the vilest and most corrupt beings in the universe. To instill fear rather than overcome fear, he’s been recruiting his own Corps. While the back-up stories “Tales of the Sinestro Corps” have explored the main characters of Sinestro’s revolution, the war has already begun and Dave Gibbons is showing the self-destruction of the Green Lantern Corps in their own monthly series.
What makes Green Lantern Corps a decent read and ultimately a success is the way in which it doesn’t focus on random Green Lanterns bordering on the insanely ridiculous like G’Nort and Ch’p. Instead, Corps focuses on the Green Lanterns who undoubtedly have the most character depth and fan base outside of Hal Jordan and John Stewart. The series focuses a great deal on Guy Gardner. One could even argue that this is Guy’s book, but Kilowog gets a great deal of page time as does my new favorite Green Lantern, Soranik Natu. But the series delves even deeper than featuring classic characters Guy Gardener and Kilowog. The series also features three Green Lanterns who have been directly affected by the happenings in the DC Universe over the past two years. There’s Vath Sarn of Rann and Isamot Kol of Thanagar, a mixture that may seem volatile but has turned out to have the potential to be one of the greatest pairings of Green Lanterns since Hal and John.
From how this series looks and the storyline Gibbons has running, it would seem as though Sinestro is using his knowledge of the Green Lantern Corps to his advantage and exploiting their major weaknesses. Mogo, the planetary Green Lantern has been infected somehow and in turn is affecting any Green Lanterns who visit her. Mogo serves as a place for the Green Lanterns to go for therapy and much needed R & R, but as seen in vivid detail with Guy Gardener in this issue, rather than helping the Lanterns to relax, Mogo is providing them with visions and manifestations of their greatest fears that are having an overall negative effect on their psyche as demonstrated with Kilowog.
This issue also focuses a great deal on the dissention in the ranks of the Green Lantern Corps. Guy Gardener is being accused of murder by Sarn and Kol, and Soranik Natu’s partner, Princess Iolande, has lost faith in her mentor and friend, Natu, after she was unable to save Iolande’s father. I wish Soranik Natu would get some more page time; I think she is one of the most interesting Green Lanterns in recent years, not only because she is a doctor but because she is a Korugan. I’m sure once Sinestro makes his move known to the Green Lanterns, there will be overwhelming tension and hatred fueling Natu as she battles her fellow Korugan.
Kilowog, the most intimidating and physically strong Lantern, is out for blood when he learns that all evidence points to Guy Gardner murdering two fellow Green Lanterns. Sinestro is playing his cards very well and laying out his attack on the Corps very strongly and the only man who may really know what is going on is tied up on Earth with the Star Sapphire. This issue is a decent read by itself, but as a greater part of the coming Sinestro Corps epic, it becomes a fantastic read as you realize exactly how brilliant Sinestro really is.
You almost don’t really need to read the previous issues of Green Lantern Corps to know what’s going on. The two key things you need to know is that Sinestro has started an army of yellow-ring bearing fear-mongers, and he’s begun his attack on the Green Lanterns. Just knowing those basic facts, you can easily surmise what’s happening in these pages. The ultimate downfall of the Corps will be their dissention amongst the ranks and the Guardians lackadaisical approach to an HR department that Sinestro will no doubt take full advantage of. Things look even more grim for Hal Jordan who may have no back-up by the time Sinestro gets to him.
Patrick Gleason and Tom Nguyen’s artwork is very well done in this issue. Throughout this entire series there have been plenty of extraterrestrial life forms, but there is something about Gleason’s work, particularly, that I really like. Mixed with Prentis Rollins and Tom Nguyen’s inks, the art has an edge that really makes the title feel like a gritty crime drama, only in space. Soranik Natu looks nearly at her best as she is drawn not with overwhelming detail but simple anatomy.
Green Lantern Corps has had some interesting storylines since it was launched roughly a year ago. But this issue is solid and maintains a good momentum into the coming Sinestro Corps storyline. The implications of Sinestro’s actions in this issue are really what makes it worthwhile, and he’s not even seen nor mentioned the entire issue. There is also an interesting and rare look into Guy Gardener’s past as his greatest fears are brought forth when he visits Mogo.
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