Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #61

Release Date: December 29, 2010
Cover Date: February 2011

Story: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Keith Champagne, Christian Alamy, Tom Nguyen, and Mark Irwin
Cover: Gary Frank
1:10 Variant Cover: Alex Garner

The Butcher interrupts the execution of a serial killer, and wishes to bond with the father of the victim. The Spectre arrives just in time to stop this, but Atrocitus has also tracked down the rage entity. While the two argue over semantics, the Butcher possesses its initial target, and now the two unlikely allies must find a way to split them apart before containing their quarry. The Butcher brutally attacks the Spectre, while Atrocitus tries to talk it down. After the Butcher murders the serial killer, the rage in its host begins to subside, so the monster tries to possess Atrocitus instead. The Spectre restrains it at this point, and the Butcher is imprisoned within Atrocitus’ Red Lantern power battery. When the Spectre tries to judge the Butcher’s former host, Atrocitus prevents it, and the Spectre sees that the Red Lantern’s mission against Krona is critically important.

This issue was considerably better than the last. Why? Because aside from some brief action sequences with the Butcher, it was a very character-driven piece. The Butcher itself was boring as shit — yet another mindless, angry monster — but the dialogue between the Spectre and Atrocitus was good. The Red Lantern pointing out to the single-minded Spectre that “eye for an eye” vengeance rarely works was interesting, especially since Atrocitus explains that the Spectre’s acts continually haunt the victims’ friends and families. I’m not a huge fan of Atrocitus, but any attempt to flesh out his character is always a good one.

The Spectre does mention that Atrocitus is only getting a pass now because his fight against Krona is paramount, but it remains to be seen if the Spectre will go after the Red Lantern when the battle is over. (I highly doubt it.) Now, even though I did enjoy this issue as far as character work is concerned, it still falls into a very predictable pattern: entity shows up, possesses a human, and a Lantern of some kind has to deal with it. This has been going on constantly ever since Blackest Night ended, and it’s far beyond stale. Fortunately, this was the last of the entities to bond with a human host, so there can’t be much left to do with them. (Wishful thinking, I know.)

On to the art. Doug Mahnke continues to be at the top of his game, and his design for the Butcher in human form was very cool. I love the detailed scrollwork on the armor plates, and the red energy construct weapons hanging from its belt reminded me of Pinhead from the Hellraiser films. Strangely enough, the red lightning spewing out of the Butcher was much more reminiscent of the Reverse Flash and the Negative Speed Force than bloody rage. (Let’s just hope that ol’ Eobard Thawne doesn’t get his fingers on a Red Lantern ring. The last thing we need is more action figure-based stories.)

Fun fact: Hal Jordan appears on the cover of this issue facing the Butcher along with Atrocitus, but the Green Lantern was not there for that fight. In fact, Hal didn’t appear in this issue at all, nor did any other Green Lantern! I believe this actually made the story stronger. As I’ve said countless times before, the core Green Lantern book has not been about Green Lanterns for over three years now, but in this case, it worked out well.

Green Lantern Corps (Vol. 2) #55

Release Date: December 22, 2010
Cover Date: February 2011

Story: Tony Bedard
Pencils: Tyler Kirkham
Inks: Matt “Batt” Banning
Cover: Tyler Kirkham and Matt “Batt” Banning
1:10 Variant Cover: Patrick Gleason and Sandra Hope

Kyle Rayner flies off to save Natu while John Stewart, Boodikka, Ganthet, and Hannu deal with the Weaponer. Ganthet realizes that the Weaponer’s shield is powered by White Lantern energy, but it’s too late. Kyle managers to retrieve Natu, but the Weaponer has already defeated the other Green Lanterns. Ganthet starts puking up blood, and receives a message from Atrocitus (the same one that Guy Gardner received), shocking the other Lanterns. Natu holds the Weaponer at gunpoint with one of his own weapons, and some Qwardian Thunderers show up, demanding that she kill him for the ruin he brought to their world. Sudddenly, the Sinestro Corps shows up…minus their leader.

I didn’t think we’d receive more details of the pact between Ganthet, Atrocitus, and Guy Gardner so quickly, but we did. So, after Guy had his initial vision (which he recollected in Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #5), he told Ganthet about it, who immediately recognized the threat as Krona. The two of them sought out Atrocitus, who had the same vision, and the three of them swore to hunt Krona down before he knew what hit him. Obviously they failed in that regard, and Atrocitus is recalling them to Earth before it’s too late. However, we still don’t know why Guy’s friendship with Hal Jordan would suffer as a result. Hal’s doing the exact same thing as Guy; he just didn’t know the specifics until recently. Perhaps Guy promised to become a Red Lantern when this is all over? That would explain his reluctance to have a Blue Lantern cure his “infection,” and also why Atrocitus sent Bleez along with Guy’s group. There’s got to be more to the pact than this, but that’s for future issues to reveal.

Alright, enough going off on tangents about the pact. Natu holding the Weaponer at gunpoint was a the best scene in this issue, especially with the other Qwardians screaming for her to pull the trigger. As I’ve said before, I really like how Tony Bedard is fleshing out the Qwardian people, and showing that they’re not all bad.

Even though the Sinestro Corps showed up, it’s only a manner of time before their eponymous leader has to come to Qward himself to kick the Weaponer’s ass. While this storyarc has been good, it’s a shame that the ending may turn out to be so predictable. (I hope I’m wrong.)

Merry Orange Christmas

If you received a gift you really love, there’s no shame in clutching it to your chest and growling “MINE!”

Happy holidays!

Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special

Release Date: December 22, 2010
Cover Date: February 2011

Story: Geoff Johns, Art Baltazar, and Franco Aureliani
Art: Brett Booth and Art Baltazar
Cover: Gene Ha
Variant Cover: Brett Booth

Having written to Santa Claus over the summer, Larfleeze wakes up Christmas morning, expecting to find a ton of presents under his tree. When he finds nothing, he’s enraged, and sets off to find Saint Nick to demand answers. His first target is a holiday parade, but the fake Santas there don’t help. A kid tells Larfleeze that Santa lives at the North Pole, but the Orange Lantern can’t find him there, either. Hal Jordan shows up, and explains to Larfleeze that Santa Claus isn’t real, and that the true meaning of Christmas is about giving, not receiving. He convinces Larfleeze to give away a lot of the stuff he’s stolen as gifts to needy families and children, and after the Green Lantern leaves, Larfleeze sadly goes to sleep after realizing that the only thing he really wanted on his Christmas list was his family.

Larfleeze is a complete joke of a character now, and this issue only concretes it. However, the Larfleeze Christmas Special was still pretty good, as it embraces this comedic take on the character in its own “universe,” so to speak. Sure, Hal Jordan showed up to be the trite hero, but that wasn’t important. This issue was specifically designed to be a comedy from the get-go, and I really can’t argue against that. He also grumbles “Unhand me, human-spawn!” to a group of thankful children, and that’s a line I need to start using myself.

Aside from Larfleeze’s ridiculous hunt for Santa, the issue also has activity pages. Yes, you read that right. There’s a recipe for Orange Lantern Christmas cookies, a maze to help Larfleeze reach the North Pole, and a cut-out Larfleeze ornament. That maze even had Larfleeze in an Indiana Jones get-up, and a cameo appearance by the Bumble from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!

At the end of the Larfleeze Christmas Special is a two-page strip by the Tiny Titans creative team of Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani, entitled “Where did Glomulus Go?” This was the high point of the issue, if you ask me. Well, if you’re reading this, you are asking me, so there you go. Anyway, Larfleeze’s lackey Glomulus (himself an Orange Lantern construct, mind you) visits the other Corps’ planets, searching for orange items. All of this was done to get Christmas presents for Larfleeze, but Glom’s interactions with other Corpsmen was hilarious. From Sinestro trying to look intimidating, to the Blue Lanterns being hippies, to Atrocitus’ motion sickness blood vomit, to the Star Sapphires’ womance, to the Indigo Tribe’s endless prattling, Baltazar and Aureliani really crafted a standout piece. I’d love to see them do more of these kinds of strips set within the Green Lantern universe.

So there you have it. I may hate how far Larfleeze has fallen, but in this specific case, it works out well for the character. You can safely put your reservations aside when it comes to the Larfleeze Christmas Special.

Green Lantern/Plastic Man: Weapons of Mass Deception

Release Date: December 15, 2010
Cover Date: February 2011

Story: Marv Wolfman
Art and Cover: Brent Anderson

Plastic Man is begging Hal Jordan to help him out on a case, but he’s only succeeding on getting on the Green Lantern’s nerves. Once Plas shows him some proof of alien arms dealing on Earth, though, Hal reluctantly agrees to join forces. Hal was investigating a similar threat, and as it turns out, a race of evil alien ducks is selling advanced weaponry to human thugs and gangs. Of course, their real motive is to blow up the planet, since so many of the universe’s most powerful heroes come from Earth. The unlikely pairing of the by-the-book space cop and the fun-loving elastic hero manage to put a stop to the aliens’ plans, earning a newfound respect for one another.

I love Green Lantern. I love Plastic Man. But Weapons of Mass Deception? Not so much.

It’s a shame, because the creative team is fantastic. Brent Anderson’s known for his incredible artwork on Rising Stars and Astro City, and Marv Wolfman’s written such legendary tales as Crisis on Infinite Earths and Tomb of Dracula. While Anderson’s art is great here (except for those stupid ducks), the story left a lot to be desired.

So what was the problem? Well, the whole thing felt like something out of the Silver Age. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, the story felt largely out of place, and even Plastic Man’s humor seemed forced and annoying. Some bits of the story seemed to jump around too much, giving rise to the feeling that panels or even whole pages were missing.

And those goddamned ducks. I realize the point was to make the aliens look ridiculous in sharp contrast to their arms dealing and evil plans, but it just didn’t work. Every appearance of theirs just made me groan and wish they’d get off-panel already. Even the original Qwardians, with their feathered helmets and sport briefs, looked less cheesy than this!

I’m sad to say it, but Weapons of Mass Deception is strictly for Green Lantern and Plastic Man completists only. Casual fans of either character would do well to pass on it.