[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Sam Humphries
Artists: Tom Derenick, Robson Rocha, Jack Herbert and Neil Edwards
Colorists: Tom Palmer, Jay Leisten, Jack Herbert and Keith Champagne
Red Lanterns are in St. Louis and they want to spread rage to the world. Jessica and Simon are coming in hot and trying to stop the literal madness from spreading. Simon has a teddy bear, Jessica has an attitude. Things are not looking great for anyone, especially the residents of St. Louis.
The positive:
Take a look at the list of contributors to this book and you will see that there are a bunch of artists and a bunch of colorists. That could spell disaster, but for this book, it totally works. It is a team book and thus a team is needed. The transition from artist to artist is pretty smooth.
Humphries is tapping into something real with this story. The good old U.S. of A has a rage problem in the real world and in the DC Comics universe. Is it shocking that one of the Green Lanterns is Muslim and the other is Hispanic? Â Is it shocking that this story is taking place in St. Louis instead of a fictional DC city? Hmmm. No. Not at all.
This story is so much more than space cops doing smashy things. Of course, that happens too, but that works as a B story here. In fact, as a reminder that those days are in the past, there is a great scene that takes place away from the action that reminds readers that this is not your father’s Green Lantern Corps.
The Negative
The Red Lanterns, while clearly a valid bunch of villains, are NOT as three dimensional as the Green Lanterns are. The main Red Lantern’s name, Atrocitus, is just a bit too on the nose. There is also a blood spitting cat Red Lantern. Meh.
The dialog boxes are both green. Jessica’s is a bit lighter than Simon’s. If you have a slight issue with discerning one green from the other, you will be lost.
The Verdict
The new Green Lanterns are not a joke. This is a great way to have a social conversation while still having super beings flying around literally imposing their wills on the world. The tension between Simon and Jessica is real and manifests on the final page. No evil shall escape their sight. Bring it on.
