[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Aaron Gillespie
Artists: Ronan Cliquet & Hi-Fi
Summary
We’ve all had bad nights. Nights we wish we could forget. Some times we simply wish we could remember. Usually those nights involve alcohol. Oddly, and perhaps admirably, Jessica Cruz has never had any booze in her life. Be she certainly has reason too with the night that she can’t remember living though.
Jessica regains her awareness as a young lantern approaches and arrests her, wrapping her in chains. All around her is a battlefield of fire and rubble with bodies strewn all over. Tig, the young officer proudly announces the charges when she asks and puts on a mean face. Quickly though Jessica begins working him and her memory to try to figure out what happened. The little blue officer lets her know that whatever she did it is serious enough that Hal Jordan himself is inbound.
While she’s got the little guy talking she tricks him into letting his guard down and escapes her bindings. Better to figure out what happened than simply allow herself to be framed. Once she is a safe distance from the scene of the crime she asks her ring to play back what happened. She sees a Tezuan criminal talking with her and they have made some sort of deal. She helps him escape arrest and takes on the local authorities. This is where she has woken up, the aftermath of that fight.
The pressure of what’s happened, along with the confusion, allow her anxiety to get the best of her and she bolts. Jessica needs time to think so she crashes with her friends Anthene and Liseth on Ungara. They welcome her in with open arms and help her regain composure. Before long though Hal Jordan appears and searches the premises, only to find Anthene’s house cat with a lantern ring looped into it’s collar.
Cruz finds herself in the Odyssey Warp Station next trying to retrieve a message from the Tezuan criminal. Unfortunately, her face is plastered all over the station and she is soon recognized. But not before she can get the message and quickly dive onto a leaving transport to her rendezvous. Finally she can start to make sense of her black out and what is going on! Or at least she could if Simon hadn’t crashed the party to bring her in!
Positives
Changing the artists from V Ken Marion to Ronan Cliquet was a great choice! Cliquet has a much softer style. While the previous issue featured both lanterns together and strong, this issue focuses on Jessica after being thrown off kilter. This softer style suits Jessica’s softened will and self-assuredness. Character’s like Tig also fit this perspective perfectly as the little alien itself is unsure. The final page featuring Baz follows suit with the bulk of him being in a softer style, however, his eyes, like his will and drive, stand out and look sharp.
Negatives
If not for the interesting characters brought into the story, this issue would feel predictable. Gillespie has written the start of a fairly well used plot point, amnesia. While I do fear that it will be revealed that the criminal that Jess met with is noble and Simon will now help her to figure everything out, I’m hopeful that this arc will be different.
Verdict
Green Lanterns #48 brings a new creative team to the series with a great look and interesting characters. Be sure to pick this issue up.
