In the aftermath of “Wrath of the First Lantern” Kyle has returned to Earth to contemplate his future and his past.
Positive
This story is an epilogue to Wrath of the First Lantern and it does its job well. We get to see Kyle reflecting not only on the changes in his life, but on his teammates, the New Guardians. The story is simple: Kyle and his friend St. Walker having a conversation about recent events. This issue proves that sometimes keeping it simple is the best policy. In fact in a lot of ways this issue feels more like a #1 issue than the actual #1 issue of this title. It’s not all about saving the universe from some galactic evil; Kyle is performing more basic chores, like putting out a fire. This is all a reminder of his new power set as a White Lantern. When this title first started, Kyle was just one of several human Green Lanterns. He has now made his own place in the Green Lantern universe.
The final few pages dealing with Ganthet are enjoyable. It is good to see that before he left our universe for good he dropped by to see how Kyle was doing. The fact that he and Sayd are wearing white robes also seems to suggest they are Kyle’s personal Guardians.
Negative
As long as you can accept this issue for what it is, there is not a lot of negative here. However, at worst, it could be considered mediocre. It mostly just tells us things that a regular reader of the title probably already knows. And I’m sorry, but the scene with Kyle meeting his father is boring. He does not really seem like he wants to see him and the scene is seriously lacking in emotional punch. Overall, the issue feels more like checklist of things that had to be written. Could it be setting us up for something down the road?
Verdict- 3/5
I am sure that we will get back to some type of universe ending peril soon, but this month we got a little back-story tour. The art is really nice and we do get to see a variety of characters drawn in this one book. Unfortunately, the issue is not that entertaining. Nothing really happens here. On the plus side, if you are trying to get someone to start reading New Guardians this may be a perfect place to start as the new reader will get everything that they need to know in one issue.
