Review: The Green Lantern: Season Two #10
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer:Â Grant Morrison
Art:Â Liam Sharp
Colors:Â Liam Sharp
Letters:Â Steve Wands
Reviewed by:Â Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
It’s a Multiversal finale as we discover why the Star Sapphire of Earth-11 tricked Hal into joining her to stop the Golden Destroyer.
Positives
Unless the concept is so immense and provocative, it will always come back to character. Even something like Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen relies heavily on great characterization despite the big concepts being unique and innovative. Just imagine Watchmen with poorly developed characters….? It wouldn’t be the same…. Or, even Morrison’s own groundbreaking Animal Man run from the late 1980’s? It’s not simply about the big concepts, but the characters. With The Green Lantern: Season Two: #10, we get another great issue in what has been an erratic run at best. And, quite frankly, it all comes down to character.
In The Green Lantern # 11, we first met the Star Sapphire of Earth-11. In that issue, Morrison presented the start of an interesting relationship. That pays off as we learn just how much that Carol and Earth-0’s Hal have in common. Last issue hinted that this would be developed, but as Morrison works it in here it really pays off. Most importantly, as Carol Ferris (Earth-0) is dragged into the conflict against her will it provides Morrison the opportunity to dig around relationship her relationship with Hal and give a broader sense of what Hal wants in life. While this series has always been building to this, it hasn’t’ always been effective. The payoff here does a pretty good job at redeeming the lackluster issues.
As Morrison compares the Earth-11 Hal with Earth-0 Hal, there is some humor that lightens the mood just a bit. It’s a nice touch with the “world ending” threat of the Golden Destroyer. It’s always appreciated when a writer adds a few lighter moments to even out a story.
Positives Cont’d
In this series, Liam Sharp has really begun experimenting with his artistic style. What was once a straightforward manner with some homages to classic artists has turned into a nuanced and ever shifting method of varying approaches. It’s very exciting and interesting. It actually causes one to be more detailed in one’s reading of the images because of the changing appearances. Sharp appears to be using different styles to accentuate the tone of what is going on in the scenes at the moment.  It works quite well. He’s echoing the script quite closely and it feels different and new. The fact that he is also the colorist makes it easier for him to shift his style page to page, and sometimes panel to panel.
Negative
The only real negatives for the issue are the subtle references that Morrison makes to DC’s past. Sometimes you just don’t want to Google 3 or 4 characters per issue. The references also call back to Season One.  It’s a small thing, and at times it works really well, but not everyone will find it enjoyable. It might be easier with some exposition to help one along, but heavy exposition has never been part of Morrison’s style.
Verdict
Its wonderful to see The Green Lantern: Season Two get two really great issues back to back. This would’ve been a fitting end for the series, but we get two more! The character work is outstanding and it meshes so well with the story that Morrison is telling. The Star Sapphire of Earth-11 is so compelling I would sign on for an ongoing series. There’s a lot to Hal’s relationship with Carol that is ripe for exploration, maybe this is how to get to it!
