Review: The Green Lantern: Season Two
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Grant Morrison
Art: Liam Sharp
Colors: Liam Sharp
Letters: Steve Wands
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
Hal Jordan comes to Athmoora to stop the Golden Giants, but learns that Hector Hammond will be against him as well. This is it! The finale of Grant Morrison’s Green Lantern epic!
Positives
At this point in The Green Lantern: Season Two it goes without saying that the biggest positive of the issue is the wonderful art of Liam Sharp. Sharp explained not too long ago that he was experimenting with his approach and clearly the results have yielded some remarkable issues. It is evident in The Green Lantern: Season Two #12 that he doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon.
Sharp doesn’t adhere to one style all the time, but this issue in particular is focused on a painterly technique. It’s amazing that he can get all this done on a monthly deadline. It’s lush and beautiful as well as expressive and dynamic. Sharp is truly emerging as a one-of-a-kind talent. Let’s not forget his more traditional looking comic work that we saw in Season One and in the first part of Season Two was exceptional as well.
Including Hector Hammond solidifies him as Hal’s #1 foe. Even on this far away planet, Hector Hammond rears his ugly head (ha!) to make trouble. One would think that Sinestro would be Hal’s top villain, but there is always the sense that Sinestro is always on the verge of some sort of half-redemption. It makes him interesting. Hammond on the other hand is a little more of an out-and-out foe. He’s got no redeeming qualities. His inner motivation is lecherous and selfish from the get go. And, his beef with Hal is based on a deep seated jealousy.
Negatives
Morrison’s scripts have been sort of all over the place in Season Two. Unfortunately, this has not been as cohesive and engaging as Season One. There have been moments of brilliance, but too often the plot seems so monumental that it overwhelms the quieter parts of the story. We’ve seen great character moments with Hal and the Carol Ferris of Earth-11, and there’s a bigger story here with Hal and Sam that begs for more attention.
We know this series was originally going to be truncated but got extended back to it’s original 12 issues, but it certainly feels like this should’ve been 24 issues so the story could breathe and allow Morrison to spend more time on character and develop the plot points more thoroughly. As it is, it seems a little herky-jerky at times as we’ve bounced around to get to this point. It’s great that the Golden Giants have factored in throughout, but it just doesn’t feel as cohesive as it should.
Verdict
The Green Lantern: Season Two #12 wraps up the series with nods to what’s come before, but it doesn’t feel as unifying as it should. The art is fabulous and is probably worth the price of admission alone. If you want to see how this series wraps up, you’ll want to get this issue, but it’s not going to convince you to go back and buy the rest of the series.
