Review: Green Lantern #11
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Geoffrey Thorne
Art:Â Tom Raney, Marco Santucci & Maria Laura Sanapo
Colors:Â Mike Atiyeh
Letters:Â Rob Leigh
Reviewed by:Â Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
It’s John Stewart vs. Koyos with the Justice League in tow for good measure, but will they stop Koyos before the impending Purge Strike by the United Planets?
Positives
The pacing on Green Lantern #11 is the secret weapon! Just as it seems like, between the Justice League and Hal Jordan and Jo Mullein working together to turn the tide, things take an unexpected turn. Surprisingly, it’s not even the ascended John Stewart entering the fray that turns everything around. It doesn’t seem fair to give away the spoiler as it is part of the perfect pacing of the issue.Â
The details in Green Lantern #11 are what make this more than just a cosmic event. Thorne takes the time to give the reader some interesting moments that don’t let us stray too far from the human element or provide tidbits that connect the pieces of the larger DC Universe puzzle that are intersecting in this title. When Jo and Wally West, the Flash meet, Jo is duly impressed and Wally returns the favor commenting to Hal that he likes the “new kid.” Hal responds the he remembers when Wally was the “new kid.” It’s just a few panels, but it acknowledges the connection between Hal and the Flash family as well as Wally’s own storied history. Â
Thorne also shows a similar moment between Hal and Jo. Hal gets a chance to examine Jo’s ring and is able to discern how it is different from a standard Green Lantern ring. Hal’s ability to generate his own ring that seemed to be glossed over in Grant Morrison’s two seasons of The Green Lantern is referenced here. It’s a single panel, but it is an example of the connective tissue that a shared universe relies on.  These elements go into the world-building as well, wouldn’t a Jo Mullein/ Wally West team up be an interesting take on the Green Lantern/ Flash pairings we’ve seen over the years?
Positives Cont’d
While previous issues have had Raney and Santucci drawing separate storylines, Green Lantern #11 continues from where they intersected last issue. A little surprisingly, they mesh very well together as it seems that Raney has picked up on the personality of the individual characters that Santucci has been known for. Sometimes readers will complain because a comic has multiple artists and they don’t go well together. This is not the case here, despite Raney and Santucci having discernable styles. Credit colorist Mike Atiyeh for helping to bring it all together.
It’s really exciting to see Jo and Hal interact without their rings and part of that is how they are depicted by Santucci as he communicates some of the subtle emotions going on inside very effectively. And, when it gets epic at the end of the issue…it gets EPIC. The panels with Jo in green tones are particularly impactful. And, Rob Leigh’s giant speech makes it feel huge, you can almost feel the thundering voices around you as you read.
Negatives
Nah, not really…
Verdict
Green Lantern #11 is another chapter in an exciting series that never loses sight of the importance of character even in the cosmic shuffle of new gods and Green Lanterns. The creative team is giving its all to make us believe in not only DCU icons like Hal Jordan and John Stewart, but seamlessly bring to the forefront new characters like Jo Mullein and it’s all on display in this issue.
