Review: Green Lantern #12 (Final Issue)
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Geoffrey Thorne
Art:Â Tom Raney and Marco Santucci
Colors:Â Mike Atiyeh
Letters:Â Rob Leigh
Reviewed by:Â Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
John Stewart comes face to face with The Source and his destiny all the while giving the Green Lantern Corps a new chance as he wields his newfound power post-ascension.
Positives
The cosmic stakes center stage in Green Lantern #12 and the art and colors set the tone perfectly. The color choices in the realm of the Source are vibrant and inspire imagination. Additionally, they are used to communicate how and when John is using his new powers, they no longer manifest only as green ring constructs. We’ve seen Atiyeh really hit the mark like this on this series before, back in issue #9. There’s a great sense of camaraderie and between the Lanterns, the JLA with the feeling of hope through the repairs that John has wrought. Santucci really brings this out in his depictions of our heroes as they figure out what’s transpired on Oa.
Thorne wraps up his run here but also sets the stage for what comes next. John has a clear path now as the Emerald Knight, but the rest of the Corps and the other color spectrums as well have a new lease on life and a palpable sense of cooperation permeates the mood as Hal Jordan figures out what John has done. While Hal has been mostly absent from this series, it’s nice to see him have a profound role in its conclusion. It’s particularly significant that this isn’t the same old same old, the Guardians are gone…the Corps will have to figure it out for themselves.
Making Jack Kirby the visual representation is a really nice touch. It honors Kirby as one of the greats as well as tying him directly to one of most cosmic ideas- The Source. Thorne has done a really nice job of weaving together a lot of stuff in this run including aspects of Future State, classic Green Lantern mythology, and diversity found in the human Lanterns by bringing them together.
Negatives
Not everything is resolved in Green Lantern #12. Keli’s got a big surprise to wake up to and just what’s up with all the spirits of the deceased Lanterns, and all those rings without a finger? There are two ways to look at this.  One hand not givng a resolution can create an unfinished feeling. On the other, setting up all these various storylines works while resolving the main plot. Like so many stories they are open-ended beacons of hope..except maybe Keli losing her gauntlet, she seems like she’s going to need some real closure.
Verdict
At the beginning of the series, it was obvious Thorne was going for something different with the run of Green Lantern. Now that we’ve come to Green Lantern #12 we can see how he’s delivered. Often, new takes on concepts destroy. Thorne has disrupted a lot, but in the end, we have a Corps or rather multiple Corps that have a lot of gas in the tank. This is a great launching point for a myriad of series. Â
