Review: Green Lantern #13
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writers: Jeremy Adams and Marc Guggenheim
Art: Ferando Pasarin & Oclair Albert and Matthew Clark
Colors: Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Matt Herms
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd
Summary
Absolute Power is in full effect and Hal Jordan faces Amanda Waller’s plan for getting his ring. But, there’s a lot more to Green Lantern #13 than the Absolute Power tie-in. Plus, a back up tale about Thaaros’ past by Guggenheim and Clark.
Positives
Despite missing Xermanico in his issue, Fernando Pasarin is another great artist! He worked with Jeremy Adams on his Flash run as well as Robert Venditti on his outstanding Hawkman run. The art on this series continues to be an asset no matter who is drawing the book. Pasarin does a great job with interesting angles and great facial expressions. Additionally, he creates tension and excitement in his storytelling.
What could be an interruption in the series turns out to be deftly integrated by Jeremy Adams script. Last Summer, DC stalled out every book in the line with “Knight Terrors” and Adams was also able to make it work within the story he’d just started. Again, Adams makes the event fit with the ongoing narrative in a natural way. More importantly, he keeps the rest of the plotlines going while Hal’s story is tied up with the events of Absolute Power.
Positives Cont’d
Adams picks up on threads from Absolute Power #1 with Alan Scott and the Justice Society of America. It’s great to see Alan and the JSA including Jade, Obsidian and Jesse Quick. Adams has displayed his affection for JSA characters previously with his use of Mister Terrific and Doctor Mid-Nite (Pieter Cross) in The Flash and Jay Garrick: The Flash. Alan’s appearance while enjoyable still raises unanswered questions. His recent mini-series didn’t do him any favors leaving him with a tarnished image and the elephant in the room- What happened to his wife Molly? Adams doesn’t address any of these issues, so it’s easy enough to ignore the events of Alan Scott: The Green Lantern.
Perhaps, the most exciting aspect of Green Lantern #13 is the surprise ending with Nathan Broome, the man Carol Ferris left at the altar. It demonstrates Adams’ ability to build on existing lore and tie things together in a fun and interesting way. His use of Pieter Cross in Jay Garrick and the Durlans and events of Millennium in this series are other examples of Adams finding a way to connect to the greater DC Universe and its history. No spoilers, but it’s an amazing idea, and it’s surprising that no other writer has thought of it before. If someone has, I certainly haven’t heard of it.
Negatives
Having to suffer another Summer with an event that just isn’t as interesting as the current ongoing is annoying. Adams does the best he can to make it as painless as possible, even creating some cool moments in those aspects of the issue.
Verdict
Jeremy Adams continues to demonstrate why he is probably DC’s best writer currently. He knows how to connect his stories to the current and historical DC Universe and come up with unique and intriguing plot elements to push the book forward. He’s on his way to making Green Lantern as great a book as his run on The Flash. The art is fantastic and he’s able to jump over the obstacles DC throws at him with their poorly timed events. You can’t go wrong with Green Lantern #13 whether you care about Absolute Power or not.
