The second act of the Godhead event taking place in the entire Green Lantern line of books hits it’s midpoint today, as well as (more or less) the whole of the story with the release of Green Lantern: New Guardians #36.
White Lantern Kyle Rayner and Star Sapphire Carol Ferris arrive on New Genesis with Highfather via boomtube, to forfeit over the white ring in the hopes of serving the greater good in the war against Darkseid and Apokalips.
Things seem to take a turn for the worst as soon as the ring is successfully removed and put in Highfather’s possession. Our heroes quickly realize that perhaps the plan of the enemy to the ultimate evil may not be much better for the Multiverse at large than that of the villain.
Positives
The artwork is really nice here. Penciller Diogenes Neves, inker Marc Deering and colorist Wil Quintana put forth some great work in the issue, with perfectly dynamic sci-fi visuals. I especially liked the variety of layouts as well as the slight change of style for the flashback page. And the contribution from Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessy to the cover gives us a nice, traditional simple yet strong visual to catch the eye.
Negatives
This was not the most progressive chapter of Godhead we’ve seen. At the end of the issue, all that’s really occurred is that Highfather has gotten his hand on the white ring. While this is an important moment in the story, is feels like a lot of wasted space. The characterizations of Kyle and Carol come off a bit naive and weak, though they are determined to rectify their mistake.
Verdict
Green Lantern: New Guardians #36 lacks a lot of necessary story to make it feel as though it’s strong as an individual issue, and aside from one particular moment, as an important contribution to an ongoing epic. Thankfully, the artwork saves what feels like a rather uneventful chapter in the Godhead saga. Though not bad, it doesn’t come off as essential.