Green Lantern #9
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Mark Irwin, Tom Nguyen, and Alex Sinclair
The short of it:
Sinestro’s turn to Indigo is recounted as we see previously unknown snippets of his past. Meeting Arin, their talk as he tried to take Korugar, the battle that led to her death, and Sinestro’s heart breaking as he held her body. That is how he was converted, reliving that, and then we’re back where we left off with Sinestro attempting to take down Hal Jordan. Hal escapes and goes questing for the Central Indigo Battery in the Forbidden Jungles. Eep in the heart he finds a cavern with Indigo Energy, and a man named Natromo. What follows is Hal being explained the origins and purposes of the Indigo Tribe, just in time for it to all come crashing down.
What I liked:
- I love how everything Abin Sur ties back to that one issue by Alan Moore. Not because I like Alan Moore, but because I love how much he hates other writers using his ideas, and it brings me a sick joy to know how many great stories Geoff Johns has crafted from a few throaway sentences. Especially written by someone like Moore who can’t handle people actually enjoying his work.
- Sinestro coping with loss makes for a powerful image. And I mean, not just because it’s on top of a mountain of bodies, but to get that feeling that you’re looking at the exact moment when he went from hero to Sinestro? So awesome.
- Abin Sur was a sneaky bitch and I love it.
- It’s nice to see a GL that isn’t Hal using a different ring for a change. Even if it is Sinestro, founder of the Sinestro Corps.
- The page where you see Natromo standing in a cave in front of all the Indigo energy is far and away my favorite page of the issue. It just looks soooo awesome.
What I didn’t like:
- Totally misleading cover. I was expecting Black Hand to do something, not show up for one panel at the end to have his name read outloud.
- Poor Starstorm, we hardly knew him.
- Hal can create explody grenades, cars, hang gliders, and even an ATV with GPS. Dude can’t fly. Come on, how much power does this ring really have?
- ARMY OF INKERS! Seriously, why does this book consistently have four inkers per issue?
Final Thoughts:
Is Arin Sur the mother of Soranik Natu, or did Sinestro have more secret women? Because if Sora really was Abin’s niece that would be interesting. Then again, Sora sorta vanished without a trace after her and Kyle had their pointless breakup so…maybe Sinestro no longer has an adult doctor Green Lantern daughter.
The Indigo’s being bad people was pretty obvious when you saw how Black Hand was treated. Everyone is mellow and at piece, and they are all wearing chains. They totally were not symbolic at all.
Man, Natromo quits way too easily, but at least he knows how to do it. You don’t just walk away, you bring it all down with you. That’s the right combination of dedication to the cause and lost mindedness.
Nok is the new Marklar.
I’m digging this Second Army and Third Army stuff. I mean, when I heard about the Third Army I started to wonder what the second way, and I did not expect to find out it is what we found out it was in this issue. The reveals in this issue are great.
Overall: 8/10
