Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special by Geoff Johns and Brett Booth
This fictional conversation happened on December 22, 2010.
Grey: How is my favorite columnist this morning?
Skitch: Morning? It’s like 2 PM. Wait…favorite columnist. ::groans:: You are looking for a favor.
Grey: Well…just a small one. But you’ll like it.
Skitch: Last time you said that to me, I ended up stranded on Mogo for a year and a half.
Grey: So you’re all big into GL now….again, and you’ve read Blackest Night, so you know about everybody’s favorite greedy bastard….Larfleeze!
How would you like to review the DC Christmas Special this year? Awesomely named “The Larfleeze Christmas Special”, written by Geoff Johns, art by Bret Booth.
Skitch: Larfleeze has a Christmas Special?
Grey: If you don’t wanna do it, I am sure I can ask Chr..
SKITCH: NO! MINE!
Grey: You sure? It’s been a while since.
SKITCH: MINE!!!!!!
Grey is definitely right, I have been really enjoying Green Lantern since Sinestro Corps War. Larfleeze is the only remaining Orange “avarice” Lantern. Someone that the Guardians feared so much they ended up giving him control of an entire sector just to keep him contained.
There is just so much going on with Larfleeze. He’s funny, dangerous, and when written well, he pretty much takes over any scene he’s in. During Blackest Night, there is a great two page spread where the New Guardians all recite their oaths, and Larfleeze is just in the corner saying “Eh” and my eye was immediately drawn to him.
When you think about it, he’s the perfect choice for a Christmas Special. I went in expecting a “Grinch” like story, and wasn’t disappointed. The comic starts with Larfleeze preparing for the ritual of Christmas. He has sent in his epicly long list, prepared the offering of cookies, and tried to abide by Earth’s rules of what good means…mostly. When Santa doesn’t arrive, Larfleeze goes on a rampage to find out why. He first accosts some mall santas, and a kid points him to the North Pole. He goes to destroy the North Pole, and Hal shows up to talk him out of it. He explains that Santa isn’t real, and goes into the whole Charlie Brown “the true meaning of Christmas” thing. He then convinces Larfleeze to give up some of his posessions to kids in need. Hal asks Larfleeze to think about what he really wants from Christmas. The last panel is Lazfleeze holding a list that says “My Family.”
This issue was full of fun extras. A maze, a Christmas Ornament (which declares “I WANT GLUE” on every tab) and a Orange Lantern cookie recipe,which actually looked like a real good recipe. I definitely am gonna make those with my four year old.
The story did feel like it ended a bit abruptly, but it wasn’t overly heavy on the sentiment. I did think that last panel was really powerful. I didn’t just roll my eyes, which happens a lot on these kind of Christmas stories. It caught me by surprise.
I thought Brett Booths did a great job on the art, EXCEPT for the simplistic way he drew Larfleeze. I like when he’s drawn with a lot of detail, but in this case, he mostly just looked like an orange guy with a few tusks sticking out of his face. In the covers above, I want the Larfleeze on the left, not the right.
Also, I did think Johns’s dialouge was a little weak at times. Larfleeze isn’t Gollum, but you kind of expect to see him talking a little different from a normal human. That said, I loved the line where Larfleeze wants to “attain this Christmas spirit.”
This issue also contained a hilarious two page back up story called “Where did Glomulus go” by Art Baltazar and Franco! In it, Larfleeze’s bloblike construct Glomulus visits all the Lantern’s homeworlds. The art style reminded me of Tiny Titans, and it was very funny. I especially loved the Indigo lanterns who wouldn’t shut up and the Star Sapphires who kept arguing about their favorite colors.
4 bucks might be a little much for this issue, but all in all, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s definitely one of the better holiday comics I’ve ever read.
Overall: 8/10
