Review: Green Lantern Corps #3 By Peter Tomasi And Geraldo Borges

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Green Lantern Corps #3

Written by Peter Tomasi

Art by Geraldo Borges, Scott Hanna, and Gabe Eltaeb

 

The short of it:

The Corps is at war, and if you didn’t know it before this issue, you do now! Last issue ended with Isamot returning to Guy, John, and their little crew with his arms and legs severed and his ring on his tongue, and an army right behind him. This issue picks up from there and drops us right into the action. There’s a need for immediate reinforcements, and a convenient plot device to deliver them. Our heroes discover the secret weapon of these mysterious attackers, despite their rings being unable to recognize where they are from. The reason the Lanterns are so ineffective against them is that these guys are fighting back with willpower, which means that the only way to beat them with it is to have more than they do. Reinforcements arrive, and rather than engage with them they immediately pull back to Oa. Unfortunately, a handful of Lanterns didn’t make the trip back with them, and their plot device is all used up.

What I liked:

  • The enemy had a VERY overwhelming feel to them and it put over the threat. We may still have no real idea who these guys are, but the threat seems credible enough. The art really sold it, the numbers were just ridiculous. Even when the reinforcements arrived for the GL’s they still looked like a more intimidating force.
  • There’s some nice character work with the fight, and Guy gets a good moment at the end. I don’t hate John Stewart in this book, so that’s something I haven’t said much of since Kyle Rayner was still the only GL.
  • Playing the Corps part of Green Lantern Corps is something Tomasi promised when talking about the book prior to launch, and he’s delivering on it, and on top of that, it’s working. Seeing Lantern’s using construct guns, Salaak commanding the troops from Oa, and the fact that they’re trying to stop a planetary invasion force…it works. It’s a nice step away from dealing with the Manhunters or other colored Lantern Corps.
  • Despite being a fill in artist, Geraldo Borges does a pretty good job here. There are some weird faces, but looking at the backgrounds and the characters you can tell he had some fun with the nameless GL’s in the background. Not to mention that he doesn’t reuse the same uniforms at all, so all of these nameless characters are getting unique looks, and he’s doing a good job with it. The action is clear and powerful, while still giving off the sort of epic battle feelings that you’d expect from a war movie. I could totally live with him being a regular fill in guy on this book, no problems with it at all.
What I didn’t like:
  • I hated that the one time they need to get a small army of Green Lantern’s across the universe, which is apparently a three hour flight that they didn’t have three hours to do it in, that a Lantern we’ve never heard of pops up to make it easy. There’s a Green Lantern with the ability to teleport over great distances, though it was limited to four or five at a time, so he takes thirty. His eyes bleed, but he takes almost everyone back, leaving a few to stay behind to continue the conflict while he dies from over exertion. He actually gets some good character moments in there too with his leap of faith, it’s just…his story would be more heroic if he weren’t such a blatant plot device that his named is Lantern PORTER.
  • While I don’t mind the art here by Geraldo Borges, I don’t like the fact that Fernando Pasarin already needs a fill in. I mean, sure, the guy probably went right from his issues of Emerald Knights for War of the Green Lanterns to drawing this series without much of a break, but already? I respect DC’s initiative to keep books on time even if it means going with a guest artist, but in some cases it just makes the reader wonder how recurring of a theme it will be when it happens in issue number three.
  • Despite the fight and minor discoveries about the bad guys, nothing really happens in this issue. The conflict is dragged across the entire book, and while well paced, does leave you kind of feeling like you didn’t get that much out of it. There isn’t a lot of forward movement in the plot at all.
  • Salaak needs stable characterization at some point soon. One issue he’ll be standing up to the Guardians, and the next he’ll be backing down to Lantern Porter because he’s talking about faith. I love the character, love the design, love what he represents, and love to see him all the time….but he needs to be stabalized and not bounced up and down based on what the story needs for him to do. He needs the same level of care that Lanterns like Kilowag, Arisia, and Soranik Natu get despite not having their own books.
Final Thoughts:
I don’t think it’s bias that I find the Green Lantern consistently the most enjoyable in mainstream comics, I mean, I’m not saying that they’re the best books money can buy you, but look at them. Green Lantern by Geoff Johns, Green Lantern Corps by Peter Tomasi, and New Guardians by Tony Bedard are all off to great starts, and each of them has proven going in that they’re going to keep them that strong. Red Lanterns isn’t great, but it’s not horrible either, and doesn’t completely kill my argument. But for all of the lines of books DC has out, and for all the ones Marvel has out, the GL line just seems to turn in the best quality consistently. Take this issue for example, it’s nothing overly spectacular, and not a lot really happens, but I still found myself reading it a few more times even before I decided to review it. It was a fun book. Green Lantern’s go to war and fight guys who can no sell power rings.
Peter Tomasi is an ace at things like this, and it’s great to have him back on the Corps. He does wonders with large casts, and he’s even getting me to not hate John Stewart. He even got over his plot device as a character before shoveling him back into the abyss. He took an issue where, really, not a lot happened, and he made the most of it. It doesn’t feel like a fill in issue, maybe trade filler, but not in the bad way. The issue feels like a bridge, but it has a lot of well handled action, so I’ve definitely seen worse. Really, all things considered, it was pretty enjoyable.
Overall: 7.5/10
A lifelong reader and self proclaimed continuity guru, Grey is the Editor in Chief of Comics Nexus. Known for his love of Booster Gold, Spider-Girl (the real one), Stephanie Brown, and The Boys. Don't miss The Gold Standard.