Review:
Comics issues with big, round numbers like #200 are natural places for big celebrations, classic villains in memorable confrontations, and momentous events. And when it coincides with the end of DC's universe-reshaping Crisis on Infinite Earths, multiply the significance ten-fold!
The creative team of writer Steve Englehart and penciller Joe Staton deliver. By the end of #200, the final chapter in both this book and the three-book run of "Sector 2814" books, they have shaken the Green Lantern universe, corps and mythology to its core and sent it off in an intriguing new direction.
Issue #200 is the clear standout of the seven comics collected here. From Hal Jordan's sheer joy and exuberance at becoming Green Lantern once again, to the duplicitous sneak attacks from, first, Star Sapphire and then Sinestro, to the shocking departure of both the Guardians of the Universe and the Zamarons, the extended, double-sized issue could barely contain it all. Englehart's breakneck pace of narration, coupled with Staton's strong and emotionally rich visuals carry the reader through this emotional roller coaster. With brilliant nods to the rich history of Green Lantern, we finish the book excited to see the new developments to come.
The other six chapters here are less compelling. Englehart's storytelling shines with moments of surprise and delight - through shocking team-ups like Guy Gardner and Star Sapphire, or John Stewart and Sinestro, or the touching moments around the death of Tomar Re, a significant secondary character with a long history with the Corps.
But the Crisis tie-ins pull against these elements and ultimately fragment the tales too much. With so many threads on the go, so any cuts between scenes, sudden reversals and shifts in tone and direction, these other chapters fail to live up to the strength of #200. It is also fascinating, in today's retrospective view, to see how much more central to the Crisis storyline the Green Lanterns and the Guardians are here, in the Green Lantern title, compared to the mainline Crisis books. Like a bratty child acting up to get more attention, it feels almost undignified.
Joe Staton turns in solid work through a wide range of characters and locations - Earth, sea, air, space, Oa and a dozen other planets. Lots of angry confrontations and green energy blasts, with notably fewer light constructs in these pages. A particular favourite of Staton's work here is the spread of close-ups to show the different reactions in the audience when the Guardians announce they are leaving. The emotional range goes far beyond mere shock.
Staton's habit of switching from rectangular to more slashing, almost triangular panels gets a little out of hand here, a visual style that can be effective and shocking when well-used but that, in these stories, distracts more than it enhances.
The run-up through all three Sector 2814 books, with different Green Lanterns of Earth as the focus of each book, sets up very well the shift to the Green Lantern Corps with issue #201, giving the series a new title while continuing the numbering and doubling down on the ever-growing cast of Lanterns.
Description:
In this new collection of 1980s Green Lantern adventures, John Stewart clashes with Guy Gardner to see who will be the Green Lantern of Earth. And while Stewart battles Harbinger during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Gardner recruits enemies of the Green Lantern Corps to stand against an evil that could destroy the entire universe--including The Shark, Hector Hammond, Sonar, Goldface and more! As the two factions fight each other--John Stewart and the Green Lantern Corps vs. Guy Gardner and the villains--a fallen Lantern's ring finds Hal Jordan, who reclaims his place in the Corps.
Collects: Green Lantern (vol 2) #194-200
Authors: Steve Englehart
Artists: Joe Staton, Bruce Patterson
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Jan 21, 2014
Parental Rating: PG
ISBN: 978-1401243272
Pages: 200 pages
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