Review:
Creative team Steve Englehart and Joe Staton continued to do amazing things in their late-1980s run with the Green Lanterns. After shiftnig focus of the ongoing series from Hal Jordan to John Stewart to Guy Gardner then to a whole corps, after sheperding the book through the turmoil the universe-reshaping Crisis on Infinite Earths, after rebranding the book from Green Lantern to the Green Lantern Corps, they continued to give us strong, surprisingly grown-up stories with their cast of characters.
In an era where other titles were going darker and more brutal, Englehart penned tales of mature and complex inter-personal relationships. He even rooted some of these tales in a familar, recognizable world and well-known IRL peresonalities.
Take, for starters, the cover story arc, which sees Kilowog realize he is more in tune with the principles of socialism than capitalism. It provokes him to locate his earthly base of operations in the USSR. Englehart weaves in real-world tensions of that late Cold War era and unapologetically names names. This is not the Golden and Silver Age of using thinly veiled stand-ins for the real world - no Star City or Central City (although still Coast City). Instead, he gives us Washington and Moscow, Reagan and Gorbachev.
Through Kilowog, Englehart gives Soviet society in general and communism in particular a fairer airing than much of the media of the day. We also get a clear political statement with Hal Jordan declaring himself to be an "unregenerate liberal," if not to the same extent as Kilowog. Ultimately, of course, the USSR is portrayed as more duplicitous and brutal than the USA, but this would have been a notable and brave story when published.
The Earth-based Corps is not opposed to dating co-workers; in these pages we get lots of scenes with happy couples, culminating with the wedding and honeymoon of John Stewart and Katma Tui. They spend a wonderful honeymoon on an asteroid they encountered in a previous issue.
In fact, two of the recurring themes in this collection are the romantic lives of the heroes, which also include Hal Jordan and Arissa as well as Guy Gardner, and unapologetic references to Green Lantern tales past. These history callbacks identify the issues to which they nod, a helpful touch to those of us who do not get the reference or who don't recall their details.
Some even go all the way back to the earliest Green Lantern days of the 1960s. Star Saphire and Hector Hammond, teaming up here to defeat the Corps, first met in Green Lantern #5, and the Solar Director of AD 5700 connects all the way back to issue #8.
Star Saphire and Hector Hammond hatch a scheme to kill first Hal and soon after the entire Corps. And they appear to have succeeded in their first step, through Hammond's mind control, sabotage, and making use of their knowledge of the power ring's limitations and weaknesses. Most thrilling of all, however, is the interplay between the two frenemies, as each seeks to manipulate the other, Star Saphire most shockingly by stripping naked in front of him.
The AD 5700 Solar Director story comes with a twist - instead of Hal Jordan, they pull Salaak into the far future and he is in turn seduced by the lovely Iona. But when Ch'p arrives in AD 5700 too, he takes the other side in the conflict. The interpersonal rift occasionally delivers tender and intense moments, although this story arc is by far the goofiest in this collection.
The beautiful hardcover collection is bookended by two series annuals. In each, the writers were given the assignment to tell us tales from the other thousands of Green Lantern Corps members. Most striking and memorable are the ones by Alan Moore, with his tale of long-game manipulation leading to the death of Abin Sur, then a fascinating tale of how the green light of the lantern would translate to a place of such profound darkness that light-based language has no equivalent.
This is a delightful set of stories and a beautiful bookshelf treasure.
Description:
The Green Lantern Corps, now only made up of Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Arisia, Katma Tui, Ch'p, Salakk and Kilowog, have made Earth their new home. Now the Green Lanterns must battle cosmic threats while dealing with the national politics of the United States and the Soviet Union! Plus, the alien members of the Corps are eager to explore their new home and learn all about strange new human customs!
GREEN LANTERN CORPS: BEWARE THEIR POWER VOL. 1 collects for the first time ever GREEN LANTERN CORPS #207-215 and GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL #2-3, from the veteran Green Lantern creative team of Steve Englehart, Joe Staton and Mark Farmer!
Collects: GREEN LANTERN CORPS #207-215 and Annual #2-3
Authors: Steve Englehart, Alan Moore
Artists: Joe Staton, Mark Farmer
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Feb. 13, 2018
Parental Rating: Parental Guidance
ISBN: 978-1401277505
Pages: 296 pages
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