Written by: Sam Humphries
Art by: Robson Rocha, Eduardo Pascina, Jay Leisten, Julio Ferreyra & Blond
Publisher: DC Comics
Green Lanterns is far and away the most infuriating book I’m reading right now. Usually, that’s a title that would go the worst book on my pull list, but right now? Nope. It goes right to Green Lanterns. Because man, I really want to love this book. I want it to live up to the potential that it illustrates in every issue, this one included. Series writer Sam Humphries just can’t seem to take the book a step further, into the realm of being the truly excellent book that it should be.
At it’s core, Green Lanterns is awesome. It’s a buddy cop story with two awesome characters that have been underused in the DC Universe thus far. On a conceptual level, this is DC’s Archer and Armstrong. But for every bit of banter, every piece of character work, there’s a fault lurking just around the corner. The overall quality of every issue has hovered around the same spot, yet somehow individual issues never manage to be consistent. They go from super high highs to, well, in the case of this issue, having Jessica be overwhelmed by fear AGAIN. Look, I get that it’s a character trait, but the tension that should come with it is ruined when it happens so repeatedly.
Still, there are enough highs in this book that I feel safe in saying that I liked it. I wish I could take a firmer stance on the book, and there are hints that in the future that will be the case. Especially when it comes to Jessica, because there are moments in this book where she really shines. I’ve been whining a lot about internal monologue recently, but some of Jessica’s is a clinic in how it should be done. And some of it is, well, a prime example of what not to do. So unless this series is an elaborate guide on writing internal monologues, I’m going to have to call that a fault.
For the most part, the visuals are nothing spectacular. The art team is rather large, with multiple pencillers and inkers. That actually doesn’t come through in this issue – I kind of assumed it was just one of each, so that’s a definite improvement over the past couple. I will say that I do really like seeing the Red Lanterns in action here. The character designs may not be knew, but I love the reminder that there are some really odd/awesome looking aliens in the DC Universe. And the action looks pretty good too, so that’s a plus.
On the subject of Red Lanterns, the main plot is still boring. But hey, Dex-Starr’s still around and will be playing a larger role than I expected, so I’m looking forward to that.
Look, I know that I’m in the minority when I say this. And I also know that this is very similar to how I closed out my last review of Green Lanterns. But whatever. I do like this book. It’s just that I want to stop liking it and start loving it. Humphries has so much potential as a writer, and there are hints of greatness here. None of them, however, are able to translate to the book being great. I really hate saying this, but five issues in (well, six, technically) it isn’t a great comic yet. And I’m starting to lose hope that it will ever become one. I still look forward to every issue though, so I guess that says something.
