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Red Lanterns

Red Lanterns, Volume 2: The Death of the Red Lanterns

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The Red Spectrum of Rage is the lifeblood of the Red Lanterns and it is dying, poisoned by one of their own.
Atrocitus, the creator of the Red Lanterns, is haunted by his past. One of his creations, the powerful Red Lantern Abysmus, has been freed from his imprisonment and intends to destroy not only the Red Lanterns, but all life. In the chaos of their dying planet, Atrocitus must also face a civil war led by his right hand Bleez. Did Bleez free Abysmus in an effort to topple Atrocitus? Is the new human Red Lantern Jack Moore the key to stopping Abysmus and restoring the Red Spectrum of Rage?

Collecting: Red Lanterns 8-12, Stormwatch 10

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

12 people are currently reading
332 people want to read

About the author

Peter Milligan

1,290 books386 followers
Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name


Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.

He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.

His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.

Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).

Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix

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5 stars
204 (22%)
4 stars
276 (29%)
3 stars
298 (32%)
2 stars
111 (12%)
1 star
34 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
Profile Image for Anne.
4,722 reviews71k followers
December 9, 2015
3.5 stars

Once again, I didn't think I would enjoy a book about the Red Lanterns as much as I did. It's mostly a slug-fest between the Reds and anyone who crosses their path, but the addition of the new Red Lantern (who still has some of his humanity) helped to keep things fresh. Also, the crossover with Stormwatch was pretty cool.

The story goes like this:
The Red power battery has been poisoned, and all of the Reds are dying.
Rage!
Lots of goods times to be had while they streak across the galaxy in search of the cure...

Recommended for Lantern fans!
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,201 followers
April 11, 2019
To lazy to do a big review. Basically Red Lanterns screaming at each other and trying to kill each other. The Human is the only kind of smart one, trying to settle everything down. One cool thing was Stormwatch coming in, loved them here. The rest? Forgettable. A 2.5 out of 5.
Profile Image for Logan.
1,022 reviews38 followers
September 25, 2016
Great! So after a few years since I read Volume 1, I finally got vol 2; and I'm kicking myself for not getting it sooner! So the story is that, the Red Lantern Power Battery has been poisoned(How I won't say because I don't wanna spoil), and its up to Atrocitus, and his lanterns to stop it! This was all around good from start to finish; however their was mini crossover with Stormwatch, if anyone remembers that series; apart from seeing Midnighter; their a pretty boring bunch! The Artwork also changed from Vol 1; they are very similar, but I think I like vol 1's art slightly more! Also I'm not sure what value, Jack Moore(Human Red Lantern) adds to the table; Atrocitus is awesome, Bleez is a badass; that giant head Lantern provides comic relief; but Jack Moore does not add any value, he just flies around confused about who he is, why is he a red lantern... I may have pointed out a lot of flaws, but their minor; this is a really great series!
Profile Image for The Spooky Jedi.
96 reviews4 followers
August 3, 2021
Decent story that was entertaining. Nothing special though, but the art is bright and vivid
Profile Image for Scratch.
1,388 reviews50 followers
January 4, 2021
Little weaker than volume 1.

Ostensibly, this volume was about solving the problem of the Red Lanterns' central power battery, which was somehow rotting with disease. Because the central power battery was broken, and all Red Lanterns were cosmically tied to it, huge swathes of --nameless-- Red Lanterns were sickening and dying.

Biggest writing faux pas? Atrocitus, the founder and leader of the Red Lanterns, apparently created a being called "Abysmus," and promptly buried him because he had too much compassion and not enough rage. The exact circumstances of this creation and burial did not happen on-panel, so the reader has to accept these events at face value based on statements Atrocitus makes. Obviously, because it's comic books, this being turned out not to be dead and came back as a villain. This being sometimes referred to Atrocitus as "Father," but the status of their relationship as parent and child has not really been explored. Since the whole reason Atrocitus founded the Red Lanterns is because of his rage over the murder of his wife and children, you would think the idea of Atrocitus having new children would be a juicy bit of story to explore.

... It doesn't get explored in this volume.

Clearly the artist changed toward the end of this volume, and whoever the new artist was wasn't as good. Characters' motivations also weren't explained super well, or were downright nonsensical. Bleez decided to blame the Star Sapphires for the Red Power Battery's dysfunction, just... arbitrarily. There was no logic behind it. Then the Star Sapphires volunteered to convert female Red Lanterns, and I'm confused as to why the violet power of love is limited just to women. Especially given how this story takes place in outer space, featuring dozens of different alien species, many of which may not HAVE females, as we understand them on Earth.

What if a species requires 5 genders to produce an egg, and another 3 to hatch it? Which of those beings would qualify for membership with the Star Sapphires?

Also, I meant to say this before, but I'll say it now-- almost every single scene with Bleez prominently features her ass. She holds her body awkwardly just so that the audience gets a nice look at her ass, as she twists around so that sometimes we can also see her face. This also begs the question why a rape victim filled with rage at her ill treatment (and rightly so) continues to prance about in a type of thong, with most of her bare ass cheeks hanging out, in the vacuum of space. You would think she would want to wear a full pair of pants. Probably with spikes. Or at least that's what I would do.
Profile Image for Fluffyroundabout.
59 reviews
September 1, 2017
The Red Lanterns are forced to stick together and save their corps before time runs out. At this point there are three very interesting Red Lanterns, Atrocitus, Bleez and of course the human, Rankorr. We mainly follow these great characters as they each go on different 'missions' to save their corps. Atrocitus and Bleez are as badass as ever while rankorr is still lost as to who he is, even what he is.

Great story and well executed. This volume is not as strong as the first but still worth reading if you enjoyed the first volume. Recommended to people who enjoyed the first volume, GL fan or not!
Profile Image for Georgie zakka.
206 reviews6 followers
June 20, 2020
A good ending to Abysmus’ stroy arc, art took a downgrade after artist change in my opinion, a lot of the story felt like boring filler but stormwatch being a part of the arc was pretty cool.
Profile Image for Jiro Dreams of Suchy.
1,284 reviews8 followers
May 1, 2025
The meeting between stormwatch and Atrocitus was bad- the characters didn’t work well together and it made a dark and bloody story a little to light hearted for me especially packing those issues between the destruction of THE red lantern, the battle for supremacy and power with Atrocitus and Bleez and the death of the human side of Rankoor. It’s a mixed bag, when it’s good it’s really good and when it’s bad it’s really noticeable.
Profile Image for Tom.
1,118 reviews3 followers
May 15, 2025
I like Stormwatch, but their inclusion here is a little bit of a cheap crossover. Even so, it's a solid volume with decent additional development of the core Red Lanterns and a promising hook in the form of the destruction of the Red Power Battery. A little lighter on the deeper themes than the first volume was, but that's probably to be expected in an ongoing series that has to serve the whims of the DC New 52 line.
Profile Image for Roman Colombo.
Author 4 books35 followers
February 14, 2017
Second Volume, still really strong. But what struck me even more was Miguel Sepúlveda's art. This book looks amazing. The art is more than cinematic and dynamic, it feels like your driving like a maniac on a highway.
Profile Image for Shannon Appelcline.
Author 30 books164 followers
October 14, 2015
The book sets itself up as a five-issue long quest after the firstborn trying to destroy the Red Lanterns. Unfortunately, it frequently loses its focus and meanders all over the place in the process.

That starts with the first two issues (8-9), where the interesting politics & characters of the first volume have descended into the endless mayhem that I feared when I started reading this comic, with the only bright spot being the new human Red Lantern who isn't quite right [5+/10].

Things feel like they get entirely derailed as part of the Stormwatch crossover (10), which I liked better when I read it as part of Stormwatch. Unfortunately, from the view of the Red Lanterns, it's a big snipe hunt intended solely to make you-and-him fight, because it has nothing to do with the main Red Lantern plot arc [6/10].

Things only begin to cohere in the last two issues, which finally address the main arc and have some nice scenes of Red Lanterns across the universe [7/10], but it's too little too late to save the volume as a whole.

Profile Image for Charlos.
501 reviews
May 28, 2014
So, somebody has poisoned the angry well water. What to do? Well, of course Atrocitus and the rest of Team Poncho Punch are going to work together to solve this problem, right?

Well...no. Instead, it's time for some infighting, with whatever sector it happens in taking collateral damage. This makes for some fun scenes, but makes me worry for the longevity of this series if it can't find something more solid to base itself on. Showcase the unique nature what it means to be a Red Lantern and how a group of unstable people/things/cats can rally to a common cause, instead of doing generic superhero team strife.
Profile Image for Kyle.
924 reviews28 followers
October 7, 2014
This book reads like a bunch of cave people grunting at each other, fighting over the last leg of roast beast.. A really shallow storyline using characters with no depth to them. A total throw-away volume. Not sure if I will continue reading this series.

2/5
5,630 reviews7 followers
January 16, 2017
The first 2 volumes of this series have been off the charts.Atrocitus has easily jumped into my top ten of super villains all time.Bleez character continues to shine and Midnighter and Apollo enter the fray.Damn good stuff right here.
Profile Image for David.
2,565 reviews85 followers
March 13, 2013
Okay, I think I've had it with this title. Another one to drop from my read list.
1,607 reviews12 followers
November 1, 2018
Reprints Red Lanterns #8-12 and Stormwatch (3) #9 (June 2012-October 2012). The Red Lanterns are dying. Infected by Atrocitus’s first creation Abysmus, the Corps are working on borrowed time, and they must find the cause quickly. Atrocitus sets off to locate Abysmus while Bleez and her rebels seek the Star Sapphires. As Stormwatch takes an interest in the Red Lanterns, Jack Moore finds himself caught between his humanity and curse of being a Red Lantern.

Written by Peter Milligan, Red Lanterns Volume 2: Death of the Red Lanterns is part of the New 52 relaunch of the DC Universe following Flashpoint. Following Red Lanterns Volume 1: Blood and Rage, the collection features art by Miguel Sepulveda, Andres Guinaldo, Jorge Jimenez, Mark Irwin, and Tomas Giorello. The collection features a crossover with Stormwatch, and Stormwatch (3) #9 and Red Lanterns #10 were also collected in Stormwatch Volume 2: Enemies of Earth.

The New 52 relaunch of DC was a fun way to spice up the DC Comics. Red Lanterns was one of the surprise titles and putting Milligan on it was a different choice. With winning titles like X-Force/X-Statix, Milligan has potential to soar…Red Lanterns finds a middle ground.

Milligan takes a bit too many jumps in the storytelling. The Abysmus backstory is a bit too loosely told and the Bleez encounters with the Star Sapphires also takes odd leaps that leaves you questioning if you missed a page. He’s done a bit of this in the past in titles like Shade, but I wish that the series flowed better here.

It is unfortunately because there is some gold in Red Lanterns. I actually kind of like Milligan is giving the rather one-dimensional Red Lanterns more depth. Villains as leads are always compelling, and Red Lanterns are even more villainous than most comics that attempt it…plus, Dex-Starr is gold.

The crossover with Stormwatch feels logical (Milligan was writing both titles, and Stormwatch are essentially police men), but the execution also wasn’t great. While the Stormwatch part works, the Red Lanterns issue seems forced in the bigger story which is occurring in Red Lanterns. Atrocitus vows revenge which promises a payoff later on…but I don’t know if we’ll get it.

Red Lanterns has a lot of potential, but it feels largely untapped. I wish Milligan went all in on Red Lanterns like he did on X-Statix, but it feels like he was limited by DC’s mainstreaming of the book. If we had had something completely crazy and unusual in Red Lanterns, it would have really stood out among the New 52 books…even if it didn’t fit in perfectly. Red Lanterns 2: Death of the Red Lanterns is followed by Red Lanterns 3: The Second Prophecy.
Profile Image for  ManOfLaBook.com.
1,355 reviews75 followers
December 19, 2018
For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

Red Lanterns, Vol. 2: The Death of the Red Lanterns by Peter Milligan (art by Miguel Sepúlveda and Ed Benes) is a graphic novel continuing the story of the Red Lanterns, fueled by anger and rage. This graphic nvoel collects Red Lanterns 8-12, and Stormwatch 10.

The powerful Red Lantern Abysmus, creation of the leader of the Red Lanterns Corp Atrocitus, has been freed and on a mission to destroy all life, and the Red Lanterns by poising their battery. Atrocitus must stop this genocide, but also fight a civil war his right hand, Bleez, has declared.

As I stated in my thoughts on Blood and Rage (vol. 1), I was pleasantly surprised by this run since I’m not a Green Lantern fan in his standalone stories. Once again, however, I was pleasantly surprised reading the continuation in Red Lanterns, Vol. 2: The Death of the Red Lanterns by Peter Milligan (art by Miguel Sepúlveda and Ed Benes).

The first volume introduced some great characters (Rankorr who is still half human, and Bleez which is certainly poised to become the breakout character), and this volume expands on them as they each go on different paths.

The art is very cinematic, the book looks great and very dynamic. The story was somewhat intricate and I had to read several panels a few times, or go back for stuff I missed, but the art really drives this volume.

The weakest part, in my opinion, was the Stormwatch crossover. While it works, I didn’t think it was executed as well as it could have been and seemed forced while attached to this volume.

This book has a lot of fighting in it, it’s a punch fest from start to finish. I really enjoyed these books so far, and looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Profile Image for 47Time.
3,394 reviews92 followers
July 19, 2024
Though his side gains the upper hand, Abysmus leaves the Red Lantern alone. He is the abomination created by Atrocitus. His revenge on Atrocitus comes when he poisons the source of the Red Lanterns' power battery. Soon the Reds feels the corruption weaken them. Atrocitus fears this may lead to the death of the Reds.

Profile Image for Sean.
4,090 reviews25 followers
October 1, 2019
This series just doesn't have the same heart that the other Lantern books do. There is no one to root for or against. Its just a bunch of hate. I could see how this could be interesting in small doses but an entire series seems pointless. The inclusion of Stormwatch to the book for no other reason that the same author works on both books seems obvious. The art, by a handful of artists was really good though. Overall, the book has no soul or purpose but has some decent scenes and good line work.
5 reviews
November 15, 2020
"Red Lanterns Fight Among Themselves: Book Two"
They're still too busy fighting each other, much like the last book. It got to be pretty pathetic. Near the end of the volume, the entire story arc shifts, as does the art and motivations for characters. It would be a welcomed change, except it feels too late and so out of place with everything that happened prior. Batman being teased at one point can't save it.

I find the Red Lanterns very fascinating as a concept. As book, I don't. Series dropped.
Profile Image for Will Brown.
497 reviews13 followers
December 25, 2023
This started with an interesting premise. The Red Lantern Corp needs their rings to live, so what happens when those rings get sick and start to die? Unfortunately, a few corpses are all we get, as the book spends much more time on an ill-timed Stormwatch crossover that I can’t help but feel the author would much rather be writing than this.
Profile Image for Charles Hamel.
89 reviews1 follower
September 23, 2019
And the story keeps on getting good! We learn more about Atrocitus' story, the Red Lanterns become individuals, they have to stay alive at all cost, and we get introduced to the first human Red Lantern that is the first to make constructs!
Profile Image for Ronan The Librarian.
371 reviews1 follower
August 10, 2021
3.5

Not as consistent as the first volume, but still really good. Atrocitus’ bloody mission for universal vengeance continues, despite past sins and internal revolt. The art varies but is mostly good. Another solid volume of a story I feel invested in.
Profile Image for Shane.
1,397 reviews22 followers
October 22, 2022
I like how these guys seem really evil, but their purpose is to kill bad guys who terrorized the weak. I thought the purple lanterns were pretty dumb, but I get it, the love-hate dichotomy. Looks like there are 6 volumes of this so I guess it was a hit. Curious to see where it goes.
Profile Image for Lilli W..
293 reviews1 follower
February 27, 2024
The first one was better. The writing was a little clunky, especially the exposition. The character work was weaker too. I read Stormwatch #10 and it had nothing to do with the plot, turns out it's Stormwatch #9 you need to read; so that was wasted time.
Profile Image for Eric Burton.
220 reviews2 followers
May 6, 2025
3.5/5

It's still good, though the plot kind of drags at times, especially when it goes into the Stormwatch side story. It mostly just felt like an excuse for a crossover. Overall, I'm excited to see where it goes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews

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