Green Lantern: New Guardians, Vol. 2: Beyond Hope

Green Lantern: New Guardians (Collected Editions)

by Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham (Illustrator), Batt (Illustrator)

When Green Lantern Kyle Rayner found one of each of the multi-colored Lantern rings in his possession, he found himself hunted by some of the most power, diverse and dangerous members of the other Lantern corps. Now the mystery must be put on hold as Odym, the homeworld of the Blue Lanterns, is being attacked by alien conquerors know as The Reach. But betrayed by one of their own, the NEW GUARDIANS uneasy alliance teeters on the edge of destruction.

Collects GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS 8-12 and BLUE BEETLE #9.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2013

About the author

Antony J. L. Bedard is an American writer and editor who has worked in the comic book industry from the early 1990s through the present. He is best known for his work at CrossGen Comics, where he was under exclusive contract, and for his run writing Marvel Comics X-Men spin-off Exiles.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

For what it is, it's a decent book.
That doesn't mean I think anyone needs to run out and buy this thing, by the way.
Although, the best thing about it is still the art. I'm not talking about anything mind-blowing, but with so many colors in use, it really is a quite beautiful volume.
Now, if you're not a fan of GL, this isn't for you. It's not a good jumping off place for anyone who hasn't been following this story relatively closely for quite a while. In fact, I'm pretty sure even if you are a fan, you really don't need to know what Kyle and the Rainbow Brigade have been up to in order to enjoy this story arc.

Having said that, for all of you completionists out there...

This is where we find out who stole the rings and sent them to Kyle.
To be honest, I didn't really care enough for the shock value to really have much of an effect on me.
Although, it does give the conclusion in Green Lantern, Vol. 3: The End even more of an Awwwww! So sweet! kind of feeling. You know, when Sinestro does that nice thing?

The rest of the book is filled with the different Lanterns running around playing a seemingly endless cycle of catch-up.
First, they all have to split up and recharge their batteries.
This results in Kyle and Bleez fighting an assassin working for The Reach.
Which brings us to a team-up with Blue Beetle, that really doesn't go anywhere...
The Yellow Lantern ends up rescuing the guy who engineered the Sinestro Corps battery and rings, while searching for a way to recharge his own.
Sapphire Lantern finds out that Invictus had help getting the portal (or whatever is was) open.
And the Blue Lanterns get their asses handed to them by The Reach.

Everything leads back to Larfleeze.
Of course.
After another team-up to save the galaxy, the Big Secret is finally revealed.
Ta-Da!

My sincere hope is that all of these Green Lantern titles are going to eventually get whittled down. One, maybe two at the most, would be totally sufficient to keep me interested.
Do we need to know what is happening in the life of every GL in the galaxy?
No.
More importantly, do we want to know?
No. No, we do not.
Cull the herd, DC!

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ho-hum, "Lanternkyle" and his rainbow brigade follow the multi-coloured brick road all over the universe to recharge their batteries. Literally.

Results in a Blue Beetle crossover...completely unnecessary. It made more sense now, having read both volumes it appears in, but still...I see that BB is tied into the baddies that attacked the Blue Lanterns, but what does that mean? BB is long cancelled.

Red and Green have an interesting sexual chemistry going, want to see where that goes...but no such luck.

Glommy, our resident orange DC version of Doop, is heroic here (aww special little guy!).

We see what Sinestro is up to with Hal (thru the eyes of another Yellow Lantern/Sinestro Corps eyes).

Sapphire Fatality gets a bit of screen time, but yawn. Nok, the Indigo Tribe member is the one we get nothing much about and he's interesting me.

Saint Walker may be one of the few characters to come out of this whole Reading Rainbow that might be worth salvaging.

Kyle is...well...boring. Hal's original, Alan Scott moreso, and even John Stewart is an angry badass. Hell, Guy's got a story, and this new Simon fella is probably interesting...but Kyle? Nope. Just...no.

Let's hope for a culling. I think it's stupid that the whole universe only finds willpower (Green Lantern Spectrum) on Earth...Hal/Kyle/John/Guy, etc. Really? some planets have no one...

So some shit happens, and if you follow ALL the GL titles closely...you're still going to have to call Geoff Johns at home to ask WTF?

Not really worth the effort.

Get this review and more at:

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was messy at first but the ending got me hyped for what is to come.

So as expected, a new race comes into play and they want to get rid of one of the lanterns group. Sadly it's the Blue Lanterns. The nice guys who only help people. WHAT THE HELL, MAN!? But we gotta do what we gotta do and the new Guardians all team up to protect them against Blue Beetles crazy Scrap race people.

Like I said the start was jumbled and too much happening at once. Now as easy flowing as volume 1. But luckily about 2 issues in it begins to change course and fix itself and I really ended up enjoying it by the end. The last few pages really build up some horrible shit heading their way and with Kyle alone now, how will he face it?

A 3.5 out of 5.

[Fluffyroundabout · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good second volume after a great first volume. A bit messy jumping from one mini story to the next so that you're not really invested in any of those stories. It's just kindve hard to care about what happens. Great Art. For GL fans only!

[Anchorpete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today looks like the day where I show my appreciation for under appreciated comic books. The general public will most likely not be able to name a single character in this book, and that is more than fine. This is an example of a comic made for comic book fans, so in love with a world, that they will spend money on a story featuring the most obscure of characters. I am one of those types of fans, and I love the world of Green Lantern so much. There were MANY times, before the new 52 started and after, where it felt like every single Green Lantern story and every single spin off book dealt only with fighting between the various corps and only served as a tie in to some major crossover (Blackest Night, Brightest Day, War of the Green Lanterns, etc.). That is actually the reality. That is what these books were (are). That doesn't mean that the books were bad, quite the contrary, the many different colored ring wielders have their own distinct personalities, and each title had a strong lead character to follow. I think the only problem was that there was too much going on in too short a time. In the end, it is all thanks to Geoff Johns for taking the Lantern concept and blowing it up the way he did.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's weird - there's a lot that happens in this volume, including epic battles (and the unexplained reappearance of previously dead characters) and universe changing ramifications. But it doesn't feel important. I don't understand what happened - the stakes just don't seem to be built up (and it feels like part of the story is missing - maybe it was in the Green Lantern volumes). Kyle and his rainbow team go from a tactical retreat into facing down an invasion of the Blue Lantern's home planet. The use of the Weaponer of Qward as a companion rather than an enemy was an interesting turn, and sets in motion further plots. The use of Blue Beetle's background for the invasion was an interesting choice as well. Not sure it really worked, but it was creative. Ultimately, though, I think too much happened for any of it to resonate.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seemed more like a cross-over volume for Blue Beetle than it did a supporting title for the GL universe... That it was kind of nice to see some focus on the Blue Lanterns. Larfleeze starts to become entangled more into the plot as well.... Meh. What plot, really?

It's support material for others storylines, so I guess I shouldn't be expecting so much from this series.... But, I mean, Kyle Rayner is a significant character in the DC universe. If they weren't going to treat him with dignity, then why didn't they just delete him in the New 52 the way they did with Donna Troy and Wally West?

There is a lot of room for improvement on this title.
2.5/5

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well drawn but slight title. Good enough to pass the time but not anything special.

[Jon Tully · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this volume, Bedard begins to wrap up some of the threads from volume one (specifically the identity of the ring thief and the threat posed by the Angel of Vega) while attempting to set things up for future volumes.
One strength that Bedard has is making the many characters in a large ensemble cast each have unique personalities (and not necessarily ones that correlate to their color in the emotional spectrum): by crossing lines in such a way, Bedard unifies a group that is normally at odds.
It is this character dynamic that keeps me wanting more.

[Joshua Adam Bain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say I'm a complete Green Lantern converter! I've never really been a huge fan up until I read Blackest Night about a month ago. I've been reading the Green Lantern title along with this and both are stellar.

There's a lot of things that make this book so awesome and there's not enough time to list them all. It's packed with action and twists and I enjoyed every moment of it. The art is amazing and as always the colours make this book stand out.

I don't often give books 5 stars but this volume deserves each and every one. I'm looking forward to starting the Green Lantern Corps and Red Lanterns next. If your into GL you can't miss this. If your not, give it a go anyway cause you might surprise yourself!

[Jason Tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have really mixed feelings about this book. It's fast paced, action packed, and generally well written and drawn. I like the character interactions between the various lanterns as they all become sort of friends. I don't actually care all that much about the big bad of the story, but the ending felt like the low point in a sports movie where the big reveal causes the team to break up before coming back together to win the day in the third act. So, I'm intrigued and I want to get to the third act.

But.

Here's the thing.

The New 52, as a reboot, was shockingly inconsistent. The Green Lantern books pretty much kept chugging along as if nothing had changed. Other books were drastically different. For example, if I remember correctly, Tony Bedard was also on Blue Beetle at this time, which would explain Jaime and the Reach's prominence in the book.

Jaime Reyes was a pretty new hero at this point, having spun out of Infinite Crisis into a glorious series by John Rogers, Keith Giffen, Cully Hamner, and Rafael Albuquerque. In twenty four issues, Jaime Reyes had a really wonderful opening arc. It was one of the best things I read as it came out.

But it didn't sell all that well, so it got a hard reboot for the New 52. Jaime is back to square one, and I can't imagine the remixed version is going to be anywhere near as good as the original, which again, was practically brand new. I didn't read New 52 Blue Beetle, so maybe it was better than I expect, but they trashed a top notch series to start over and it made me sad.

So, really, my complaints about this book are nothing to do with the writing or art, but editorial decisions surrounding one of the guest stars. Sue me, I'm petty. I'm knocking a star for the New 52's editorial dipshittery.

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Blue lanterns and I’d have liked this volume much more if not for a blunder by the writer.

I feel like there were a lot of missed opportunities here. Khaji-Kai should have gone from Blue Beetle to Blue Lantern. Narf narf. It looked like the natural direction after the loss of Shon. I do still appreciate that the nuance to the power rings are explored. For instance, it was fun to see Arkillo mad at his ring for summoning constructs of dead angels, which is exactly what Invictus would fear.

There’s a few panels I did not enjoy at all. The art was leaning on its sensual aspects when accentuating the curves on Bleez and Fatality. Comics are like that sometimes and I can overlook that (sometimes), but to have Blue Beetle pop a boner when pinned down by Bleez is low. Bleez is the victim of rape, man. Sure, it MIGHT have been the reaction she would have given…But that little bit just feels wrong. Not only with the background knowledge, but just as a few panels in the story its intention is unclear. The only thing I can gather is humor. And that’s just...Damn, it rankled that whole portion of the story for me.

Bleez would have ripped out Beetle's throat in all reality. She's a Red Lantern...I could go on all day about that, but for me to have to mention it in the review and affect how I felt about the comic...it just sucks. Maybe it's just me.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

This remains to be a rather odd book as we finally get a bit of an explanation for why these different lantern corp representatives were brought together, but naturally, it's not a satisfying one. It's the superhero equivalent of the romantic comedy trope where the two get together under false pretenses and when the truth comes out, it all falls apart. This book ultimately ends in this manner, but as to why remains a little unclear.

There is the blatant statement that something is targeting the different lantern corps and that's support to excite us about the big crossover event among the different Lantern books. But at the same time this period really had too many Lantern titles and it muddies down the storytelling.

[Ashe Catlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this straight after the first volume is the best way to fully appreciate it, as it works as one story. After the heavy volume, this one serves are more of a payoff to things that were set up. Don’t worry it does it’s own thing as well, Kyle goes back to earth bumping into Blue Beetle. Which was a nice foreshadow to what was going to happen to the blue lantern home world.

This is still a Kyle Rayner lead book, this time Bleez does get a little more love which I appreciate. Apart from Sinestro, she’s one of the other corps members I’m interested in. Fatality and Saint Walker get more attention as well which is welcome. It’ll be interesting to see what happens the new guardians from here.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tony Bedard's multi-colored Lantern book is still good but there is too much going on here. I'd love to see the focus be more streamlined onto just a couple Lanterns and not the entire spectrum at once. I also feel like this story has been told before. The Blue Beetle single issue needed more exposition but served its purpose. The art overall was good and a decent step up from the first volume. The series is very dependent on a very good knowledge base of what came before and that's tough for new readers.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The New Guardians have to find a way to defeat Invictus,while they are being hunted themselves.They find out that Sayd stole the rings from the Lanterns of various corps to make the team and avenge the loss of emotions of Ganthet under the hands of the guardians of Oa.

It felt slightly less without Hal Jordan but it was quite good.

[Evan]

I was only vaguely invested in the Larfleeze-Invictus plotline, and I didn't really dig the Blue Beetle vs. Blue Lanterns stuff... but I love what's being teased in the background. This feels like it's building to something the way the best of GL/GLC did before the New 52 reboot. We'll see, I guess!

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a little less focused than the first volume of the series, but this book still provides a satisfying ending to the stolen rings plotline and gives some additional development to the core squad of ring bearers. It really feels like science fiction without some of the genre conventions that have grown up through the last century. Would that every story might feel the freedom to be this weird.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big Kyle Rayner fan from way back, so I really like this series, which has the Green Lantern team up with all the other corps of the emotional spectrum. And if you don't stan for Glomulus, don't @ me

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Kyle and St. Walker. The journey here is everything I want in a comic book, and the writing delivers.
As we come into Rise of the Third Army, this builds into the foundations of one of my favorite books in the New 52

[Lilli W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Saint Walker (his design is much better in the new52), and his friendship with Arkillo, as well as Glomulus. The Reach were interesting, but the Blue Beetle crossover didn't add much. It was okay.

[Seth Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very creative continuation of Kyle Rayner’s Green lantern, love to see it, thought the comedy and realism of these issues were great, but again was more flashy than fulfilling with its story, exactly what I expected out of it, very fun.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Reach vs. The Blue Lantern Corps, Larfleeze vs. Invictus.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a side note, I would totally buy a print of the Glomulus character sketch in the back of the book.

[deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Tracy Dickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

They could do so much good in the universe if the corps united. Such a shame it fell apart.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lanterns recharge and go to fight Larfreeze and Invictus.

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surprise villain. Wrapped up the mulriple storyline a little too neatly for my liking. I'm not particularly invested besides Kyle. I do like reading about other Corps' though.

[Sebastian Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ame este volumen, volvio el weaponer, y los new guardians ya se sienten como amigos entre ellos

[Derek Moreland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book continues to surprise me. I now find myself a fan of both the Blue Lantern Corps and Arkillo, heir to the Yellow Lantern throne. ("All will be hell," indeed.) A crackerjack of a read.