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Green Lantern (2011)
Green Lantern, Volume 4: Dark Days
Just as Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Guy Gardner are putting back together the Green Lantern Corps, lights across all of the different colored Corps begin to flicker. Lanterns from all over the universe begin to lose power, but unlike times' past, the reasons for the outage don't seem to be in-fighting between one another. Allying with enemies and friends alike, Hal links the answers to the mysterious alien Relic and their confrontations will leave all the corps forever changed.
Green Lantern, Volume 4: Dark Days begins a brand new era for the entire emotional spectrum, from writer Robert Venditti (X-O Manowar) and artist Billy Tan (New Avengers).
Collecting: Green Lantern 21-26, 23.1: Relic, Annual 2
Green Lantern, Volume 4: Dark Days begins a brand new era for the entire emotional spectrum, from writer Robert Venditti (X-O Manowar) and artist Billy Tan (New Avengers).
Collecting: Green Lantern 21-26, 23.1: Relic, Annual 2
200 pages, Hardcover
First published April 29, 2014
12 people are currently reading
881 people want to read
About the author
Robert Venditti
794 books391 followersRobert Venditti is a New York Times bestselling author of more than three hundred comic books and graphic novels. Some of his works include the monthly comic book series Justice League, Superman ’78, Hawkman, and Green Lantern for DC Comics, X-O Manowar, Armor Hunters, and Wrath of the Eternal Warrior for Valiant Entertainment, and the graphic novel Six Days, inspired by the story of his uncle’s participation in D-Day. He has also adapted Rick Riordan’s global bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus novels, as well as Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia and Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz. His graphic novel The Surrogates was adapted into a feature film by Touchstone Pictures, and his work on The Flash was the basis for season three of the CW television series.
Venditti lives in Atlanta, where he both writes and serves as a storytelling consultant for some of the most recognizable entertainment brands in the world.
Venditti lives in Atlanta, where he both writes and serves as a storytelling consultant for some of the most recognizable entertainment brands in the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
April 26, 2019
I kind of lost interest in this story and it took me time to finish it. Or, maybe I simply need a break from reading every night.
Still, I found this story a little on the tedious side. There is a conclusion to the Lanterns war with Relic and it doesn’t make sense to me. How can light drain. I don’t get it. I guess it’s best to not think too much about it. It was interesting to see the different colors together. Still, I wasn’t really excited about this and I feel like going on will be a chore more than I want to read it. I already got book 5 so I have to give it a go. I’m just not that into this story right now.
I did really enjoy the White Lantern. He was pretty cool. I hope he comes back.
Still, I found this story a little on the tedious side. There is a conclusion to the Lanterns war with Relic and it doesn’t make sense to me. How can light drain. I don’t get it. I guess it’s best to not think too much about it. It was interesting to see the different colors together. Still, I wasn’t really excited about this and I feel like going on will be a chore more than I want to read it. I already got book 5 so I have to give it a go. I’m just not that into this story right now.
I did really enjoy the White Lantern. He was pretty cool. I hope he comes back.
December 9, 2015
Also reviewed for Addicted2Heroines
I'd like to give this more than 3 stars, but I just can't. In fact, 3 stars feels really generous.
However, it wasn't all bad. The art was beautiful in some of the panels, and even when it wasn't stunning, it was never awful. Also, I liked the new Guardians. Their personalities added some much needed freshness to the story.
So, at first the Lanterns just think their power battery is acting up, but after being invaded by an entity call Relic, they learn that it's much worse. The universe that existed before this one was destroyed because their version of Lanterns sucked up all the resources.
Lightweilders..Lightsabers..something like that.
Relic explains (in between punching and blowing things up) that he is the sole survivor of the old universe. He was a scientist who tried to tell the... Lightsmiths! ...that's it, Lightsmiths. Anyway he tried to tell them that the emotional spectrum wasn't an infinite resource (cue the Reduce Reuse Recycle! commercial), but they wouldn't listen. So the universe collapsed in on itself...as universes so often do.
The point is, every time any of the Lanterns use their ring they are draining the universe of it's life energy.
Hey, wait. Didn't they already do this plot? I think it went along the lines of Flash was ripping apart the fabric of the universe every time he used the Speed Force, right?
Hmmm. Well, since they're such good friends, maybe Barry can give Hal a call and help him sort it out. You know, since he's already been through this sort of thing.
*Insert Lots of Battle Scenes Here*
Turn the page.
John's dead!
Huh? When did that happen?
Turn the page.
John's fighting beside everyone in (yet another) Big Battle!
Guy is so excited to see his BFF alive! So John slugs him for becoming the leader of the Red Lanterns.
Aaaaaand....
*Insert MORE Battle Scenes*
Kyle makes...the ultimate sacrifice.
*gasp*
Turn the page.
Oops! Kidding! Here comes Kyle popping outta the void!
Shhhhh. We gotta keep that a secret from the rest of the corps! He's on a classified mission. Evidently for another DC Lantern title. Cause there's no such thing as too many Lantern titles in DC!
It eventually ends with Hal turning into a douche. He's going to Police the Universe and make sure nobody uses up the finite light/emotional Spectrum. Of course, to do that he'll be using up the Spectrum.
Ok. There must be some other titles or something that I'm missing, because there were a whole lotta WTF? moments for me in this. I mean, I read the previous volume. Where the hell did some of this stuff come from?
When did Guy become the leader of the Red Lanterns?
And is Carol in love with Kyle?
Wha..?
Kyle?!
Maybe if she's thrown Hal over for John, I could get behind it a little more...but Kyle? Give me a break. His mask alone is dorky enough to send any woman screaming in the other direction.
Although, $20 says that Hal misinterpreted her LURVE for him, and she probably just thinks of him like a brother or something.
Anyway, this volume seemed really looooong and drawn out for some reason. Like nobody could figure out a good stopping place for the story.
So on one hand, you're definitely getting your money's worth.
But one the other, it's mostly nonsensical filler.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital arc of this title, in exchange for an honest review.
I'd like to give this more than 3 stars, but I just can't. In fact, 3 stars feels really generous.
However, it wasn't all bad. The art was beautiful in some of the panels, and even when it wasn't stunning, it was never awful. Also, I liked the new Guardians. Their personalities added some much needed freshness to the story.
So, at first the Lanterns just think their power battery is acting up, but after being invaded by an entity call Relic, they learn that it's much worse. The universe that existed before this one was destroyed because their version of Lanterns sucked up all the resources.
Lightweilders..Lightsabers..something like that.
Relic explains (in between punching and blowing things up) that he is the sole survivor of the old universe. He was a scientist who tried to tell the... Lightsmiths! ...that's it, Lightsmiths. Anyway he tried to tell them that the emotional spectrum wasn't an infinite resource (cue the Reduce Reuse Recycle! commercial), but they wouldn't listen. So the universe collapsed in on itself...as universes so often do.
The point is, every time any of the Lanterns use their ring they are draining the universe of it's life energy.
Hey, wait. Didn't they already do this plot? I think it went along the lines of Flash was ripping apart the fabric of the universe every time he used the Speed Force, right?
Hmmm. Well, since they're such good friends, maybe Barry can give Hal a call and help him sort it out. You know, since he's already been through this sort of thing.
*Insert Lots of Battle Scenes Here*
Turn the page.
John's dead!
Huh? When did that happen?
Turn the page.
John's fighting beside everyone in (yet another) Big Battle!
Guy is so excited to see his BFF alive! So John slugs him for becoming the leader of the Red Lanterns.
Aaaaaand....
*Insert MORE Battle Scenes*
Kyle makes...the ultimate sacrifice.
*gasp*
Turn the page.
Oops! Kidding! Here comes Kyle popping outta the void!
Shhhhh. We gotta keep that a secret from the rest of the corps! He's on a classified mission. Evidently for another DC Lantern title. Cause there's no such thing as too many Lantern titles in DC!
It eventually ends with Hal turning into a douche. He's going to Police the Universe and make sure nobody uses up the finite light/emotional Spectrum. Of course, to do that he'll be using up the Spectrum.
Ok. There must be some other titles or something that I'm missing, because there were a whole lotta WTF? moments for me in this. I mean, I read the previous volume. Where the hell did some of this stuff come from?
When did Guy become the leader of the Red Lanterns?
And is Carol in love with Kyle?
Wha..?
Kyle?!
Maybe if she's thrown Hal over for John, I could get behind it a little more...but Kyle? Give me a break. His mask alone is dorky enough to send any woman screaming in the other direction.
Although, $20 says that Hal misinterpreted her LURVE for him, and she probably just thinks of him like a brother or something.
Anyway, this volume seemed really looooong and drawn out for some reason. Like nobody could figure out a good stopping place for the story.
So on one hand, you're definitely getting your money's worth.
But one the other, it's mostly nonsensical filler.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital arc of this title, in exchange for an honest review.
March 8, 2014
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews
I cannot say that I have ever been a big Green Lantern fan. Sure, Hal Jordan has had his moments, and all the other GLs from Earth have been interesting from time to time, but the Lantern Corps as a whole has never been more than an endless alien cantina scene to me. However, since I’ve been touring the New 52 universe and had heard good things about this new GL, I decided to give this book a try. After finishing it however, all I can say is “Meh.”
The story itself starts with our testosterone infused and seemingly oblivious Hal Jordan somehow becoming the head of the Green Lantern Corps. Of course, Hal always thinks through the repercussions of monumental decisions (Yeah, right!), which is why he immediately ignores all his fellow GL’s protests and releases hundreds of Green Lantern rings out into the cosmos to find loads of new Lantern recruits when he has no apparatus in place to actual train any of them.
Naturally at the same time the snot nosed kids are coming in for training, all hell breaks loose on Oa. The Orange Lantern Larfreeze attacks while constantly repeating his desire to get some epic loot, and a powerful prisoner (Prixiam Nol-Anj) uses the confusion to attempt an escape. And all these untrained new recruits stand around getting themselves killed because their new rings have delivered them into a war zone and none of them know how to actually use their power! But things only get worse for Hal from there.
Soon after getting things under control on Oa, our fearless GL leader discovers that Carol has given up on him ever growing up and actually acting as if he is in a relationship, and so she is calling it quits. (Okay, did it take her this long to figure Hal out? I mean, when has this New 52 Hal not acted with the maturity level of an eighteen year old frat boy.) And once Hal throws himself into his work, he discovers that an unexplained lose of power to Lantern rings is wrecking havoc to the Corps and, even worse, its cause is absolutely unknown.
At this junction of our tale, the only interesting character in this whole mess shows up. From the depths of time and out of space itself comes a giant scientist from a long dead universe, determined to save everyone from destruction at the hands of the Lanterns!
Relic, as the gigantic brainiac is called, has a wonderful mixture of evil righteous, where he basically is determined to kill everyone but only for the very best of reasons – reasons that even his victims can’t really disagree with. However, the only problem with Relic’s justification for extinguishing all Lantern users in the universe is that it is so persuasive that I wonder how any writer is going to fix this issue with the Lantern’s continued existence, because Venditti has now made all Lanterns the “bad guys.”
The story of Relic has many interesting twists and turns, but like many of these New 52 books, I discovered that it had huge “gaps” or “leaps” in the narrative. Too many times, I would be happily following along with the story of the Lanterns fight against Relic and then I would flip to the next chapter and Bam! a whole world would have been destroyed or a main character has died, but I never saw how any of it happened. While I have since learned that these “gaps” were due to Dark Days being part of a DC Green Lantern crossover story and these other comic issues not being included in this collection, it does not excuse DC’s decision to give a reader a story that is so obviously missing key sections of its narrative.
The only thing in this graphic novel that I have absolutely no complaints with is the art. Billy Tan (Illustrator) does a phenomenal job of capturing the epic nature of the Green Lantern Corps. Every alien is unique and beautifully rendered, while the action explodes off the page. So no blame for any shortcomings of this graphic novel can be laid at the feet of the artists.
All in all, Green Lantern: Dark Days is a ho-hum book. The story of Hal’s leadership of the GL Corps is pretty weak until Relic shows up, and while the Relic storyline is interesting, it is spread over several comics, which are not included in this collection, so there are big “gaps” or “leaps” in the story that are really confusing and leave out important events. Also, this story makes an epic reveal about where the power for the Lanterns comes from, but in doing so, it turns every Lantern into a “bad guy” every time he/she uses a ring. So potential readers, consider yourself forewarned.
The publisher provided this book to me for free in return for an honest review. The review above was not paid for or influenced in any way by any person, entity or organization, but is my own personal opinions.
I cannot say that I have ever been a big Green Lantern fan. Sure, Hal Jordan has had his moments, and all the other GLs from Earth have been interesting from time to time, but the Lantern Corps as a whole has never been more than an endless alien cantina scene to me. However, since I’ve been touring the New 52 universe and had heard good things about this new GL, I decided to give this book a try. After finishing it however, all I can say is “Meh.”
The story itself starts with our testosterone infused and seemingly oblivious Hal Jordan somehow becoming the head of the Green Lantern Corps. Of course, Hal always thinks through the repercussions of monumental decisions (Yeah, right!), which is why he immediately ignores all his fellow GL’s protests and releases hundreds of Green Lantern rings out into the cosmos to find loads of new Lantern recruits when he has no apparatus in place to actual train any of them.
Naturally at the same time the snot nosed kids are coming in for training, all hell breaks loose on Oa. The Orange Lantern Larfreeze attacks while constantly repeating his desire to get some epic loot, and a powerful prisoner (Prixiam Nol-Anj) uses the confusion to attempt an escape. And all these untrained new recruits stand around getting themselves killed because their new rings have delivered them into a war zone and none of them know how to actually use their power! But things only get worse for Hal from there.
Soon after getting things under control on Oa, our fearless GL leader discovers that Carol has given up on him ever growing up and actually acting as if he is in a relationship, and so she is calling it quits. (Okay, did it take her this long to figure Hal out? I mean, when has this New 52 Hal not acted with the maturity level of an eighteen year old frat boy.) And once Hal throws himself into his work, he discovers that an unexplained lose of power to Lantern rings is wrecking havoc to the Corps and, even worse, its cause is absolutely unknown.
At this junction of our tale, the only interesting character in this whole mess shows up. From the depths of time and out of space itself comes a giant scientist from a long dead universe, determined to save everyone from destruction at the hands of the Lanterns!
Relic, as the gigantic brainiac is called, has a wonderful mixture of evil righteous, where he basically is determined to kill everyone but only for the very best of reasons – reasons that even his victims can’t really disagree with. However, the only problem with Relic’s justification for extinguishing all Lantern users in the universe is that it is so persuasive that I wonder how any writer is going to fix this issue with the Lantern’s continued existence, because Venditti has now made all Lanterns the “bad guys.”
The story of Relic has many interesting twists and turns, but like many of these New 52 books, I discovered that it had huge “gaps” or “leaps” in the narrative. Too many times, I would be happily following along with the story of the Lanterns fight against Relic and then I would flip to the next chapter and Bam! a whole world would have been destroyed or a main character has died, but I never saw how any of it happened. While I have since learned that these “gaps” were due to Dark Days being part of a DC Green Lantern crossover story and these other comic issues not being included in this collection, it does not excuse DC’s decision to give a reader a story that is so obviously missing key sections of its narrative.
The only thing in this graphic novel that I have absolutely no complaints with is the art. Billy Tan (Illustrator) does a phenomenal job of capturing the epic nature of the Green Lantern Corps. Every alien is unique and beautifully rendered, while the action explodes off the page. So no blame for any shortcomings of this graphic novel can be laid at the feet of the artists.
All in all, Green Lantern: Dark Days is a ho-hum book. The story of Hal’s leadership of the GL Corps is pretty weak until Relic shows up, and while the Relic storyline is interesting, it is spread over several comics, which are not included in this collection, so there are big “gaps” or “leaps” in the story that are really confusing and leave out important events. Also, this story makes an epic reveal about where the power for the Lanterns comes from, but in doing so, it turns every Lantern into a “bad guy” every time he/she uses a ring. So potential readers, consider yourself forewarned.
The publisher provided this book to me for free in return for an honest review. The review above was not paid for or influenced in any way by any person, entity or organization, but is my own personal opinions.
February 26, 2014
With Geoff Johns leaving Green Lantern, Robert Venditti has some pretty big shoes to fill but his work on Valiant’s XO Manowar series has been spectacular so he seems more than capable to pull this off successfully. I was eager to find out if he’d worked his magic on Green Lantern - and unfortunately, no, he hasn’t.
Hal Jordan is now head of the Green Lantern Corps and decides to set free the hundreds of Green Lantern rings he’s holding on to, garnering hundreds of new recruits from across the universe. Unfortunately most of them are inexperienced kids. Meanwhile Hal and Carol have a falling out and decide to take a break; Prixiam Nol-Anj escapes; and an ancient threat emerges to destroy all Lanterns, everywhere.
First of all, the book starts with a completely arbitrary and stupid attack by the Orange Lantern Larfleeze as he tries to get some shiny stuff for himself like a cosmic magpie. Larfleeze has got to be the most one-dimensional character ever – he just wants stuff for the sake of it, constantly uttering his intentions as he goes! This dumb attack is just to “test out” the new GL members who don’t know how to use the rings – it’s just a shame that none of the characters are especially interesting or that scene might’ve been better.
There’s some relationship stuff with Hal and Carol that was also duller than dull – I mean, if Carol doesn’t know by now that Hal’s an idiot, she’s as much to blame for her unhappiness as he is!
Incredibly, the main story doesn’t get going until halfway through this 180 page book when a giant scientist from the universe that existed before ours appears. This guy is Relic, who has discovered that the light spectrum – the source of all power for all Lanterns – is like a reservoir and that the more the Lanterns use up that reservoir the more they are destroying the universe.
This is actually a really interesting situation as Relic, though appearing as a bad guy, is actually a good guy – he’s trying to stop the universe from being destroyed. For some reason, Venditti’s turned the tables on the Lanterns and made them the bad guys! The more they use their rings, the more they destroy the universe. Whaaaat?!
One of the biggest problems with DC, and particularly with the Green Lantern books, is the number of crossovers going on. It wreaks havoc on the collected editions that don’t include the crossover issues, like in this book, where you get massive jumps in story from one page to the next with no idea of what’s happening unless you’re also reading the other titles. For example – and this is a big SPOILER so stop reading now if you’re going to be a baby about that kinda thing – Oa blows up. The Green Lantern homeworld goes ka-BOOM! Also John Stewart dies!
Oa blowing up is dealt with in a couple of pages which is really weak considering it’s a pretty damn big deal! And John Stewart’s “death” isn’t referenced at all. He’s there one page then later on somebody says John died! He doesn’t really of course but it’s bizarre to see him ok in one scene and then later on being told that he’s dead. It’s like, what? When? How?! Oh and Guy Gardner’s a Red Lantern and Kyle Rayner’s a White Lantern!?!
If you’re just reading this book, stuff like that is jarring to see on the page because it comes out of nowhere. Those events are probably dealt with in more detail in other books like Green Lantern Corps and Red Lanterns (and who knows whatever other GL titles there are), but because this book just collects the Green Lantern comics, the holes in the story completely throws the reader for a loop.
Dark Days is just a really weird and really boring Green Lantern story. Weird because how it manages to make all Lanterns everywhere baddies, and Hal Jordan one of the worst for wilfully taking part in the downfall of the universe (and he’s supposed to be the hero!!); and boring because mostly it’s made up of bland GL action we’ve seen a million times before, and even duller cops’n’robbers stuff like when Hal and co. chase after Nol-Anj in a ridiculous Western pastiche. I love Venditti’s XO Manowar comics but his Green Lantern series is really poor. Dark Days is one of the weakest GL books I’ve read in a while.
Hal Jordan is now head of the Green Lantern Corps and decides to set free the hundreds of Green Lantern rings he’s holding on to, garnering hundreds of new recruits from across the universe. Unfortunately most of them are inexperienced kids. Meanwhile Hal and Carol have a falling out and decide to take a break; Prixiam Nol-Anj escapes; and an ancient threat emerges to destroy all Lanterns, everywhere.
First of all, the book starts with a completely arbitrary and stupid attack by the Orange Lantern Larfleeze as he tries to get some shiny stuff for himself like a cosmic magpie. Larfleeze has got to be the most one-dimensional character ever – he just wants stuff for the sake of it, constantly uttering his intentions as he goes! This dumb attack is just to “test out” the new GL members who don’t know how to use the rings – it’s just a shame that none of the characters are especially interesting or that scene might’ve been better.
There’s some relationship stuff with Hal and Carol that was also duller than dull – I mean, if Carol doesn’t know by now that Hal’s an idiot, she’s as much to blame for her unhappiness as he is!
Incredibly, the main story doesn’t get going until halfway through this 180 page book when a giant scientist from the universe that existed before ours appears. This guy is Relic, who has discovered that the light spectrum – the source of all power for all Lanterns – is like a reservoir and that the more the Lanterns use up that reservoir the more they are destroying the universe.
This is actually a really interesting situation as Relic, though appearing as a bad guy, is actually a good guy – he’s trying to stop the universe from being destroyed. For some reason, Venditti’s turned the tables on the Lanterns and made them the bad guys! The more they use their rings, the more they destroy the universe. Whaaaat?!
One of the biggest problems with DC, and particularly with the Green Lantern books, is the number of crossovers going on. It wreaks havoc on the collected editions that don’t include the crossover issues, like in this book, where you get massive jumps in story from one page to the next with no idea of what’s happening unless you’re also reading the other titles. For example – and this is a big SPOILER so stop reading now if you’re going to be a baby about that kinda thing – Oa blows up. The Green Lantern homeworld goes ka-BOOM! Also John Stewart dies!
Oa blowing up is dealt with in a couple of pages which is really weak considering it’s a pretty damn big deal! And John Stewart’s “death” isn’t referenced at all. He’s there one page then later on somebody says John died! He doesn’t really of course but it’s bizarre to see him ok in one scene and then later on being told that he’s dead. It’s like, what? When? How?! Oh and Guy Gardner’s a Red Lantern and Kyle Rayner’s a White Lantern!?!
If you’re just reading this book, stuff like that is jarring to see on the page because it comes out of nowhere. Those events are probably dealt with in more detail in other books like Green Lantern Corps and Red Lanterns (and who knows whatever other GL titles there are), but because this book just collects the Green Lantern comics, the holes in the story completely throws the reader for a loop.
Dark Days is just a really weird and really boring Green Lantern story. Weird because how it manages to make all Lanterns everywhere baddies, and Hal Jordan one of the worst for wilfully taking part in the downfall of the universe (and he’s supposed to be the hero!!); and boring because mostly it’s made up of bland GL action we’ve seen a million times before, and even duller cops’n’robbers stuff like when Hal and co. chase after Nol-Anj in a ridiculous Western pastiche. I love Venditti’s XO Manowar comics but his Green Lantern series is really poor. Dark Days is one of the weakest GL books I’ve read in a while.
January 16, 2019
How does a writer brought in to start a new run on a comic follow up one of the most character defining comic book runs in history? They don't. They crash and they burn, and they know it and embrace it.
So who doesn't feel bad for Robert Venditti? He's like somebody that sings off-key at their church every once in a while closing for Led Zeppelin in 1973. It goes without saying, then, that this wasn't great. Hal is now a fascist for some reason, Lanterns aren't supposed to use their rings now for some other reason, Carol-now that she no longer has the ring to blame since she has one of her own-has to come up with other dumb and nonsensical reasons to dump Hal while Hal acts like a total baby about it, yada yada yada.
I'm going for three stars here because it had really nice art and because I seriously wouldn't envy anyone that had to take over this comic at this point in its history.
So who doesn't feel bad for Robert Venditti? He's like somebody that sings off-key at their church every once in a while closing for Led Zeppelin in 1973. It goes without saying, then, that this wasn't great. Hal is now a fascist for some reason, Lanterns aren't supposed to use their rings now for some other reason, Carol-now that she no longer has the ring to blame since she has one of her own-has to come up with other dumb and nonsensical reasons to dump Hal while Hal acts like a total baby about it, yada yada yada.
I'm going for three stars here because it had really nice art and because I seriously wouldn't envy anyone that had to take over this comic at this point in its history.
October 5, 2015
An appropriately epic story for the universal police. The Relic story was just great.
September 20, 2020
2.5⭐️ I just have never warmed to Hal
November 2, 2014
Okay, we get it. You want a clean slate for the GL universe after Geoff Johns' epic run with the series.... But this went a little too far for me.
Relic and his backstory was only a little interesting and mostly because the Source Wall is involved... Somehow, after many many years, that Source Wall still manages to intrigue me.
But really, in this volume there is such an obvious effort to wipe away everything that came before it that it is almost cliche. Thankfully there is some nice artwork to look at.
3/5
Relic and his backstory was only a little interesting and mostly because the Source Wall is involved... Somehow, after many many years, that Source Wall still manages to intrigue me.
But really, in this volume there is such an obvious effort to wipe away everything that came before it that it is almost cliche. Thankfully there is some nice artwork to look at.
3/5
October 18, 2021
Robert Venditti takes over the reigns of the Green Lantern universe after Geoff John’s brought his epic run to an end and it starts off fairly strong! The Corps is a bit in shambles with the disgraced Guardians gone and the New Guardians taking a tour of the cosmos, it’s now up to Hal Jordan to become the leader of the Corps and restore their good name in the universe. This sets up the new status quo for this run well and ends in an enjoyable crossover event called Lights Out. But the event involves all the Lantern titles, and those issues aren’t included here so it will feel a bit incomplete if you just read it here. It’s best to read it in Green Lantern: Lights Out.
March 8, 2015
Robert Venditti kicks off a new era of Green Lantern storytelling after Geoff Johns and company wrapped up their massive multi-year arc with 'The End'. He wastes no time shifting things around and bringing on the battles, but sadly, a few essentials are lost in the wash.
For starters, Hal is a jerk now. He was always a headstrong pain in the butt from time to time, but now he's just Captain Bossypants, or perhaps One Track Mind Guy. "There's a bad guy - let's take him on! Oh, wait. That didn't work. Let's take it on again!" Most of the conflict in this title is caused by Headstrong Hal and his Empty Little Brain - the character work that Geoff Johns did for the last 8 or 9 years has been wiped away within 2 issues. Sad.
The art, as usual for Green Lantern titles, is strong. Billy Tan delivers some clean lines, and the colour work is always bright, making the images leap off the page. Unfortunately, many of them are dedicated to one of the more boring villains ever conceived: Relic.
Relic has a beef with the Lightsmiths, as he calls them. It's easy to know this because he tells you a lot of times, in a lot of different ways. You won't know just how much beef he has unless you read the "Lights Out" crossover, some of which is collected here, making this collection an absolute shambles, just like DC's treatment of the Superman books. Things happen all over the shop, and the assumption is that you'll either buy all the books or just enjoy living in ignorance. DC does not always think much of its readers.
Overall this is a step backward for each and every character involved, despite some competent plotting. Big things happen, the status quo is changed - it's clear that Venditti has talent when it comes to weaving together an arc. Sadly, his character work is average here, and his dialogue often bland and forgettable. For a book with so many characters, it's criminal that hardly a one of them really stands out.
For Green Lantern fans only. If you're looking to get into Green Lantern but don't know where to start, I'd suggest Rebirth by Geoff Johns.
For starters, Hal is a jerk now. He was always a headstrong pain in the butt from time to time, but now he's just Captain Bossypants, or perhaps One Track Mind Guy. "There's a bad guy - let's take him on! Oh, wait. That didn't work. Let's take it on again!" Most of the conflict in this title is caused by Headstrong Hal and his Empty Little Brain - the character work that Geoff Johns did for the last 8 or 9 years has been wiped away within 2 issues. Sad.
The art, as usual for Green Lantern titles, is strong. Billy Tan delivers some clean lines, and the colour work is always bright, making the images leap off the page. Unfortunately, many of them are dedicated to one of the more boring villains ever conceived: Relic.
Relic has a beef with the Lightsmiths, as he calls them. It's easy to know this because he tells you a lot of times, in a lot of different ways. You won't know just how much beef he has unless you read the "Lights Out" crossover, some of which is collected here, making this collection an absolute shambles, just like DC's treatment of the Superman books. Things happen all over the shop, and the assumption is that you'll either buy all the books or just enjoy living in ignorance. DC does not always think much of its readers.
Overall this is a step backward for each and every character involved, despite some competent plotting. Big things happen, the status quo is changed - it's clear that Venditti has talent when it comes to weaving together an arc. Sadly, his character work is average here, and his dialogue often bland and forgettable. For a book with so many characters, it's criminal that hardly a one of them really stands out.
For Green Lantern fans only. If you're looking to get into Green Lantern but don't know where to start, I'd suggest Rebirth by Geoff Johns.
January 13, 2016
I was given another ARC from Edelweiss to download. Green Lantern Vol 4 Dark Days. This one started off a little confusing. Of course volume 3 ended with a big battle story that included all the different lanterns into one battle so the readers had to be transitioned into a new story. Hal Jordan in this one is thrown into the roll of being the Green Lantern's leader. There was a little story in this volume that didn't really fit to me. All of a sudden the orange lanterns show up to steal stuff from the green lanterns. Once this part is over the comic gets more interesting with a story about an enemy named Relic. My problem with the Green Lantern comics is that they have soooo many crossovers in them. I am reading the Red Lantern comics but I haven't started The Green Lantern Corps yet. At the end of this issue the Green Lanterns end up policing the galaxy.. taking the rings from everyone trying to get a world without them. We'll see how this turns out in the next issue. 3 out of 5
April 27, 2015
Very interesting comic. Hope the Green Lantern Corps will survive. Hope the universe won't end. Hope Hal will do good as a leader. Relic seemed very scary being a mad scientist and all. The Source Wall also seemed scary. RIP Entities.
May 10, 2023
It's fine, but not great? It's kind of how I felt about most of New 52 Green Lantern. They stuffed too many ideas and not enough breathing room, and that goes for all the green lantern series running at the same time. I did enjoy it enough and art was real solid, but didn't blow me away.
A 3 out of 5.
A 3 out of 5.
April 30, 2014
Reviewed first at Brunner's Bookshelf
For years I have been a huge fan of Green Lantern and the Corps. These series have had some of the best story lines, and battles I have seen in a comic book. When Geoff Johns took over the writing on the Green Lantern series I was thrilled. He quickly became one of my favorite Comic book authors and I read every book I could get my hands on no matter who was the hero. I have followed his amazing story lines with Green Lantern until his term ended. Now the reins have been passed and Robert Venditti took over the future of Hal Jordan. I was nervous at first because I have never read his stuff and I knew I would constantly compare him to the genius of Geoff Johns. On top of that, the previous story lines for GL have been so strong I was afraid this was going to derail the whole thing.
I was pleasantly surprised. I liked this story and there was a lot of hard decisions that Hal Jordan had to make. There was more emotional depth to Hal's character in this book and I enjoyed that. Hal has been made the Leader of the Green Lantern Corps while the new Guardians are off tending to some secret mission of their own. For anyone who has ever read these books knows that Hal is not a leader or a team player. He does his own thing and doesn’t care who he runs over in the process. It was interesting to see Hal grow as a character and fit into that roll of leader throughout the story. This starts off with a glimpse into the future and the central power battery has been put out. A being known as Relic has found his way to our universe and his goal is to find the source of the emotional spectrum and refill it since his universe was lost when the source dried up.
The creation story told by Relic states that, at least in his universe, The different colors of the emotional spectrum were harnessed by a single being for each color. These were called Lightsmiths and they controlled emotions similar to those held by the different corps of our universe. They wielded their energy through a weapon they held instead of a ring. This story tells us that the energy that the rings wield is not as limitless as we thought. There is an end to the amount of energy and it seems that that end is dangerously near.
I liked this quite a bit but there are a few things that I am not particularly happy with how they do the collected Graphic novels. The biggest problem I have is the fact that there are so many Green lantern titles that you miss big portions of the story. If all you read if this volume you will be missing out on a lot of, what I feel is important information. There are big holes and this book was the worst offender. I won’t get into details but at one point there is a shocking reveal and I had to re-read to make sure I missed something. The story goes along fine and then there is whole events missing that we are just supposed to know about. I will read the other titles as well but with the giant gaps in this plot because it switches from one series to the next and then back again I was a little lost. To add to that since it switches back and forth I now have spoiled this event when it happens in the other series because I already know what happens next. Years ago DC had said that they wanted to stray away from the big crossover events and Infinite crisis was going to be the last that encompassed all of the DC heroes. It seems they have held true to not making big stories with all the DC Universe but they still do big stories in each individual character line. Batman has story lines that are pieced together through all of the BatFamily books and Green Lantern has a bunch of series that piece together a greater story. If I was still buying monthly comics of all of them this wouldn’t be an issue but now I am sticking with Graphic novels so I tend to miss out on things.
Now that I have ranted about what irked me about this I must say again that I liked this book. I do need and want to fill those gaps this book creates in the story. I plan to as soon as I can, I will be on the waitlist at the library soon. The art work was really good as well and I enjoyed every bit of it. I will give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounded to 4
For years I have been a huge fan of Green Lantern and the Corps. These series have had some of the best story lines, and battles I have seen in a comic book. When Geoff Johns took over the writing on the Green Lantern series I was thrilled. He quickly became one of my favorite Comic book authors and I read every book I could get my hands on no matter who was the hero. I have followed his amazing story lines with Green Lantern until his term ended. Now the reins have been passed and Robert Venditti took over the future of Hal Jordan. I was nervous at first because I have never read his stuff and I knew I would constantly compare him to the genius of Geoff Johns. On top of that, the previous story lines for GL have been so strong I was afraid this was going to derail the whole thing.
I was pleasantly surprised. I liked this story and there was a lot of hard decisions that Hal Jordan had to make. There was more emotional depth to Hal's character in this book and I enjoyed that. Hal has been made the Leader of the Green Lantern Corps while the new Guardians are off tending to some secret mission of their own. For anyone who has ever read these books knows that Hal is not a leader or a team player. He does his own thing and doesn’t care who he runs over in the process. It was interesting to see Hal grow as a character and fit into that roll of leader throughout the story. This starts off with a glimpse into the future and the central power battery has been put out. A being known as Relic has found his way to our universe and his goal is to find the source of the emotional spectrum and refill it since his universe was lost when the source dried up.
The creation story told by Relic states that, at least in his universe, The different colors of the emotional spectrum were harnessed by a single being for each color. These were called Lightsmiths and they controlled emotions similar to those held by the different corps of our universe. They wielded their energy through a weapon they held instead of a ring. This story tells us that the energy that the rings wield is not as limitless as we thought. There is an end to the amount of energy and it seems that that end is dangerously near.
I liked this quite a bit but there are a few things that I am not particularly happy with how they do the collected Graphic novels. The biggest problem I have is the fact that there are so many Green lantern titles that you miss big portions of the story. If all you read if this volume you will be missing out on a lot of, what I feel is important information. There are big holes and this book was the worst offender. I won’t get into details but at one point there is a shocking reveal and I had to re-read to make sure I missed something. The story goes along fine and then there is whole events missing that we are just supposed to know about. I will read the other titles as well but with the giant gaps in this plot because it switches from one series to the next and then back again I was a little lost. To add to that since it switches back and forth I now have spoiled this event when it happens in the other series because I already know what happens next. Years ago DC had said that they wanted to stray away from the big crossover events and Infinite crisis was going to be the last that encompassed all of the DC heroes. It seems they have held true to not making big stories with all the DC Universe but they still do big stories in each individual character line. Batman has story lines that are pieced together through all of the BatFamily books and Green Lantern has a bunch of series that piece together a greater story. If I was still buying monthly comics of all of them this wouldn’t be an issue but now I am sticking with Graphic novels so I tend to miss out on things.
Now that I have ranted about what irked me about this I must say again that I liked this book. I do need and want to fill those gaps this book creates in the story. I plan to as soon as I can, I will be on the waitlist at the library soon. The art work was really good as well and I enjoyed every bit of it. I will give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounded to 4
January 20, 2019
Again, introduced the concept of a reservoir and in current comics it's mot even a big deal.
August 9, 2019
This includes some Lights Out issues that don't really make sense without the full story, so make sure you read that whole trade too. The collection is handy because it grabs the smaller stories around that arc. I like the Green Lantern story is going and it's interesting to see Hal take on the elder position.
July 27, 2014
This story had a lot of potential. I like the idea of the Emotional Spectrum having a finite reservoir but the execution was just mediocre at best and really bad at worst. The villain in Dark Days, a character name Relic, is from a previous universe. In that past universe the Emotional Spectrum was completely depleted causing the destruction of reality and the birth of the current universe. Somehow Relic survived that cataclysm but was put into a form of suspended animation. When inadvertently awakened by White Lantern Kyle Rayner, Relic started a war against all wielding the power of the Emotional Spectrum. During the battle (SPOILER WARNING) the Blue Lanterns were destroyed. In the end Relic was defeated when Rayner pushed him through the Source Wall. While on the other side of the Wall, the Entities of the Emotional Spectrum that had been residing within Rayner, sacrificed themselves to replenish the Spectrum's reservoir. In the aftermath, Green Lantern Hal Jordan decided that the Green Lantern Corp would take on the job of policing the use of the Emotional Spectrum, causing an immediate conflict with his ex-girlfriend Star Sapphire Carol Ferris.
The problems with this book range from terrible dialogue to a complete misunderstanding of the characters (especially Hal Jordan) to a grand idea the just fell short. Writer Geoff Johns did amazing things with Green Lantern and shaped the Green Lantern mythos in a unique and amazing way. Sadly Robert Venditti hasn't been able to follow in those mighty footsteps. This is a story that feels like it should have been written in the 1980s with the Green Lantern Corp that was pre-Johns, pre-Emotional Spectrum, and a Hal Jordan that was pre-Adams/O'neil. There's also the fact that in someways the story of Relic mirrors that of the First Lantern Volthoom (from the recent Wrath of the First Lantern storyline) so there is a been-there-done-that feel to this book.
The best thing about Dark Days is the inclusion of the Source Wall into the Green Lantern mythos. Created by Jack Kirby as part of his Fourth World epic (though there is a little more to it than that; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_Wall) the Source Wall is a barrier around the universe beyond which lies the Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sour...). This is the first time that I have seen the concepts of the Fourth World directly crossing with the mythos of the Green Lanterns and I'm a little surprised that it hasn't happened before this (unless I just missed it which is possible; also I'm not talking about stories that have had Green Lanterns interacting with New Gods but the mixing of those two mythoses). Unfortunately this great idea doesn't make up for an otherwise poor book.
The problems with this book range from terrible dialogue to a complete misunderstanding of the characters (especially Hal Jordan) to a grand idea the just fell short. Writer Geoff Johns did amazing things with Green Lantern and shaped the Green Lantern mythos in a unique and amazing way. Sadly Robert Venditti hasn't been able to follow in those mighty footsteps. This is a story that feels like it should have been written in the 1980s with the Green Lantern Corp that was pre-Johns, pre-Emotional Spectrum, and a Hal Jordan that was pre-Adams/O'neil. There's also the fact that in someways the story of Relic mirrors that of the First Lantern Volthoom (from the recent Wrath of the First Lantern storyline) so there is a been-there-done-that feel to this book.
The best thing about Dark Days is the inclusion of the Source Wall into the Green Lantern mythos. Created by Jack Kirby as part of his Fourth World epic (though there is a little more to it than that; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_Wall) the Source Wall is a barrier around the universe beyond which lies the Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sour...). This is the first time that I have seen the concepts of the Fourth World directly crossing with the mythos of the Green Lanterns and I'm a little surprised that it hasn't happened before this (unless I just missed it which is possible; also I'm not talking about stories that have had Green Lanterns interacting with New Gods but the mixing of those two mythoses). Unfortunately this great idea doesn't make up for an otherwise poor book.
August 21, 2016
You can't replace Johns but don't let that taint what you read here.
Those are huge shoes to fill and not all of the stuff that Johns wrote for the GLU was gold and what Venditti here has done is actually quite clever and logical, I like!
World: Tan's art is strong, the sense of motion and the use of splash pages is great, it's more refined and slick which I like quite a bit, good stuff. The world building here is absolutely fantastic and clearly the best thing that Venditti has done. The first thing he does is call upon the lore and history of the last 10 years to create his first arc. The previous universe and Relic and also the GL Corp and what the rest of the universe sees and feels from the fallout of all that has happened, it's great. The world is interesting, it's not status quo, it's different and the stakes are high and the pressure from all fronts only makes for a world full of drama, great stuff!
Story: The introduction of new young Lanterns was great, giving Venditti a new cast to work with that is all his own. Relic and the Lights Out storyline though ending poorly is also a great story. It changes the status quo and as a reader I don't see where the Lanterns can go, it's a dire situation and everything they do is flawed. Having Hal lead is an absolute disaster as it should be cause it fits the character. It's great, we see the opposite side of the coin without the Guardians. The braided were also an interesting story, not themselves but what they represent and the potential for future stories, this is really bad, the Corps is in really bad shape internally and externally. Great!!!
Characters: Hal being Hal is consistent, what happens when he's a leader is also great as it makes sense. The new cast is fun and Relic was a wonderful villain until the end. The issue he had with the GLU is great and this new twist is a great character plot device also as it gives more room for drama. Good stuff! I am not a fan of what is happening between Carol and Hal as that part is a bit too contrived for my taste and the relationship change just was unearned. I don't know what they can do with it, but it just feels wrong, the situation with Carol and XXX (blanked to avoid spoilers) is simply wrong for me, it feels wrong and of all the other characters it simply does not make any sense at all.
A strong arc but not perfect. Filing those big shoes was hard but wow the changes to the universe are interesting. I don't want the same, I want consequence I want different and Venditti is delivering absolutely that. This is the logical step that the Universe has taken in viewing the Green Lantern Corps post Johns.
Onward to the next book!
Those are huge shoes to fill and not all of the stuff that Johns wrote for the GLU was gold and what Venditti here has done is actually quite clever and logical, I like!
World: Tan's art is strong, the sense of motion and the use of splash pages is great, it's more refined and slick which I like quite a bit, good stuff. The world building here is absolutely fantastic and clearly the best thing that Venditti has done. The first thing he does is call upon the lore and history of the last 10 years to create his first arc. The previous universe and Relic and also the GL Corp and what the rest of the universe sees and feels from the fallout of all that has happened, it's great. The world is interesting, it's not status quo, it's different and the stakes are high and the pressure from all fronts only makes for a world full of drama, great stuff!
Story: The introduction of new young Lanterns was great, giving Venditti a new cast to work with that is all his own. Relic and the Lights Out storyline though ending poorly is also a great story. It changes the status quo and as a reader I don't see where the Lanterns can go, it's a dire situation and everything they do is flawed. Having Hal lead is an absolute disaster as it should be cause it fits the character. It's great, we see the opposite side of the coin without the Guardians. The braided were also an interesting story, not themselves but what they represent and the potential for future stories, this is really bad, the Corps is in really bad shape internally and externally. Great!!!
Characters: Hal being Hal is consistent, what happens when he's a leader is also great as it makes sense. The new cast is fun and Relic was a wonderful villain until the end. The issue he had with the GLU is great and this new twist is a great character plot device also as it gives more room for drama. Good stuff! I am not a fan of what is happening between Carol and Hal as that part is a bit too contrived for my taste and the relationship change just was unearned. I don't know what they can do with it, but it just feels wrong, the situation with Carol and XXX (blanked to avoid spoilers) is simply wrong for me, it feels wrong and of all the other characters it simply does not make any sense at all.
A strong arc but not perfect. Filing those big shoes was hard but wow the changes to the universe are interesting. I don't want the same, I want consequence I want different and Venditti is delivering absolutely that. This is the logical step that the Universe has taken in viewing the Green Lantern Corps post Johns.
Onward to the next book!
December 4, 2014
(2.5 stars) It looks like the reboot has finally hit the Green Lantern corner of the New 52, and that reboot, 20 issues tardy, hits very, very hard. Somehow the stakes seem impossibly large and totally game-changing, while at the same time moving so fast--these eight issues are paced with such hurry that none of the huge elements that Venditti puts into play seem particularly well-developed.
Basically, we have a series of plot strands converging to create a new mission for the Green Lantern corps: an ancient villain, a visit to the Source Wall (a familiar element of Green Lantern lore that is always super cool), and a huge, game-changing revelation that will affect all of the lantern corps throughout the galaxy. While those elements all converge at the end of the volume with a solid tease that there is yet something even bigger going on, the story rushes through all of the details, dutifully dropped one after another, to get us to the new conflict. This pacing is really a detraction from the whole volume, because rather than getting a chance to experience and understand--and thereby to react--to these new stakes, we process them intellectually, adopt the concept and then move immediately on to the next piece of the puzzle. While I understood what was happening, I found myself struggling to care about it, and by the end of the volume I had the sense that whatever these changes will bring to the Green Lantern storyline would be kind of a bad idea.
The art is very goodlooking, if uneven at times, but Tan's pencils are detailed and sharp, and thanks to great colors the constructs--lots of machine guns, food platters, chainsaws, fists, axes, and trains--look excellent. The combat sequences are easy to follow and have a lot of interesting dimensions, and a lot of the space travel bits are done with a lot detail in the cosmos itself. The scenes at and around the Source Wall are, as they should be, the best of the volume.
I'll be interested to see where all of this goes, if there's a plan to backtrack for the sake of drama and lore, and what the big plan is for all of this. It's really the future of the whole Green Lantern universe at stake now, rather than a group of characters within a single circumstance, and for me that's where the suspense lies. There's a lot to process here, and as such reading this volume feels a bit more like work than comics should. Where the Green Lanterns go from here will ultimately decide how effective, or lasting, the changes represented here will be.
Basically, we have a series of plot strands converging to create a new mission for the Green Lantern corps: an ancient villain, a visit to the Source Wall (a familiar element of Green Lantern lore that is always super cool), and a huge, game-changing revelation that will affect all of the lantern corps throughout the galaxy. While those elements all converge at the end of the volume with a solid tease that there is yet something even bigger going on, the story rushes through all of the details, dutifully dropped one after another, to get us to the new conflict. This pacing is really a detraction from the whole volume, because rather than getting a chance to experience and understand--and thereby to react--to these new stakes, we process them intellectually, adopt the concept and then move immediately on to the next piece of the puzzle. While I understood what was happening, I found myself struggling to care about it, and by the end of the volume I had the sense that whatever these changes will bring to the Green Lantern storyline would be kind of a bad idea.
The art is very goodlooking, if uneven at times, but Tan's pencils are detailed and sharp, and thanks to great colors the constructs--lots of machine guns, food platters, chainsaws, fists, axes, and trains--look excellent. The combat sequences are easy to follow and have a lot of interesting dimensions, and a lot of the space travel bits are done with a lot detail in the cosmos itself. The scenes at and around the Source Wall are, as they should be, the best of the volume.
I'll be interested to see where all of this goes, if there's a plan to backtrack for the sake of drama and lore, and what the big plan is for all of this. It's really the future of the whole Green Lantern universe at stake now, rather than a group of characters within a single circumstance, and for me that's where the suspense lies. There's a lot to process here, and as such reading this volume feels a bit more like work than comics should. Where the Green Lanterns go from here will ultimately decide how effective, or lasting, the changes represented here will be.
September 29, 2015
Now that the long Johns dynasty is finally over, can we step away from galaxy-shaking stories that crossover all the Green Lantern titles?
Nope.
Instead we dive right back in with Light's Out, another big crossover. At least it moves beyond the woes of the Guardians and the emotional spectrum!
Sort of.
The premise is actually quite troublesome because it suggests that the emotional spectrum rings have destroyed the universe before by depowering it, and will do so again. Decades ago, Star Trek: The Next Generation did a similar story about warp speed destroying the universe, and it was so problematic that it's been ignored ever since. This take looks equally troubled. Not only do our heroes become villains (because they're destroying the universe), but there's simultaneously great and constant angst over using the rings. Worst of all, the Lanterns become the fascist ring police, arresting people for "unauthorized use of the emotional spectrum".
I kid you not. Even now, it sounds like satire to me, but it's offered with a straight face.
The crossover is also a mess because (like so many Nu52 books) the storyline is spoiled by poor trade paperback alignment. This volume contains only a fragment of the Light's Out narrative, and so it's mangled and hard to understand. For perhaps the first time ever in the Nu52, the editors tried to include a text page to bridge the many missing issues ... but it's mostly impenetrable.
Beyond that, that stories that we do get are just way too full of dull fighting. The first two issues are the worst, because they contain an entirely nonsensical attack on Oa by the Orange Lanterns that feels like it was just the comic spinning its wheels until it got to Light's Out.
I really wanted to like the volume, because I'm a huge fan of Robert Venditti's Valiant work, and at times his writing skill shines through. I liked his bits about rebuilding the Corps and bringing in new members (even if they're admittedly repetitive, since the Corps had been rebuilt about 73 times since the Green Lantern comic started). But that goodness was mostly crushed beneath the mandates of the crossover, which really soured this volume.
So, take some decently good writing, but weigh it down with a massively incomplete crossover with some very troublesome philosophies underlying it, and you get ... not good. I was disappointed and skimming more and more as I got to the end of the volume.
Nope.
Instead we dive right back in with Light's Out, another big crossover. At least it moves beyond the woes of the Guardians and the emotional spectrum!
Sort of.
The premise is actually quite troublesome because it suggests that the emotional spectrum rings have destroyed the universe before by depowering it, and will do so again. Decades ago, Star Trek: The Next Generation did a similar story about warp speed destroying the universe, and it was so problematic that it's been ignored ever since. This take looks equally troubled. Not only do our heroes become villains (because they're destroying the universe), but there's simultaneously great and constant angst over using the rings. Worst of all, the Lanterns become the fascist ring police, arresting people for "unauthorized use of the emotional spectrum".
I kid you not. Even now, it sounds like satire to me, but it's offered with a straight face.
The crossover is also a mess because (like so many Nu52 books) the storyline is spoiled by poor trade paperback alignment. This volume contains only a fragment of the Light's Out narrative, and so it's mangled and hard to understand. For perhaps the first time ever in the Nu52, the editors tried to include a text page to bridge the many missing issues ... but it's mostly impenetrable.
Beyond that, that stories that we do get are just way too full of dull fighting. The first two issues are the worst, because they contain an entirely nonsensical attack on Oa by the Orange Lanterns that feels like it was just the comic spinning its wheels until it got to Light's Out.
I really wanted to like the volume, because I'm a huge fan of Robert Venditti's Valiant work, and at times his writing skill shines through. I liked his bits about rebuilding the Corps and bringing in new members (even if they're admittedly repetitive, since the Corps had been rebuilt about 73 times since the Green Lantern comic started). But that goodness was mostly crushed beneath the mandates of the crossover, which really soured this volume.
So, take some decently good writing, but weigh it down with a massively incomplete crossover with some very troublesome philosophies underlying it, and you get ... not good. I was disappointed and skimming more and more as I got to the end of the volume.
November 4, 2014
I understand that if you have multiple Green Lantern books, you want them to relate to each other. But when they're so intertwined that you not only have to include a full-page synopsis to explain what happened in one of the other series, then immediately follow it up with an issue included in another TPB, you've got a problem. Look, Volume 3 was an ending for the Green Lantern books - it was the perfect opportunity to take the different series in different directions, maybe supporting each other but not dependent on each other. But no, their mythology stays as convoluted and tied together, as Pre-Universe Relic comes to preach conservation of emotional energy, which Hal immediately turns into an excuse for a Fascist police state, sparking internal divisions in an already depleted lantern corps. And then immediately ignores the concept of conservation of energy to pull a massive assault on a single Star Sapphire.
There are decent moments here; some good action beats, including a battle with Larfleeze, which is unfortunately muted, and the battle at the Source Wall. But overall it just doesn't work for me. It's okay, but it's still trying too hard to be epic and has lost all sense of characters in exchange for massive events.
There are decent moments here; some good action beats, including a battle with Larfleeze, which is unfortunately muted, and the battle at the Source Wall. But overall it just doesn't work for me. It's okay, but it's still trying too hard to be epic and has lost all sense of characters in exchange for massive events.
July 8, 2022
A new creative team takes over and its underwhelming to say the least. The idea of Hal leading the Corps is totally fine but almost everything else was rough. Hal and Carol's turmoil came out of nowhere, another ultra-powerful big bad based on the color spectrum is way too soon, Hal's reactions throughout were bizarre, and more. Billy Tan's art was very good though. This book doesn't collect the entirety of the Lights Out story, which is also a problem. Overall, not the direction the title needed to take.
April 22, 2014
The new author has taken over the book series, and instantly begun littering it with thinly veiled political insinuations. It's not even good insinuations at that. If there is even one being alive in the universe, how can the emotional spectrum ever run out? Leave the politics to politicians and get back to writing great space adventures.
July 23, 2015
Green Lantern comics will never be my favorite because of the too-vast scope upon which they play out, but this is the first time I've seen the (necessary) inclusion of a full page of text halfway through the story to fill in the reader about what is going on in the side titles.
January 1, 2023
This was overlapping with the Lights Out event. It was okay, but Hal Jordan is really annoying. Still some exciting stuff going on and a new beginning.
November 28, 2019
Początek przygód Hala Jordana w ramach New 52 był iście piorunujący, wręcz można rzec gwarą kuchenną, palce lizać. Niestety, kilka tomów dalej serii wytraciła swoje tempo i nomen omen świeżość, dołączając do sporej grupy przeciętniaków jakich pełno na rynku.
Początek jest w miarę płynny, bo widzimy jak sobie radzą Zielone Latarnie po ostatnich dwóch eventach, które trochę powywracały życie w galaktyce do góry nogami. Latarnie wypuszczają pierścienie w poszukiwaniu nowych rekrutów. Korpus musi urosnąć w siłę, po ubytkach jakie pojawiły się po zdradzie dotychczasowych liderów. Wolna chwila na złapanie oddechu przyda się tym bardziej, że Jordanowi powierzone zostaje zadanie szefowania i odbudowania nowego Korpusu Zielonych Latarni. Zwłaszcza, że morale całej grupy podpadło, a i nienawiść do nich znacząco wzrosła przez to co poczynali sobie byli niebieskoskórzy przywódcy Korpusu. No i zresztą nie tak wolna chwila, bo po kilku stronicach mamy atak Larfleeze’a i jego wykreowanej bandy pomarańczowych wykolejeńców.
Zadanie odzyskania renomy nie będzie należało do najłatwiejszych, bowiem na horyzoncie pojawiło się kolejne zagrożenie, którego następstwa będą miały poważne reperkusje, co zaobserwować można już w kilku zeszytach po starciu z Relicem, któremu tu poświęcono trochę miejsca. Widok wygaszonej głównej Zielonej Latarni był przygnębiający. Podobało mi się to, że mimo kryzysu Latarnie działały dość racjonalnie, vide złapanie tylu zapasowych „akumulatorów”, ile się da, po to by zapewnić sobie energię do działania(tym bardziej, że nie ma już Niebieskich, którzy mogli boost’ować Zielonych, poza ich dowódcą, Saint Walkerem).
Omawiany komiks stara się nieco bardziej pokomplikować życie Hala. Jordan ma poważny problem w relacjach ze swoją, prawdopodobnie byłą już dziewczyną, a która jest różową Latarnią, czyli tak zwaną Star Sapphire(jej moce polegają na sile miłości, uczuć). Panna Farris mimo że czuje coś do Hala, to zdaje sobie sprawę jaką osobą jest bohater w zieleni i że związek ten w dłuższej perspektywie nie wypali, zwłaszcza że w coraz więcej czasu spędza z Kyle’em, do którego ewidentnie ją ciągnie. Dalsze wydarzenia stawiają nowo wybranego przywódcę w dość nieprzychylnym świetle, bowiem po Lights Out wiemy, że moc z której korzystają wszystkie Latarnie nie jest niewyczerpana, dlatego też bohater planuje zmianę działania Korpusu, na organ nadzorujący wszystkich inny użytkowników Światła. A że pozostaje takim nieco zbyt pewnym siebie bupkiem, to i sam sobie przez to utrudnia wiele rzeczy. Na tyle, że byłby chyba ostatnią osobą, której powierzył bym dowództwo nad Korpusem.
Wybory rodzą sporo kontrowersji, bowiem jakim prawem Jordan ustanawia Zielony Korpus ponad wszystkimi Latarniami, co widać w przypadku polowania na Prixiamę Nol-Anj. Była więźniarka stała się różową Latarnią, a na dodatek zabiła Cossite’a, Zieloną Latarnię, przez co wkurzony Jordan, w towarzystwie nieocenionego Kilowog’a rusza w pościg, który zakończy się naprawdę ciekawie. Jestem zainteresowany jak rozwinie się ten temat, bowiem na odległość pachnie mi takim systemem totalitarnym, gdzie są ci uprzywilejowani, którzy mogą stosować moce, po to tylko aby przeszkodzić innym w ich używaniu. Powstanie więc pewien paradoks i pole do nadużyć, tym bardziej, że Latarnie i tak mają już bardzo złą pozycję w galaktyce po ostatnich wydarzeniach, a na horyzoncie nadchodzą kolejne czarne chmury…
Tom wygląda nieźle i całość podobała mi się bardzo, zresztą tak jak cały cykl, który jest bardzo poprawne narysowany, co cieszy zwłaszcza przy tych wszystkich kreacjach powiązanych z mocą pierścieni, ale to zawsze musi być taki swoisty samograj, bowiem „wytwory” woli Latarni zawsze stanowiły o unikalności grup i dawały popis co do wyobraźni autorów. Solidne, aczkolwiek przeciętne dzieło, któremu dam mocne 3/3+, ale bez naciągania wyżej.
Początek jest w miarę płynny, bo widzimy jak sobie radzą Zielone Latarnie po ostatnich dwóch eventach, które trochę powywracały życie w galaktyce do góry nogami. Latarnie wypuszczają pierścienie w poszukiwaniu nowych rekrutów. Korpus musi urosnąć w siłę, po ubytkach jakie pojawiły się po zdradzie dotychczasowych liderów. Wolna chwila na złapanie oddechu przyda się tym bardziej, że Jordanowi powierzone zostaje zadanie szefowania i odbudowania nowego Korpusu Zielonych Latarni. Zwłaszcza, że morale całej grupy podpadło, a i nienawiść do nich znacząco wzrosła przez to co poczynali sobie byli niebieskoskórzy przywódcy Korpusu. No i zresztą nie tak wolna chwila, bo po kilku stronicach mamy atak Larfleeze’a i jego wykreowanej bandy pomarańczowych wykolejeńców.
Zadanie odzyskania renomy nie będzie należało do najłatwiejszych, bowiem na horyzoncie pojawiło się kolejne zagrożenie, którego następstwa będą miały poważne reperkusje, co zaobserwować można już w kilku zeszytach po starciu z Relicem, któremu tu poświęcono trochę miejsca. Widok wygaszonej głównej Zielonej Latarni był przygnębiający. Podobało mi się to, że mimo kryzysu Latarnie działały dość racjonalnie, vide złapanie tylu zapasowych „akumulatorów”, ile się da, po to by zapewnić sobie energię do działania(tym bardziej, że nie ma już Niebieskich, którzy mogli boost’ować Zielonych, poza ich dowódcą, Saint Walkerem).
Omawiany komiks stara się nieco bardziej pokomplikować życie Hala. Jordan ma poważny problem w relacjach ze swoją, prawdopodobnie byłą już dziewczyną, a która jest różową Latarnią, czyli tak zwaną Star Sapphire(jej moce polegają na sile miłości, uczuć). Panna Farris mimo że czuje coś do Hala, to zdaje sobie sprawę jaką osobą jest bohater w zieleni i że związek ten w dłuższej perspektywie nie wypali, zwłaszcza że w coraz więcej czasu spędza z Kyle’em, do którego ewidentnie ją ciągnie. Dalsze wydarzenia stawiają nowo wybranego przywódcę w dość nieprzychylnym świetle, bowiem po Lights Out wiemy, że moc z której korzystają wszystkie Latarnie nie jest niewyczerpana, dlatego też bohater planuje zmianę działania Korpusu, na organ nadzorujący wszystkich inny użytkowników Światła. A że pozostaje takim nieco zbyt pewnym siebie bupkiem, to i sam sobie przez to utrudnia wiele rzeczy. Na tyle, że byłby chyba ostatnią osobą, której powierzył bym dowództwo nad Korpusem.
Wybory rodzą sporo kontrowersji, bowiem jakim prawem Jordan ustanawia Zielony Korpus ponad wszystkimi Latarniami, co widać w przypadku polowania na Prixiamę Nol-Anj. Była więźniarka stała się różową Latarnią, a na dodatek zabiła Cossite’a, Zieloną Latarnię, przez co wkurzony Jordan, w towarzystwie nieocenionego Kilowog’a rusza w pościg, który zakończy się naprawdę ciekawie. Jestem zainteresowany jak rozwinie się ten temat, bowiem na odległość pachnie mi takim systemem totalitarnym, gdzie są ci uprzywilejowani, którzy mogą stosować moce, po to tylko aby przeszkodzić innym w ich używaniu. Powstanie więc pewien paradoks i pole do nadużyć, tym bardziej, że Latarnie i tak mają już bardzo złą pozycję w galaktyce po ostatnich wydarzeniach, a na horyzoncie nadchodzą kolejne czarne chmury…
Tom wygląda nieźle i całość podobała mi się bardzo, zresztą tak jak cały cykl, który jest bardzo poprawne narysowany, co cieszy zwłaszcza przy tych wszystkich kreacjach powiązanych z mocą pierścieni, ale to zawsze musi być taki swoisty samograj, bowiem „wytwory” woli Latarni zawsze stanowiły o unikalności grup i dawały popis co do wyobraźni autorów. Solidne, aczkolwiek przeciętne dzieło, któremu dam mocne 3/3+, ale bez naciągania wyżej.
February 19, 2017
This book picks up in the aftermath of the battle between the Green Lanterns and the Guardians of the Galaxy and the First Lantern. The GL Corps is in ruins. The Guardians no longer lead the Corps, but another set of Guardians that were imprisoned in a box for billions of years are now free and are looking to right the wrongs of their brothers and sisters. They decide that they need to explore the universe and experience it before they know how to properly police it. As these new Guardians get ready to embark on their journey, they appoint Hal Jordan as the new leader of the Green Lantern Corps. Ha's first order of business as the new leader is to send the GL rings from those that have fallen in recent battles out to search for new recruits to replenish the ranks.
Before the rings can even bring back recruits from the closest sectors, Larfleeze attacks Oa so he can take all of their stuff. Some of the new recruits show up, but Hal soon finds out that they aren't going to be much use until they're properly trained. A prisoner in the science cells of Oa becomes the newest Star Sapphire. Hal leaves the other Lanterns behind to rebuild and train the recruits while he tracks down this new Sapphire. As they battle, Hal is shown a vision of his love Carol Ferris. Carol and Kyle Rayner are fighting this ginormous being in the vision. Hal decides to let the Star Sapphire go and hauls ass back to Oa to figure out what is going on.
The massive being he saw Carol and Kyle fighting is Relic, the lone survivor of the previous universe. That universe was destroyed because the emotional spectrum that powers all of the different colored corps was drained. Relic intends to steal all the of the light from each of the Lantern corps so that he can stop the same thing that happened to his universe from happening again. The battle with Relic is a major crossover event between all of the Lantern titles and is called "Lights Out". Green Lantern issues #23.1, #24, and Annual #2 make up part of this story, but you also have to read certain issues of Red Lanterns, Green Lantern New Guardians, and Green Lantern Corps to get the full story.
Even though the story in this book is incomplete, I think writer Robert Venditti exceeded my expectations for him. I knew that a new writer was taking over for Geoff Johns with this volume, but I had no idea who it would be. Unless it had been a big name in writing that I love, I was sure that whoever took over would fall significantly short in terms of quality from all the great things Johns did with Green Lantern. While Venditti did fall short, the story was way better than I ever thought possible. I didn't even know who Venditti was until recently and what he's most known for writing, X-O Manowar, is just something I never could get into. Even though his writing isn't on the same level with Geoff Johns', it's better than a major portion of the New 52. The writing gets 4 stars.
Billy Tan took over the art duty on the series with this volume. AS with Venditti, I didn't expect much from him. I figured that at best this book would have about the same 3 star art that the Green Lantern Corps series has. The art turned out to be better than expected as well. The artists on Green Lantern Corps draw aliens pretty well, but their humans don't look very good. Tan doesn't have that problem. (Kyle is the only human that looks bad and it might have something do with that ugly as mask he wears. Pretty sure having to draw that atrocity on a character makes it difficult to get their features right.) If you're going to be an artist for a Lantern title, you need to be able to handle drawing lots of action. Tan manages the action better than anyone on the Green Lantern Corps book. Rarely does he ever set the scene up from such a distance that people become featureless. The art gets 4 stars.
This is an all-around 4 star book. If this team stays together and continues this quality, Green Lantern will remain one of the must read series from DC. If you're a fan of Green Lantern at all, definitely check this out. If you're not already into GL, this won't be for you either.
Before the rings can even bring back recruits from the closest sectors, Larfleeze attacks Oa so he can take all of their stuff. Some of the new recruits show up, but Hal soon finds out that they aren't going to be much use until they're properly trained. A prisoner in the science cells of Oa becomes the newest Star Sapphire. Hal leaves the other Lanterns behind to rebuild and train the recruits while he tracks down this new Sapphire. As they battle, Hal is shown a vision of his love Carol Ferris. Carol and Kyle Rayner are fighting this ginormous being in the vision. Hal decides to let the Star Sapphire go and hauls ass back to Oa to figure out what is going on.
The massive being he saw Carol and Kyle fighting is Relic, the lone survivor of the previous universe. That universe was destroyed because the emotional spectrum that powers all of the different colored corps was drained. Relic intends to steal all the of the light from each of the Lantern corps so that he can stop the same thing that happened to his universe from happening again. The battle with Relic is a major crossover event between all of the Lantern titles and is called "Lights Out". Green Lantern issues #23.1, #24, and Annual #2 make up part of this story, but you also have to read certain issues of Red Lanterns, Green Lantern New Guardians, and Green Lantern Corps to get the full story.
Even though the story in this book is incomplete, I think writer Robert Venditti exceeded my expectations for him. I knew that a new writer was taking over for Geoff Johns with this volume, but I had no idea who it would be. Unless it had been a big name in writing that I love, I was sure that whoever took over would fall significantly short in terms of quality from all the great things Johns did with Green Lantern. While Venditti did fall short, the story was way better than I ever thought possible. I didn't even know who Venditti was until recently and what he's most known for writing, X-O Manowar, is just something I never could get into. Even though his writing isn't on the same level with Geoff Johns', it's better than a major portion of the New 52. The writing gets 4 stars.
Billy Tan took over the art duty on the series with this volume. AS with Venditti, I didn't expect much from him. I figured that at best this book would have about the same 3 star art that the Green Lantern Corps series has. The art turned out to be better than expected as well. The artists on Green Lantern Corps draw aliens pretty well, but their humans don't look very good. Tan doesn't have that problem. (Kyle is the only human that looks bad and it might have something do with that ugly as mask he wears. Pretty sure having to draw that atrocity on a character makes it difficult to get their features right.) If you're going to be an artist for a Lantern title, you need to be able to handle drawing lots of action. Tan manages the action better than anyone on the Green Lantern Corps book. Rarely does he ever set the scene up from such a distance that people become featureless. The art gets 4 stars.
This is an all-around 4 star book. If this team stays together and continues this quality, Green Lantern will remain one of the must read series from DC. If you're a fan of Green Lantern at all, definitely check this out. If you're not already into GL, this won't be for you either.
August 9, 2023
Hated this book.
There were cool things that happened. But i hated the decisions they made.
Oh now the central batteries and rings can run out? Oh now we have to be conservative with the COOLEST fucking part of the IP. Yeah guys light constructs are now very morally wrong because they use up a finite resource. Oh sure guys lets become the universe police for all ring wearers. FUCK YOU ROBERT VENDITTI and whoever decided on this direction. You are actually ruining green lantern.
The only hope for the green lantern comics is if this book is completely erased from memory. This fan fiction is not canon.
SOMEONE please step in and put things right. Hated this book.
The only saving grace was mogo, who u met in a compendium of Alan Moore's comics.
Fuck you Venditti. I will never forgive you.
There were cool things that happened. But i hated the decisions they made.
Oh now the central batteries and rings can run out? Oh now we have to be conservative with the COOLEST fucking part of the IP. Yeah guys light constructs are now very morally wrong because they use up a finite resource. Oh sure guys lets become the universe police for all ring wearers. FUCK YOU ROBERT VENDITTI and whoever decided on this direction. You are actually ruining green lantern.
The only hope for the green lantern comics is if this book is completely erased from memory. This fan fiction is not canon.
SOMEONE please step in and put things right. Hated this book.
The only saving grace was mogo, who u met in a compendium of Alan Moore's comics.
Fuck you Venditti. I will never forgive you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2018
A quick hit review:
The cyclical existence draining of the Emotional Spectrum by what was called "light weavers" speaks to my beliefs in Karma. I really liked Relic and the different take on the ring bearers.
I hadn't been keeping up with the series and was looking for stories on Blue Lanterns, which brought me to this volume. That also meant I had no idea that Guy joined the Red Lanterns. I liked that twist though.
Two things I didn't like were Kyle's White Lantern Costume and how much of a jerk Hal is in this story.
The cyclical existence draining of the Emotional Spectrum by what was called "light weavers" speaks to my beliefs in Karma. I really liked Relic and the different take on the ring bearers.
I hadn't been keeping up with the series and was looking for stories on Blue Lanterns, which brought me to this volume. That also meant I had no idea that Guy joined the Red Lanterns. I liked that twist though.
Two things I didn't like were Kyle's White Lantern Costume and how much of a jerk Hal is in this story.
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