Some of the Green Lantern Corps greatest members are thrown into unknown space, but the real threat may be one of their own party: The renegade Guardian Of The Universe called Krona! Your Major Spoilers review of Green Lantern: The Lost Army #1 awaits!
GREEN LANTERN: THE LOST ARMY #1
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Jesus Saiz
Colorist: Jesus Saiz
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Editor: Jim Chadwick
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
Previously in Green Lantern: The Lost Army: “Imagine waking up in a strange place where you didn’t recognize anything, and everyone you knew and loved was nowhere to be found. Now imagine that you are a Green Lantern. The rest of the Corps is missing, you don’t know where you are, and there’s not a Power Battery to be found for as far as your ring can scan.. Never has the Corps been challenged in this way—and not everyone is going to make it home!”
JOHN STEWART IN COMMAND
We join our story already in progress, as Green Lanterns John Stewart, Kilowog, Arisia, new faces (to me) Xrill Vrek and Two-Six in pitched battle against strange alien energies. Most surprising to me is that fact that they are joined by Krona, the renegade Guardian who, not so long ago, was trying to destroy the entire Corps. Most of this issue focuses on John Stewart, comparing the battle in space with his experiences in the Marines (to good effect, I might add), and questions about the Who/What/Where handled in between battle sequences. Most importantly, the Lanterns cannot contact the central Power Battery, cannot call for backup, and have NO idea why Krona is with them. The discovery of several more (very deceased) Green Lanterns adds fuel to the fire when it seems they have been killed by the rage energy of a Red Lantern ring, but then another familiar face shows up…
WITH SPECIAL GUEST-STAR!
It’s no big spoiler, given what I’ve read online, that Guy Gardner appears in these pages, but what’s interesting is the fact the he’s armed with both a Green Lantern AND a Red Lantern ring (with spiffy/clashy new costume to go with it.) Guy’s appearance leads to another big surprise, and a last-panel reveal that’s both beautiful and unnerving. Jesus Saiz does very impressive work in these pages, delivering a powerful Kilowog, a suitably heroic John, and interesting alien work with Xrill and Two-Six, as well as some impressive space-scapes and a nice variety of perspectives, even in the flying/talking heads shots…
THE BOTTOM LINE: SHOWS PROMISE
Of all the DCYou revamps, the Green Lantern books were probably the ones I looked forward to least, given the endless cycle of massive space war after massive space war that has engulfed the GL titles in recent years. This story promises a smaller cast, with several of the most major non-Hal Jordan Lanterns in play, as well as the central mystery. Cullen Bunn gives us enough emotional and character work to buy into the well-worn “everyone wakes up in a strange place” set-piece, making Green Lantern: The Lost Army #1 a pleasant surprise, with Saiz delivering top-notch artwork throughout, resulting in an impressive 4 out of 5 stars overall. I’m interested in seeing some smaller-focus GL stories, and three fan-favorite Lanterns make for a good hook for that tale…
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