John Stewart has united both the Green Lanterns and the Sinestro Corps under his leadership, but a greater threat from his own future is poised to destroy both Corps in one swoop! Your Major Spoilers review of Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps #20 awaits!
HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #20
Writer: Robert Venditti
Penciler: Rafa Sandoval
Inker: Jordi Tarragona
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Mike Cotton
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps: “John Stewart and Hal Jordan need the help of the Sinestro Corps to save the universe from an unidentified threat. Meanwhile, Sarko has located a crucial source of the Corps power. Will Hal and the Green Lantern Corps be able to stop Sarko from destroying everything?”
PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
This issue hits the ground running, as the Green Lantern and Sinestro Corps are under siege on planet Mogo by Sarko’s army, which seems to be composed of massively powerful ring constructs. Hal take the fight right to them, while John commands his forces in the field, with the assistance of Time Master Rip Hunter. Sarko’s plan seems to be centered on a remote sector of space, a dead area where nothing of consequence has happened… Nothing except the world where Hal Jordan hid the Gauntlet of Krona, an artifact that nearly drove him nuts during one of his absences from the GLC. (You may remember his long-haired look with the trench coat? It’s okay if you didn’t, I reviewed the issues and they’re kind of a blur to me.) As things come together, the Yellow/Green Lanterns are forced to give up their rings and surrender, while Hal Jordan will be forced to face a creation of his own will, a living creature of the Gauntlet… and it’s not looking good for him.
THE RIP HUNTER CONNECTION
There are some new twists in this issue, what with the time travel, and I enjoy the idea of Hal, Kyle (who barely even registers in this issue, as he and Soranik Natu rush back to the infirmary, but it’s good to see him in his original costume), Guy and Jon trying to integrate the light of fear with the light of will. (If nothing else, it speaks to their ability to finally try to overcome the endless mistakes of the Guardians Of The Universe, who have been shown since 2006 to be spectacularly, murderously wrong over and over again.) I really enjoy Rafa Sandoval’s art here, taking the “giant war against unstoppable foes” that has been the only Green Lantern plot for over a decade and helping to make it fresh again. I haven’t been following this book very closely, but I still immediately recognize characters like Arkillo, Soranik and such, making the massive army that is our cast much more enjoyable and palatable for me. Also: The creators get an extra half-star for the inclusion of a Sinestro Corpsman named “Space Ape”, who is an ape from space.
You can’t get any better than that…
THE BOTTOM LINE: READING GREEN LANTERN IS *EXHAUSTING*
I’m always a little intimidated to take on an issue of Green Lantern, because of the massive cosmic scope of it all and the fact that there are just so many characters to take in, but the creators do a good job of making this one approachable, and the massive threat necessary to challenge the Corps much less of a left-field mountain of madness than was true of the ‘War Of Light’ and whatever was up with Volthoom. Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps #20 ends up balancing the action with the full-volume explodey quite well, avoiding some of the confusion and convolution of recent years and delivering a solid, well-drawn adventure, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. There’s still a massive cast and universe-ending stakes, but it still works for the casual reader as a single issue story…
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