Geoff Johns has done much to revive and grow the Green Lantern mythos. Now, with the origin of the Indigo tribe revealed, how will he continue? Take the jump for a Major Spoilers look at Green Lantern #10.
GREEN LANTERN #10
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Doug Mahnke
Inker: Chistian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Mark Irwin & Tom Nguyen
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Cover Artist: Mahnke, Irwin, & Alex Sinclair
Editor: Brian Cunningham & Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $2.99
Previously in Green Lantern: The Indigo lantern has been destroyed and the secret of the Indigo Tribe has been revealed. They are all horrible criminals of some sort, many of them mass murdering sociopaths, which are brainwashed by the rings Abin Sur and Natromo, a native of the planet. Now, with the rings off-line, they are all seeking vengeance on those that remind them of their imprisonment, the two mostly powerless Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and Sinestro.
DID SINESTRO REALLY SAY THAT?
I’ll admit, though I was skeptical at first, seeing Sinestro reinstated as a Green Lantern and taking down his own corps has been surprising and awesome. Now, with Hal and Sinestro forming a loose partnership we are starting to get more of an idea of both the past and the future of the Lantern Corps (all of them) and I am getting excited all over again. That said, this book takes a lot of the focus off of the universe building and puts it back on to both title characters, and does a great job of doing it, too.
This issue finishes off the “Secret of the Indigo Tribe” story and mostly has Hal and Sinestro trying to avoid death at the hands of the unleashed tribe while tracking down Natromo, the man that helped Abin Sur make the tribe initially. Sinestro is becoming a different person, and it shows as he listens to Hal on a number of points, including backing down from a fight with people that wronged him and not threatening the person they need to help. Hal is able to question him about being the ring Sinestro created for him and reason with him effectively. The two are both growing as characters and as a team, which is promising. The most revealing part of this is when Sinestro goes to slow the Tribe down with no ring so Hal can get Natromo to rebuild the battery because it’s what Hal would do.
Hal, of course, succeeds while revealing some of his, Sinestro’s, and Abin Sur’s intertwined past to Natromo. The lantern is only fixable with a spark of compassion, which reveals the full nature of the rings as Iroque (Indigo-1) asks them to put it back as she despairs over her past and nature, she has learned some compassion. With the lantern intact once more, the rings (which no one decided to take off) are back online and the Indigo’s are once more pacified, including Sinestro. This puts Hal in the spotlight, as he needs Sinestro to do anything right now and the only way the tribe will let Sinestro go is if Hal believes Sinestro can be redeemed without a ring. His answer is that he wants to believe and that is where the book leaves off (Hal and Sinestro’s story anyhow) leaving a decent cliff hanger and me honestly wanting more.
WHAT IS THAT?
It has taken me awhile to warm up to Mahnke’s art. For most of this issue, it’s good. I am still not a fan, but it didn’t leave me disappointed, until the very last page. On the last page stands a bloated mess of veins and rain and horrible perspective that is supposed to be human. Most of my earlier issues with Mahnke’s work were faces; his bodies normally are quite good. On the last page of this book though, the problem isn’t just reversed, but taken to a ridiculous extreme that leaves me almost disgusted.
BOTTOM LINE: Good till the End
There was one more thing the Indigo story line was supposed to resolve, the fate of Black Hand. Well, it is mostly wrapped up here, but not very pleasingly. Unfortunately, the mess is very spoiler-y so I don’t want to get into it, just that I wasn’t happy. Despite two glaring problems, Green Lantern #10 was still a good read. Johns manages to give a reasonably succinct story (a rarity for the man writing the huge stories he does) that delves into what makes the Lantern duo tick. As such, Green Lantern #10 earns itself 3 out of 5 stars. It really does want more, but I can’t get past the end without cringing.
5 Comments
“….the rings (which no one decided to take off) are back online…”
I wonder, could they even take them off? Even without the core battery Lantern, is it possible they had some slight reserve energy that kept them attached? Considering the reveal of who they are, I wonder if there isn’t something in place that would keep them attached, not all that different from how dangerous it is to remove a red ring.
No, they could, that was part of the Hand stuff that I didn’t want to talk about too much. He takes his off immediately upon waking up.
Ah, I see. So it is just one of those moments that seem to happen in comics where something seems like it really should be obvious.
Maybe they did take them off.
SPOILERS
I mean, Hand’s ring pursued him when the core battery came back online – but he was probably the only one who’d jump to his death to get away from it.
Maybe it’s just me, but wouldn’t having the last page with a disgusting body make perfect sense in context?