Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Green Lantern Corps #52
DC Comics
Bedard, Syaf & Cifuentes
This issue wraps up the first arc, post-Blackest Night, with a resolution to the Alpha Lantern situation and seemingly an end to the latest Cyborg Superman story. The issue moves quickly and has strong voices for the large cast of characters and is a very good looking comic book. Its drawbacks seem to stem from the editorial decision surrounding the usage of the Alpha Lanterns and the fact the story is small in scope when compared to what came before. Overall this is a decent comic book story. While it might not have the pressure or the build up to Blackest Night it does go back to the roots of the series before it got propped up with the mega crossover. If you are used to epics then this probably isn't going to be your cup of tea.
Ganthet continues to work on trying to separate the man from the machine in the Alpha Lanterns while his comrades start their assault on the Cyborg Superman army. It's interesting that whenever the Cyborg Superman pops up he seems to align himself with something involving Green Lanterns, whether it's Manhunters, Sinestro Corps or the Alpha Lanterns while he continues to still be a natural enemy of Superman. He's the kind of character that is indestructible but is usually killed off to end a story and then he comes back just the same later on.
Ganthet manages to figure out what makes the Alphas tick and this means that he can help the Cyborg Superman separate from the machine and finally die. This also means the Alpha Lanterns seem to have a cure. However, is this really the goal? Are the Alpha Lanterns in need of a cure?
The main problem with this arc is that the previous issues dealing with the Alpha Lanterns had them depicted as super cops or secret police, dealing out extreme and swift justice. Here, they are cast more as misunderstood half-metal beings with hearts. It's not that this doesn't work but it just feels so anti-climatic. If a misunderstanding was really all that came between the Alphas and the Green Lantern Corps should it really have taken this long to resolve? I'm not sold. I think this was a mistake to punt on the Alpha Lanterns in this fashion.
The artwork fits right in with the larger Green Lantern universe style. It's got a lot of action and bodies being thrown about. The issue makes excellent use of color as seen in the entire Green Lantern line. It's a fun comic book that makes use of the fast script to tell a loud story on paper.
This is a good issue and a nice arc. It's not Blackest Night and it isn't pretending to be. The biggest development out of this arc is the new status quo for the Alpha Lanterns. The characters are played to their strengths and are put into positions where they get used in ways you would expect. It's a good issue and if you have no prior exposure to the Alpha Lanterns then you probably won't care that the concept seems to have run its course and been re-imaged in this issue. I liked the issue as it goes back to good, old-fashioned super hero storytelling.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
