Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #12
DC Comics
Tomasi, Batista & Dell
The post-"War of the Green Lanterns" and pre-reboot/re-launch Green Lantern books are proving to be among my favorites in years. The bulk of them are seemingly throwaway one-shots but I have enjoyed them as much as anything since the Sinestro Corps War books from four years ago. This issue focuses on Guy Gardner and his recruitment of four unknown lanterns as they fly off in search of a deadly threat to the core. Sound familiar? Well, rather than taking ten issues, Guy and company take care of business in just one. This is a reminder of how much fun comics were prior to everything being connected to a larger arc. There is a craft to telling an entertaining, complete and interesting story in just one issue and Tomasi pulls it off nicely.
The issue begins with Green Lanterns getting ambushed out at some distant outposts. As a long time reader I can't recall there ever being a reference to what these outposts are or their overall purpose but they serve the story well and they manage to work in a few interesting characters. Oa eventually gets word of the outpost's trouble and the Guardians and Salaak quickly determine the nature of the problem. They turn to Guy Gardner.
The highlight of the issue is Gardner's interactions with the other characters. Tomasi has such a strong voice for Gardner and his reactions to the Guardians and their wishes. I found the dialogue to be funny and dead-on in so many places. Eventually Gardner is forced to recruit some unknown Green Lanterns for the destruction party outside of his usual "cronies".
Gardner picks four lanterns that I have never heard of but, again, Tomasi has a terrific knack for finding these character's voices and giving them the perfect interface for Gardner to make his wisecracks. The issue really makes the most of the possibilities of lantern types that could exist.
Gardner and team find the enemy and they engage it. Gardner needs to eventually use his head in order to stop it, which is a refreshing change from how most Green Lantern comics end: with them "pouring it on" until the enemy submits.
The artwork is brilliant. The creativity in the Green Lantern ring bearers and the monstrous enemy are such a joy to look at. The book has excellent reactions from some of Gardner's dialogue and the book really balances the action with the "chit-chat" nicely. Sure, Gardner looks a little like Conan O'Brien with his ski slope nose but the character has morphed so much over the last two decades its barely noticeable. This book is visually perfect for the story that Tomasi presents.
Green Lantern Warriors is a fun one and done story that loops in some new characters and leverages Guy and his attitude towards the Guardians to the max. Overall, the story is a terrific example of how to make the most of a twenty-page story when it isn't part of an arc. If you are looking for a good read with no strings attached then this is one you should pick up.
4 out of 5 geek goggles
