GREEN LANTERN CORPS #0

[ A CORPS FOR COUPONS ] 

Do you know that ginger called Guy? He looks like a gimp and speaks like a spy. No. Not in a James Bond way. But rather more harsh and a little less gay. Well, that's what these 'oinks' told me, anyway. Writer: Peter J. Tomasi; Artist: Fernando Pasarin; and Publisher: DC Comics in October 2012.

So what’s the STORY morning glory?

Do you remember the seventies sit-com, 'Happy Days'? Yeah! Well, one time, whilst I was away from school because I fractured my shoulder, I watched a repeat of this program whilst taking painkillers.

That was great I can tell you. The show -- not the shoulder. As in a very supple manner my painkillers enhanced this television comedy to rather lofty proportions. Just like this episode of Green Lantern Corps -- entitled 'Freshman' -- as a matter of fact.

• Imagine if you will. Your name is Guy Gardner, and many a year ago it appears that you have no direction in life.
• Moreover, your mother is dead. Your brother and sister, Gerard and Gloria, are both cops in a police force. And your drunken crippled father wished that you were one too.
• So what are you going do about it, huh? Argue with your Dad? Save your brother from some street punks? And then become a 'space cop' thanks to a little green ring which catches your eye?
• Yeah! Sound like a plan. Just make sure you don't piss off that ugly looking alien called Xar, or that Hal chap either, OK?

D'Oh! A beginning...

What is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

There were too many pieces of dialogue which I really did dig whilst reading in this issue. However, at a touch, the stand-out for me was the argument between Guy and his Dad, when on two separate occasions they gibed each other with...

GUY: "Here we go -- the old 'bullet and forced disability' story''.

DAD: "I'm getting that 'My Daddy didn't love me enough crap' again".

Well, not only were both statements relatable on a certain level, but they also substantiated 'personal history' within parentheses and context. Which is nice, huh?

What was the BEST thing about this issue?

The best thing about this yarn was that it told a story about a rebellious youth, who found a way into this world by alternate means. Honest to God, this was a very nice family oriented read, and I would like to see a lot more of this type of 'drama' in the future.  

Also, another thing that I liked about this issue, were the cameos in it. Hal and Kilowog for instance. Plus it was great to see Guy's older brother, Gerard (previously called Mace), whom I presumed was written out of continuity.

What was the WORST thing about this issue?

My one small gripe with this story is all to do with continuity. Well, it would have been nice if Guys more erstwhile vocations weren't replaced with him wanting to be a cop / delinquent. Guy was once an high-school gym teacher once, as well as a welfare officer for prisoners.

What was the most CREATIVE thing about this issue?

STORY: One of the things that I wasn't bowled over about, yet still thought creative, was how this story started off on a cliff-hanger and then jolted back to that point in the tale once 'Guys origin' was told. It was rather suspenseful because thought-out the main brunt of the yarn you could not help but wonder how Guy ended up in that situation. Moreover, the lead-up to said-situation is never fully explained, which left an awe of mystery about it.

ART: Fernando Pasarin is an artist that can do no wrong in my eyes. For example, the majority of this story is either talking-heads or people getting shot, yet he managed to bring a nice flavor to each scene, rather than make it look pretty for pretty's sake. The emotions look emotional. When someone gets shot it looks like someone gets shot. Etcetera.  Etcetera. Etcetera. Class act through and through.

If you had to CAST TWO CHARACTERS in this comic book, who would they be and why?

GUY: OK, so what actor wears a leather jacket, rides around on a motor cycle, and plays rebellious youths on the big screen? Oh, yeah! James Dean -- of course. But I was thinking more along the lines of Seann William Scott myself, because he's a ginger and an irritating sh*t.   

GUY'S DAD: Just like he did on the films 'Amadeus', 'Serpico' 'The Merchant of Venice', and 'Scarface', I'm sure that actor, F Murray Abraham, can play a cantankerous old b*stard on this production too.

If this issue had a MOVIE TAG LINE, what would it be?

Be Careful What You Wish For, You Might Just Get It.

If this issue were a MOVIE, an OBJECT, or a piece of MUSIC, what would that be and why? 

Yep. As I said at the beginning of this post, in many ways this issue reminded me of an alternate version of the seventies sit-com 'Happy Days'. Except that it's set in Baltimore and not in Milwaukee, plus the Fonz is a ginger too. Heyyyyyy!

FINAL thoughts...

Once I finished reading this issue I immediately thought to myself "Boy. That was a nice diversion. But what next I wonder?". You see, although I loved the story, the art, and the conceit of this book, in the same breath the current direction of the 'Green Lantern Universe' is in a state of flux at the moment, making you -- me -- and everybody wonder "What next?".

Only natural I suppose. Prompting me to think that this might what the 'big wigs' at DC want us to think in the first place. Well, why else pick this precise moment in time for a zero month? Why at the cusp of 'The Third Army' and other scenarios going on?

Food for thought, huh?

Also, on a side note, I don't think I've heard Guy's sister, Gloria, mentioned before. She's a new character, right? Someone I presume DC will expand upon later.

MARKS out of 10? 9