GREEN LANTERN #36

[ GRAB ME SOME GREEN ] 

In order for DC Comics to give their November themed 'Lego Month' some form of street cred, they decided to ask their creators to develop something urban and original. So that is why Robert Venditti and Francis Portela stole a gypsy from a fun-fair and sold her to a politician.

To QUOTE Frederick the Great: 'A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in'.

THE STORY:

I'm afraid to say that I have some good news for you, and I have some bad news for you.

Now the good news is that Hal and the gang have managed to get away from those 'New Gods' by camping out at Sinestro's home world of 'New Korgur'. The bad news, however, comes from those scruffy looking blue-faced Guardians. Because according to them, the 'New Gods' have captured the no-so-dead Kyle Rayner, and they forbid any Lantern to seek out another dead-lantern to save him.

Well, if you get my gist, hint-hint!

THE GOOD:

Robert Venditti has done it again, my friends. Once more he's managed to take a single chapter out of a much larger cross-over event, and then crammed it full of character, pathos, and exposition I couldn't get enough of.

In fact one of my most favourite scenes in this entire book was the one where Hal and Sinestro butted head -- which I will touch more on later -- resulting in one of them to defy the Guardians orders. Plus I have to admit, that concluding section -- which I won't mention too much about either, for the sake of spoiling the surprise -- was very predictable, yet at the same time very fun and intriguing to follow. And the reason why I say this, dear reader, is because this section possessed a bubbly and captivating quality that aided both the tone and the plot. Specially with it's cameo appearances!

Now on the art side of things I have to applaud Francis Portela's marvellous illustrations. When I first saw how he drew it did kind of remind me of a strange mixture of Bart Sears and Andy Smiths work from back in the day. Which of course, as any good comic book fan will tell you, is a good thing, right folks?    

THE BAD:

If you just heard that someone you thought was dead was very much alive and well, what would you do as soon as you heard this good news? Complain that he's been kidnapped by a bunch of flamboyant New Gods, perhaps? Or would you say, 'Thank God', (Or whoever else you may praise) and just be thankful that he's back with the land of the living?  

That was my only problem with this issue, folks. People's reaction's to Kyle's resurgence. In my eyes it felt a bit tacked on / confused / disposable, and didn't really seem to hold much water except in the case of Saint Walker.

THE MUSIC:

Without giving too much away I'd say a large chunk of this tale was about dead people either coming back to life, or going to eventually come back to life. So with that in mind, how can I not musically match it up with the Blue Oyster Cult's song, 'Don't Fear The Reaper'?

THE COMPARISON:

Essentially this story is about defying authority no matter what the cost. So how about I compare it to the late great, Lenny Bruce, who was a pioneering comedian that even went to prison to say what he believed in.

Go on, Len. Stick it to the man!!!

THE CONCLUSION:

As I promised up above, I will now explain to you what I loved about that great scene between Hal and Sinestro. OK. I have to admit. I won't 'explain' per-say. What I'll do instead is insinuate why I liked it, by making you guess what transpired out of the following eight options.

1. Kyle turns up and starts bragging to them both why he's more powerful than they are.
2. For reasons of his own Sinestro decides to give Hal a kiss.
3. Hal and Sinesto kick each others ass because they keep on getting on each others bloody nerves.
4. After a short exchange Hal comes to the realisation that Sinetro actually respects him, and says so accordingly.
5. Barry Manilow turns up and they all sing 'Copacabana' in their respective languages.
6. Mary Poppins turns up and starts a fight with Barry Manilow, resulting in Hal and Sinestro marrying.
7. Sinestro explains to Hal that when a mummy and a daddy love each other very much, that one day they will give each other a 'special hung' and produce a baby.
8. Wank.

Nuff said.