GREEN LANTERN #52

Look, up into the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a plane carrying a crate full of birds that want to read the following comic book created by Robert Venditti, Billy Tan, and published by DC Comics, in April, 2016. Not sure why though? I didn't think birds could read!

TO QUOTE Byron Nelson: 'One way to break up any kind of tension is good deep breathing'.

THE REVIEW:

At the end of last months episode of Green Lantern we saw Hal Jordan rush to the rescue of his two pals, Virgo and Trapper, who've both been captured by a gang of mercenaries, out for revenge. It turn's out that these punks have captured Hal's pals as if to lure him into their trap, a trap that involves them capturing Hal next and then killing him publicly, as if to prove to everyone that by doing so this will grant them the right to take over from the Green Lantern Corps.

However, now that Hal is in their trap, do you think they can actually make it work? Especially since he has that damn pesky gauntlet strapped to his wrist, phasing him in and out of existence whenever it takes its fancy! What's more, even if they do manage to turn the tables on him, even slightly, will they also have the courage to do what they must? No. I don't think so either. And we know this simply because next months solicits show that Hal will be featuring in a new book entitled 'Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps', coming fresh out of the pages of Rebirth. Ops!

Yet with that being said, what this issue does manage to accomplish is to entertain us within a deluge of some fairly bog-standard scenes. I mean, let's face it. We all know that Hal isn't going to die and will somehow save the day. But, whilst knowing these facts, what we don't know is how Trapper and Virgo are going to come out of this mess, and that's where Roberts writing really shines through.

Now without giving to much away, there is a scene in this book -- the best one in my opinion -- where Hal, Trapper, Virgo, and the bad-guy: generic blue-villain number seven, somehow put themselves in a very compromising situation. If x does y to z then q will die, whereas if q does x to y then z will die. Compounded into this set-up is the revelation that Hal isn't really a 'naughty renegade', plus the fact that the bad guys want to use his demise to their advantage.

I'm sure you will agree with me when I say that this sounds like a very tense situation, made even more heightened when Hal does his best impression of Clint Eastwood, whilst the rest do their best impressions of Eli Wallach (take that however you so wish).

Something else that was also heightened in this issue was the great artwork provided by Billy Tan. For whatever reason -- probably the inking -- this time round his illustrative style has made his characters more expressive looking, his action scenes clearer, easier to follow, and overall most things came across in a pretty pleasant manner. Shame it took him so long to hit his stride though. Yet now that he has, I'm sure that whatever book he jumps onto next will be a very good book indeed.

Another thing I would like to mention about this last issue of Green Lantern is how I liked the way it ended on a note of ambiguity. Despite Robert and Billy putting a nice bow around certain resolutions they needed to resolve, other resolutions are up in the air, ready to be picked up by the next creative team.

Good job, guys. See you soon.

THE MUSIC:

For this months musical match-up I want to partner this issue with a song from the film, 'The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly'. The song in question is called 'The Trio', and it goes something like this...

THE COMPARISON:

Half way through this book Hal compared his actions to a can of beer being popped. Why? Don't ask me. Ask him. And as he's already done the comparison for me, heck, it would be rude if I contradicted him! Wouldn't it?

Pop!

THE CONCLUSION:

At the very end of this issue Hal says something very cryptic to those he leaves behind. So, for the sake of onions, let's see if you can guess what he says out of the following eight options. Could it be...