Writer: Robert Venditti / Artist: Rafa Sandoval / DC Comics
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps is quite possibly one of my top three favorite “Big Two” books on the shelves. Robert Venditti got back to basics with a solid book that embraces everything we love about Green Lantern books. Every story plays for keeps. Every fight is for the fate of the universe. You have to appreciate a book that so consistently swings for the fences.
Issue #20 is a pretty big improvement from the last issue as far as both visuals and scripting goes. The corps finally faces their enemies head on with questionable results. For the most part, Venditti explores some really interesting, fun concepts with the Corps’ new foe including a cool callback to the “Renegade” saga that makes me want to go back and read that over again. Call me old fashioned but I’m a sucker for some good old school ring slinging action and this issue delivers in spades. The only real complaint I have is that the new Big Bad monologues worse than Syndrome from The Incredibles. I get that some villains are the first generation monologuing type so it’s not really a reflection on Venditti’s talent with the book, but at times, it almost felt like we would have been better off with a book about Space Ape and Gorin Sunn escaping while the dude kept talking. Have I mentioned that these two have the second best bromance in the book next to Guy Gardner and Arkillo? Visually, Rafa Sandoval Da Penciling Gawd is back to basically give us a master class in how to create large, epic, terrifying looking ring constructs. Since the book started, there has literally been nobody else better at giving this book the sweeping sense of scale it truly deserves.
Bottom Line: Despite a ridiculously talky bad guy, this book is light years better than the last issue. Venditti’s script is fine, but Sandaval steals the show this time around with visuals that go big and never go home.
Reading Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps? Find BNP’s other reviews of the series here.
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