Red Lanterns #1
Issue Title: With Blood and Rage
Written by Peter Milligan
Pencils by Ed Benes
Inks by Ed Benes
ME ANGRRYYYYY!!!
Red Lanterns #1 is an oppressively dark, unyieldingly bleak, and unapologetically violent tale of the vengeful side of the Lantern Corp. If nothing else the creative team of Peter Milligan,Ed Benes, and Rob Hunter should be commended for the commitment and consistency of tone that permeates this first issue.
Red Lanterns #1 is plagued by mediocrity. There is nothing bad about the writing. The story is well paced and the action is done reasonably well but that can’t make up for the greatest fault of Red Lanterns. Its main character Atrocitus. He has a damaged tragic past that should serve to, if not endear at least, engage him with us. Instead, he bellows and screams though the panels without level or nuance turning him into a DC version of God of War protagonist Kratos. Red Lanterns #1ʻs art may be visceral and epic but it shares so much in common with the core Lantern book that I found it uninspiring.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Too much for a first issue. The Red Lanterns as an entity are not explained, nor are the
Green or Yellow but it feels like they are essential for enjoying the story.
VERDICT
Skip It – Violence and kinetic art can not make up for a story thats so loud and forceful
you canʼt help but tune out to say yourself some pain.
