Green Lantern #24
Written by Robert Venditti
Pencils by Billy Tan
Inks by Bob Hunter
Colors by Alex Sinclair
Review by Mike Duke
The “jumping-on-point” is something that we talk about a lot in comics. With characters who’ve been around for decades and continuity that reaches back almost as far, it can be intimidating for new readers to find a place to wedge their way in and start reading. Green Lantern #24 is a jumping-on point at the same time as being the first book in a new event, which can be great for new readers, but frustrating for those following along.
Green Lantern #24 follows from Green Lantern: New Guardians #23 over a month ago, and we are now into the Lights Out event. On Oa, the Green Lantern corps is trying to figure out what is going wrong with their power battery, and Hal Jordan is upset because he can’t trust his ring to take him where he needs to go. Kyle Rayner as the White Lantern and Carol Ferris in her Star Sapphire gear appear after having just taken a beating from Relic, who believes that the use of the emotional light spectrum is destroying our universe. Determined to save this universe from the same fate as his own, Relic is collecting the energy from all of the power batteries to keep the various lantern corps from using their rings. Hal and the Greens, obviously, have other ideas.
This issue is chock full of exposition, which is the main reason I call it a jumping-on point. If you haven’t been reading any of the lead-up to this story featuring new villain Relic, then this issue will serve as a good catch-up. However, for those of use who have been reading, there is a lot of information we already had. There is some good action as the lanterns try to hang onto their power, and the final pages serve to entice for the rest of the story, but the expository dialog really drags the issue down. Details about Relic still seem to have big holes in them, even after his Villain’s Month issue, but I can only hope that these will be addressed going forward. Overall, it will be nice to get to the next issue and be past all of this back-story.
Green Lantern regular Billy Tan does well with the art here. There are an abundance of familiar human lanterns, but we also get some great looking aliens, spaceships, and structures. Also, the colors and light effects are top notch and really make Green Lantern stand out in the DCU.
Verdict
Wait and See. If you’re interested in Green Lantern but haven’t known where to jump in, this is the issue. If you’re already reading, all I can say is, “Be Patient.” I am going to remain cautiously optimistic and say that this event is going to get better. And, we could get some really exciting change in the lantern universe as a result. Be sure to check out the last page to see the list of titles where the Lights Out story will continue all through October.