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Green Lanterns #14 Review

Green Lanterns #14 Review

Written by Sam Humphries

Pencils by Ronan Cliquet and Eduardo Pansica

Inks by gl9 and Ronan Cliquet

Reviewed by Lorna Maltman (maltmanlorna@gmail.com)

Minor spoilers

I, as many, have not got into the Green Lantern area of DC comics for fear of becoming as confused as when I first ever got on a bus- it ended with me in the bus depot and being an hour late meeting up with my mum. In Rebirth, Humphries has made the Green Lanterns accessible through rookie lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz. This is part of what makes this issue work so well, for example when Frank Laminski, or as he prefers to be called the Phantom Lantern, turns into an indigo lantern, both Jessica and Simon do not know what is going on. Humphries uses their ignorance of matters to make these daunting concepts easier to handle and it works perfectly in this issue.

Also, this issue has great character growth, especially for Jessica who has found her anxiety often taking over, but this is the first issue where she makes real strides to conquering her anxiety and believing in herself as a green lantern. Humphries made this growth feel like a natural progression of the plot in this issue and it did not feel forced, but earnt by Jessica as a character. Laminski remains a great antagonist in this issue, but gives a heartfelt speech in addition to his almost campy supervillainy at this point and I hope to see more of a great addition to the Green Lantern mythos.

This issue does exactly what the end of a story arc needs to do: get some conclusion, develop the characters, and set up future storylines or villains. The only big negative to this issue is that some parts of the issue do not feel necessary such as other Green Lanterns appearing.

The art is DC’s house style of art and it suits this issue, with some stunning panels such as when Jessica puts on the phantom ring.

Verdict:

Give it a shot. This issue showcases why Humphries has made this series excel – good character work whilst building on Geoff Johns work, instead of just borrowing it. This would be a great time to jump onto the series as the next issue is a one shot and the next arc a team up with Batman. If you have never read a green lanterns book or love them, this issue is a great read.

Currently studying for her History BA, but finds herself more often than not, reading comics or watching an ever expanding list TV shows.

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