GREEN LANTERN #151
"Back in the Saddle"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Judd Winick
Pencils: Dale Eaglesham
Inks: Rodney Ramos
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Kurt Hathaway
Editor: Bob Schreck
Price: $2.25 US/$3.75 CAN |
Winick instills a lot of personality into this book. His take on Kyle Rayner and the people in his life comes off as genuine, and he includes a delightful and down-to-earth sense of humor in his scripts. Eaglesham's art tells the story nicely as well, but unfortunately, I'm still not completely hooked on this title. This time around, a rather ordinary -- and predictable -- super-hero plotline left me a little flat. Under Winick's guidance, Green Lantern has plenty of strengths, but it hasn't really struck me as particularly different, which is what I've come to expect from the writer.
No longer in possession of the omnipotent powers of Ion, Kyle Rayner has gone back to being plain ol' Green Lantern. As Kyle and his teenage assistant Terry stop in for a visit at the office of the magazine that keeps food in their repsective fridges, they discover the staff has gone rather... well, crazy. And it's not just in the magazine offices, either. It seems of all of Manhattan has gone bonkers, and if that weren't enough for GL to deal with, the city also seems to be overrun by bizarre gummy-bear-like creatures.
Eaglesham makes great use of perspective here. I really enjoyed that page three splash. He employs a realistic style that brings plausibility to the world with a green, glowing hero gliding through the sky. I like the new costume design as well. It incorporates elements from the Silver Age GL look with a more modern sensibility. Baumann's bright colors suit the nature of the title character and his powers nicely as well.
Winick's greatest strength has always been characterization, and one will no exception to that rule here. The reader gets a clear idea of the kind of person that Kyle Rayner is, and the same goes for Terry. Even in her hysteria, the pressures that magaizne editor-in-chief Rena Stone faces every day. But what's most enjoyable about the tone of the characters -- mainly Kyle and Terry in this issue -- is their happiness, their apparent sense of contentment with life. It's an optimistic boost for the reader.
Yep, this issue was really shaping up... until the latter half of the book. The issue shifted from being a strong, character-driven one to a standard super-hero scene quickly. There's nothing wrong with standard super-heroics, really, but Winick gives us a taste of the really good stuff, and then takes it away.
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