Green Lantern Annual #2

Writer Robert Venditti Artist Sean Chen

 

Introduction

 

Lights Out has been a very big story that has begun to shape the reign of Robert Venditti on the Green Lantern title. The new entry into this run has brought some renewed excitement into the larger DC franchise. After the departure of Johns, readers were looking for something just as expansive as his run was. This story has proven that things can still change without stepping on the toes of the expansive world that was initially created for the series. Venditti had a slow start on the title that made his run a little dull at times, the first few issues were very involved with gearing up for the big event. In fact, his first arc set up the new foe for the larger crossover known as Relic. Over the past few installments of the series, some huge new developments to the mythos have been added that have begun to change the shape of the larger Green Lantern lore. Relic may not be the most interesting foe ever created, but he definitely has had some clear motivations that merit him as an anti-hero. With this new chapter in the life of Hal Jordan and the rest of the Corps. nothing will ever be the same.

 

Writing

 

Hal Jordan has some definitive character flaws, but Venditti has begun to take those to the extreme and almost turn Jordan into a man child. The character just started really trying to win over the affection of Carol Ferris towards the beginning of the New 52. His obligations forced him to join the Corps. again. Ferris deserves to show him some compassion instead of sleeping with his best friend. The motivations have been off since the scribe took over the love triangle. There are also a couple of cringe worthy one liners that are difficult to swallow at times, such as one particular instance about a deranged santa. Thankfully most of these moments are sparse. This installment definitely leaves the Green Lanterns in a very interesting position going forward that Geoff Johns would probably not have done. The creative team is just starting to step out of the shadow cast by the previous writer and forge their own path.

 

Art

 

Sean Chen did a formidable job in pencils for the title. At times, his art can be slightly inconsistent, and comparing his work to former Green Lantern artists make his work fall short. There are still many clean lines and pages, that show this is an artist evolving throughout each issue of the work into a much better penciller. He is an odd fit for the book, that makes me miss series regular, Billy Tan. The characters in the title can look oddly realistic, that does not fit it in the context of strange imagery and silly outfits. Tan was more concerned with making the different ring slingers seem more interesting, and bursting with different kinds of personality within the characters. Relic specifically looks really lifeless and just sort of floats through the pages aimlessly.

 

Conclusion

This chapter is riddled with some annoying issues such as the dull art of Sean Chen and minor roadblocks for Venditti. The team is still melding the franchise in some new directions and securing a strong future in further stories with these characters.