DCU Comic Book Reviews

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #40

Heart Of Darkness

November 2009

Written by Peter J. Tomasi

Pencils by Patrick Gleason

Inks by Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen, Prentis Rollins

Covers by Patrick Gleason and Billy Tucci

Synopsis

On her return to Oa, Arisa finds Oa overrun by Black Lanterns.  She also encounters her parents, who have risen as Black Lanterns.  Elsewhere, Kyle Rayner confronts Black Lantern Jade, who tells him they will finally be together.  In Sector 3599, Star Sapphire Miri finally recaptures Kryb, who is desperate to get back to her babies.  Miri sense great love for her children, so she allows Kryb to find them.  On Oa, Salaak searches for the Guardians.  They find 8 bodies, but there were 9 Guardians.  Just then, the Alpha Lanterns appear to take charge of the corps, but Salaak informs them of a message sent by the Guardians putting Salaak in charge.  Meanwhile, Kyle knows the woman in front of him is not Jade, so he blasts her with his ring.  She attacks him, showing Kyle images of all of the women he has loved and died.  On Oa, the dead Yellow and Red Lanterns executed by the Alpha Lanterns rise as Black Lanterns.  They begin to attack the Green Lanterns.  In the medical infirmary, the Black Lanterns take the hearts of the sick, until Soranik Natu and Iolande arrive to stop them.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

Like previous weeks, this is less of a story and more of a snapshot of the various characters dealing with the Black Lantern menace.  There are a lot of different plot threads and characters moving around this title that it is tough to focus on just one or attempt to craft some sort of the story.  At best we get Kyle’s realization that he is not talking to Jade and Kryb’s realization that all of her children have died, but both of those beg the question of what is going to happen next.   The rest of the issue mainly deals with various plot points, either with the Alpha Lanterns or Arisa returning to Oa.  And even then some of the scenes appear only once (like Arisa reuniting with her family) and dropped without any follow-up.  Other than the Blackest Night backdrop, everything feels so disconnected.  That is not to say it is a bad issue, but it feels incomplete, like Tomasi is charged with keeping the status quo until Blackest Night reaches a specific moment that propels the overall meta-story forward. 

As a long-time reader of this title (since the beginning), I really liked the moment when Salaak pulled the ultimate power play to take control of the Corps.  Since they were first introduced, the Alpha Lanterns have been vaguely creepy and menacing so it was no surprise when they claimed power in the name of the Guardians.  Salaak’s rejoinder was perfect, if only because Salaak is at time played as a buffoon and other times just a puppet of the Guardians.  This shows that he has the strength and the ability to do what needs to be done.  It was a nice sequence of events.

On the other hand, the scene with Bzzd seemed unnecessary.  But I am not sure if I have the feeling for his return or the way he was dispatched so quickly.  I remember when the little guy died and I thought his death and sacrifice was handled fairly well.  And then he returns, acting all bad ass and easily gets smacked to death (again).  Why bother to go through all the trouble to bring him back, just to get rid of him again so easily?

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