DCU Comic Book Reviews

GREEN LANTERN #52

Life Blood

May 2010

Written by Geoff Johns

Pencils by Doug Mahnke

Inks by Doug Mahnke

Covers by Doug Mahnke and Greg Horn

Synopsis

Black Lanterns descend on Coast City with a host of members of various Lantern Corps following closely.  The Black Lanterns are drawn to White Lantern Sinestro.  He has merged with the Entity that created life to the Universe and is killing Black Lanterns.  Suddenly, Nekron attacks Sinestro from behind.  In space, Black Lantern Xanshi fires a blast into the water near Coast City, setting off a tidal wave heading towards the city.  Hal Jordan manages to stop the tidal wave.  John Stewart thinks the next blast will hit the city, so leads a group of different Lanterns to the core of the planet to sever the connection to the black power battery.  Xanshi explodes.  As the remains fall towards Earth, the Lanterns create a ceiling to stop the debris.  Meanwhile, Sinestro mends himself from Nekron’s attack.  He lives.  He is reborn.  He is the true Guardian of the Universe.       

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This is the final issue of Green Lantern before the end to Blackest Night.  I am not sure there is much that Johns could’ve done with this issue.  In fact, he doesn’t really.  The issue pretty much ends as it began (which in itself begins with the end of Blackest Night #7), with White Lantern Sinestro ready to take on Nekron and Black Hand.  I think Johns understood that there was not much he could with this issue, except to mark time until the end to this mega story.  So, yes, this issue is filler with a number of single and double splash pages to help fill up the space.  But I have to say it was enjoyable filler and Mahnke’s splashes are fantastic, especially the double spread of Sinestro and the entities.  More importantly, it doesn’t lessen my enthusiasm for the final issue of Blackest Night, at all.  In fact, I am eager.  Bring it on.

Most of the filler space in this issue is the decent action scenes with John Stewart and Xansi.  Granted, there is nothing that occurs with John has any direct bearing on Blackest Night or the finale, which will presumably focus on Nekron and the Entity, but Johns and Mahnke make it as suspenseful, exciting, and thrilling as they can given the space they have.  Havign said that, the clunker moment in the issue for me is the scene with John Stewart and Kama Tui, which is a rehash of a similar conversation a couple of issues ago.  While I like and agree with what John is saying, the execution is clumsy and the short scene feels out of place.  Combined with the fact that we have already had this conversation and it really feels out of place. 

Other than the fight with Xanshi, Johns also takes the space to provide some explanation on the history of the Entity and the other various entities that make up the color spectrum.  It is a fascinating, compelling origin of the Universe and of the color spectrum, providing the basis, pretty much, of life as we know it.  Ultimately, however, it is not that important to the overall story.  It helps to enrich and broaden what we know, but it is not necessary to understand the story.  This is probably the best place to put this little piece of information.

It is interesting to note the Biblical connections to the various colored entities that spring to life in the wake of the White Light (or God) that created life.  There is love (violet/Adam & Eve), greed (orange/snake in the Garden of Eden), anger (red/Cain killing Abel with the rock), hope (blue/Noah and the ark), and compassion (purple).  The final one doesn’t have much of a visual, but given the parallels, one could argue that it would emerge from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

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