Guest Review #2 - Green Lantern #39 by Shawn

Green Lantern has long been a favorite character of mine, right behind Flash, so it goes without saying that I love this book! Issue 39 starts the Agent Orange story line, the next chapter in the War of Light, written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Philip Tan. Click below for the review (spoilers ahead):

Green Lantern #39
Story by Geoff Johns
Art by Philip Tan

First things first, it should be known that I’m a Geoff Johns “whore”, so I’m a little biased. The man is a master storyteller and Philip Tan’s art is fantastic, right up there with Van Sciver and Reis; he fits right in.

Back to the task at hand, this issue is awesome! I’ve been waiting for this ever since they revealed what the Orange Lantern was going to be… Greed. I just kept picturing Golem in space with a power ring. It’s close, only Agent Orange’s name is revealed to be Larfleeze and even though he is whiney like Golem, he’s a hundred times more badass.

The awesomeness begins when The Controllers arrive on the planet Okaara in the Vega System looking for the source of the orange light. Having interrupted his feast, Larfleeze unleashes his Corps, who rip the controllers apart quite ferociously. All the while we only get glimpses of our badboy in question, which leads me to believe that the Orange Corps are constructs created by Larfleeze. We get more insight into the Blue Lanterns and their relationship with Hal that, although interesting, has a few awkward outbursts from Hal.

The story then goes back to the Vega System where another Green Lantern, Stel, is chasing a member of the Sinestro Corps. Philip Tan’s design for Stel is so awesome that it deserves to be an action figure! Anyway, the Vega System is off limits to the GL’s due to some past treaty between the Guardians and Larfleeze which has yet to be addressed, but that doesn’t stop Stel. You know bad things are going to happen, right? You better, it’s pretty obvious.

The issue ends in what can only be called the “Oh, shit!” moment, when the Guardian we’ve come to know as Scar drops another new law that puts the Vega System back in the GL Corp’s jurisdiction and that the Guardians need to become physically active in the War of Light, damn!

Month after month, Green Lantern continues to be the best book on the stands and I’m a hardcore Flash fan! Blackest Night is coming… so what the hell are you doing? Go buy this book!