Customer Reviews

Green Lantern Corps: The Darker Side Of Green.

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This trade is comprised of two different storylines. The opening three issue arc introduces us to the Green Lantern Corpse, an unknown covert black ops style faction of the GLC that will do the dirty deeds others will not or should not do. Keith Champagne's fascinating new premise in the GL lore is an absolute winner, with much to be further explored and developed down the road along with paving the path for a plethora of interesting plot possibilities. He barely scratched the surface here and certainly left the reader wanting more, which according to him will eventually happen in the not too distant future. The closing four issue arc deals with numerous threads involving many of the regular Lanterns from this series, but does center on a problem concerning the planet Lantern Mogo. Lanterns who come to him for their specialized version of R & R leave with far more serious problems than they arrived with. In connection with that, we are introduced to yet another great addition to the Corps by the name of Bzzd, an insect Lantern who happens to be Mogo's space sector partner. The situation with Mogo is related to and leads directly into the recently completed Sinestro Corps epic. The diverse and richly characterized cast of Lanterns is one of the strengths of this trade and the concept in general. It is one of the primary reasons why the overall mythos of the GLC has grown so impressively over the years into one of the strongest in the entire comics medium. Some people feel it is the best time ever to be a Green Lantern fan, and they just may be right.

The idea of the Green Lantern Corps is one of the genuinely genius concepts in the DC universe, and Green Lantern Corps: A Dark Side of Green, achieves success at exploring it to it's fullest potential. (Actually, I wish the volume had been called "A Dark Side of The Green," to highlight the uniqueness of the Green Lantern concept, but that's really a super-minor niggle.) Superficially similar in nature to the Jedi Knights of Star Wars, the Green Lantern Corps are essentially space police, and their tales chronicle the exploits of sentient representatives from various solar systems around the galaxy, given immensely powerful rings that are powered by will (instead of lightsabers).

This volume collects issues 7-13 of the Green Lantern Corps (GLC) ongoing series and is an excellent collection of sci-fi, fantasy stories with competent art and increasingly impressive storytelling. The cast is large but not unwieldly, and each character is distinct and interesting in their own right. The first three chapters of this volume introduce a new concept in the Corps of a "black-ops" type operation, replete with a novel approach to the power of the green, and a distinct visual look. The character of Von Daggle (love that name - and fans of Legion of Superheroes will find a nugget here), is enigmatic and an interesting addition to GLC lore, and the chapters represent a strong reading experience due to the intriguing premise and strong villains. Keith Champagne's scripting here is excellent and I look forward to further work by this writer in this series. The final four chapters though are excellent in their own right, and the final two focusing on Guy Gardner's being framed for murder up the ante somewhat and provide an exciting finish to the volume. The infection of the lantern planet Mogo is a genuinely interesting and creepy plot development, and the writer of the other chapters, Dave Gibbons, takes his time developing the story organically, laying seeds in early chapters that have real payoffs in later ones.

The art by Patrick Gleason continues to be competent, and is steadily improving. Still too reliant on flashy, money-shot type panels instead of being focused on the clarity of his storytelling, for my liking, his figure work is nonetheless consistent and his characters are visually distinct and expressive. His backgrounds are also dense and his art, when he has the space, is genuinely dynamic and exciting. He's a capable penciller who is going from strength to strength, and he does some of his best work on the series in this volume. He is also assisted however, from time to time by the venerable and extremely impressive Dave Gibbons, penciller of Watchmen, among many other things. Gibbons pencil work continues to be a wonder, and could be used by art teachers or universities teaching comics, as a prime example of how to service a story with your pencil work. He's that good.

This volume is the strongest of the GLC volumes thus far, and that says a lot considering that there are newer volumes coming out that promise to be even more exciting and amazing. And I am not referring to the Sinestro Corps volumes that come after it, since those are stories mixed with Green Lantern ongoing series stories as well. "A Dark Side of Green" blends elements of space opera, horror, spy intrigue, with science fiction fantasy in a very satisfying way. It's a great volume of reading and really exploits the potential of the genius that is the concept of the GLC to its fullest potential. I highly recommend it.

A Darker Shade of Green continues Dave Gibbons' take on the Green Lantern Corps, as things begin to heat up in this TPB. It is revealed that the ever knowing, seemingly omnipotent Guardians are in knowledge of a super-secret faction of Lanterns, which sets up the superb epic The Sinestro Corps War, and eventually, Blackest Night. Prophecies are spewed, promises are made, and seeds are planted for some future, catastrophic events that may very well alter the Green Lantern Corps for the forseeable future. Problem is, A Darker Shade of Green doesn't really do much other than be a lead-in of sorts for the coming events. Still though, legendary Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons provides a solid and often compelling story that will hold your interest regardless. Other than some more sub-par art from Patrick Gleason, A Darker Shade of Green is a worthwhile read for Green Lantern fans, and serves as an interesting prelude to The Sinestro Corps War.

While the plot has already been explained I will say that this is a fun trade. The art is unique and a mix between cartoony and highly rendered. While the story can be of an intense nature it doesn't take its self too serious. This has the best of many worlds when it comes to graphic novels.

This book was pretty cool because of the new characters, action and information for future stories such as Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night.

The first arc of the book introduces Von Daggle, a Durlan that used to belong to a special unit on the Green Lantern called The Corpses. Those used to be kind of Black Ops on the galactic force. Pretty cool character. Cool, calmed, smart and strong. An alien Bruce Wayne, if you wish. We also meet R'amey Holl, which is Guy Gardner's new partner. I can see that both Daggle and Holl will be major players in future events, although I can't assure for now.

The second story is about a fongus affecting Mogo, the planet size Green Lantern, and by doing it is also affecting the ones who visit him. I found this half of the book pretty informative too given that we learn a bit about why Abin Sur (the dying alien who handl Hal Jordan with the ring) died. We can hear some of the "prophecy" that has been keeping The Guardians busy. Besides this, in Mogo, we learn the one thing Guy Gardner fears. Pretty cool, huh?.

I would get this book if you don't have it and if your interested in pave the way to Sinestro Corps and Blackest Night. Price is good and the story delivers. The art is good too. Not great but good.

The book introduces the "black ops" of the Green Lantern Corp, something that doesn't sit too well with Gardner. It's a great look into his concepts of justice and what his role in the corps is really about. Fun story for Guy Gardner fans.

This volume includes two solid green lantern corps adventures.

The first one, deals with a darker commando unit within the corps, known as "the corpse". In this story Guy Gardner deals with some very interesting moral issues about using deadly force, something that will come out again in the Sinestro Corps Wars. Ths second story shows the fungal attack on Mogo and the corps (including a crazy Killowog), and also prepares the way for the war.

All in all, the stories are well written and beautifully drawn.

While the general plot and storyline are pretty good the art by Patrick Gleason and Dave Gibbons takes some of the seriousness away from the book. The ultra-cartoony aspects of the art also make it hard to take in some of the scenes. I usually focus on the writing first but here its hard to avoid. Overall, just a decent read that could have been so much better.

This was a pretty solid book the art was solid. The story just introduces you more into the New Lanterns you were introduced to previously in the series. It also introduces a top secret division of the Corps that only the Guardains and memebers of the group know about. It also contains the prophecy of The Darkest Night which sets up the next big even following Sinestro Corps War.

I may be bias as I am a Hugh Green Lantern fan, but this is another great installment in the GL story line. It reveals a super secret division of the Corps, and also foreshadows the upcoming Sinestro Corps War. If you are a GL fan this trade has great art, and an interesting plot even though I consider it a "filler" of sorts.