Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: To Be a Lantern

(Author), Patrick Gleason (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Along with Hal Jordan, the daring test pilot who protects Earth as Green Lantern, there is an entire corps of Green Lanterns scattered across the galaxy, each defending their own homeworlds at the command of the powerful Guardians of the Universe.

Now, in the wake of events with tore the Lanterns asunder, the Corps lives again in these amazing new adventures brought to you by writer Dave Gibbons (WATCHMEN).

From the Guardians' citadel on the planet Oa, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, formerly of Earth, is assigned against his will to a feudal world of shadows and sudden death. Across the galaxy, new Lanterns discover what it means to wear the Corps insignia, as their courage is tested to the limit.

About the Author

Dave Gibbons is one of Britain's finest comic artists, whose most famous work is the multi-award-winning Watchmen. Since then he has drawn series including Batman, Doctor Who and Give Me Liberty, and has written Batman vs. Predator, Green Lantern and World's Finest, as well as his own graphic novel The Originals. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (May 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401213561
• ISBN-13: 978-1401213565
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #156,777 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent enough Green Lantern yarn, August 9, 2007

By	N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Picking up where Green Lantern Corps: Recharge left off, To Be a Lantern focuses on Lanterns Guy Gardner, Kilowog, and the rookie Lanterns introduced in the aforementioned book as the guardians of the universe are dispatched across the universe. There's nothing really substanscial about To Be a Lantern, and it's not really as compelling as Recharge was (mostly thanks to writer Dave Gibbons, mainly known as the artist of the legendary Watchmen, not having Geoff Johns as a co-plotter here), but the overall story has it's share of charm, and Green Lantern fans new and old alike will enjoy this story regardless. Patrick Gleason's artwork is enjoyable as well, with an assist from veteran Green Lantern inker Prentis Rollins that only improves upon Gleason's foundations. All in all, To Be a Lantern doesn't really do much to expand the Green Lantern mythos, but it doesn't try to either, and in that regard alone, this book is a fun and enjoyable ride nevertheless.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars To be a lantern fan!, June 11, 2009

By	Axel (St. Lucia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

The idea of the Green Lantern Corps is one of the genuine genius concepts in comics. 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. Lanterns know no fear, or are at least able to overcome it.

This volume collects the first six issues of the relaunched Green Lantern Corps (GLC) series and represents a collection of strong, fast paced storytelling with excellent characterization, built around a fantastic concept and a likeable cast. Dave Gibbons manages to make each of his cast members distinct, and the stories all literally revolve around the idea of what it costs to be a Green Lantern. The first three issues in particular are extremely strong, and focused around the wonderful new addition of Lantern Dr. Soranik Natu. There's some intrigue and a murder mystery, which despite being slightly predictable is nonetheless enjoyable and entertaining. The last three issues generally focus on Guy Gardner and are somewhat less enjoyable, though still fairly entertaining. As a whole, the collection gives you a very good idea about the potential of a series built around a large rotating cast of uniformed space police with a powerful, sentient weapon on their hands.

Artistically, we have duties here by both Patrick Gleason and Dave Gibbons. Gibbons draws the final three issues and is simply one of the most talented, gifted, and consistently strong pencillers to grace a comic page. His work here is up to his usual level, and evidences the strong clarity of storytelling Gibbons is known for. Although some of the inkers on his issues make his work a little more "scratchy" than I'd like, his style is so distinct that their fiddling doesn't detract from it too much.

The main penciller for the series though is Patrick Gleason, who is a talened penciller with some glaring weaknesses. On the plus side, he's no slouch on his backgrounds, and his work is highly detailed and convincing. His figure work is strong, and his characters are distinct and expressive. Unfortunately, Gleason routinely sacrifices clarity of storytelling for flashy images that take up lots of space. The result is that on some pages, he is forced to use very small panels to deal with key events, and your abilty to follow along as a reader is sometimes hampered. Generally though, the work is strong.

To Be a Lantern is a volume every GLC fan should own, and is a satisfying collection of solid, science fiction tales focused on a genuis concept of cops in space. Anyone interested in space, aliens, is intrigued by the Green Lantern concept, or is just a fan of science fiction generally should definitely check it out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not Great, July 31, 2007

By	Thor-El Kent (California) - See all my reviews

This new volume picks up where "Recharge" leaves off. The new Lanterns are off and running on new adventures with Guy, Kilowog, and Salakk the only veterans really focused on. This is probably the volume's greatest weakness. There is too much focus on the rookies and not enough on the veterans. When you compare this to Geoff Johns' "Revenge of the Green Lanterns" the weakness glares even sharper. The brief appearance/return of Arisia, Boodikka, Ke'haan and other veterans in "Revenge" shows how visually and conceptually unique Lanterns can be. These new recruits simply fail to measure up. On its own, without comparison to "Revenge" this is a decent volume. The rookies' adventures, while not epic, are mildly entertaining. I do not regret the purchase.