COMICS IN THE CAN- Episode XXVI (Green Lantern #29)

COMICS IN THE CAN
I used to have time to read my comics in a coffee shop. Now I have to read them in the bathroom. Then I write reviews of them. I wash my hands in between.

GREEN LANTERN #29

In this issue! Hal Jordan gets humble! Saint Walker feels hopeless! And there’s an Alien Catfish Green Lantern that finds stuff!

In the last issue of what one would call the flagship title of the Green Lantern line of books a whole crap-ton of stuff happened. You may recall my complaining about the packaging of the issue as a flip book with the same numbered Red Lanterns issue in a previous review. Well, the FIVE of you that actually read the review would. The rest of you johnny-come-latelys just need to know that the following things occurred (in no particular order):

Supergirl became a Red Lantern.

Hal Jordan gave Space Sector 2814 (where Earth is) to the Red Lanterns to patrol.

The above deal included leaving ONLY ONE Green Lantern on Earth: Simon Baz. The new guy. That used to be a terrorist.

Ah, you say to yourself, “this issue must be about the likes of Kilowog and Simon Baz and Salakk ripping Hal a new one for making such crappy deals. “ No. “Oh, then these questionable decisions must at least be referred to in this comic and discussed in a civilized…” No. Not even. Nowhere close.  It’s like it’s been the status quo for months in the GL world. Surely SURELY one of these guys would have SOMETHING to say about Hal’s choice. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Maybe DC’s saving THOSE conversations for an Annual.

So what happens of note in this book? Hal, in a rare moment of humility, actually realizes he can’t run the whole universe-spanning Green Lantern Corps all by himself and establishes an advisory board slash war council featuring Salakk, Kilowog and some alien female new recruit. This is after he has the requisite emotional talk with his brother in Coast City to tell him about the new arrangement above and introduce him to Simon Baz who will be keeping an eye out for him.

Back on Mogo, Hal puts together a strike team to take out the guildsmen who are making the light-draining weapons (leftovers from Relic a few crossovers back) for the Khund or whoever (lots of alien races in this book, difficult to keep track) . What makes this not the average sweep in and kick ass GL fight is the new reputation that the Corps has gotten thanks to the shapeshifter’s actions that were attributed universally to Hal. So Hal actually acts like a mature adult for a change and keeps the rest of his team from taking their frustrations out on the guildsmen. He shows some character growth and realizes that the corps’ reputation needs to be healed along with the war being fought. Taking the high road and all that hullabaloo and ballyhoo.

“Wait”, you say, “I was told there would be talk of an alien catfish Green Lantern. That’s the ONLY reason I read the above rambling prattle”. Well, hold on to your Po’ Boys because I don’t know if this guy is new, but I do know that he is AWESOME. I mean, he looks like a Catfish, he talks, he wears a Green Lantern uniform and a ring on one of his fins. To hell with the various squirrel lanterns, this guy is the new hotness. Mark my words, you will see big things from him. And not just that he found the stash of shape shifting meds or polyjuice potion or whatever the Durlan has been using to hide out on Mogo, BIG things.