Smallville: Lantern #3 Review

Written by: Brian Q. Miller
Art by: Marcio Takara
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date:  March 28, 2014

It's Not Easy Being Green

Oliver Queen is "Green" with envy, but him and the police have no idea what hit them.  Superman finds out why he was chosen and enjoys The Rise and Fall of the Green Lantern Corps documentary. Too many Lanterns in sector 2813 is something that everyone should be very afraid of.

To say I have been underwhelmed by Smallville: Lantern is an overstatement.  I have enjoyed it, but by Smallville standards, Bryan Q. Miller has been taking his time heating things up.  Well, issue 3 heats them up to scorching.  I'm so happy to tell you that we are in "Holy Cow, You have to read this" territory once again.



Oliver Queen starts things off and he is hilarious.  He is actually jealous of Superman not because the most powerful being in the Universe now has the ultimate weapon as well.  Nope, he is jealous Superman is the color Green.  That's his thing, you know.  Certain authors really make me love Oliver and Bryan Q. Miller is one of them (for the record, Tom Taylor is another).  Throw in a one-liner by Chloe that had me laughing out loud and I already knew we had a winner this week.

Then things got real.  The first of two huge reveals happens.  Last issue, Superman used excessive force when battling some bank robbers.  It was a little scene I thought Miller was using to show how Superman couldn't control the ring.  This issue reveals it was so much more.  Something bigger was behind it and it was all intentional.  It's also awesome.

Next, Superman (and the reader) are given a tour through the history of the Smallville Green Lantern Corps. Miller does it so well and in a couple of pages we are up to speed with the who, what and where of this Green Lantern Corps.  Also, the reader is given such a good reason why the ring picked Superman and why it's happening now.

If everything that just happened wasn't enough (an it was), Miller finishes with a knockout punch of a cliffhanger that is smart and so exciting.  This book is about to explode.


Bits and Pieces:

Smallville: Lantern was off to a slower start, but that changed with this issue.  Bryan Q. Miller hits the reader with two huge reveals, a history of the Green Lantern Corp and some awesome Oliver Queen humor.  A weekly book has no right being this jam packed.  Highly recommended.

9.8/10