Exit Stage Left....... Or Universe Left
Written By: Tom TaylorArt By: Scott McDaniel, Jack Herbert, Hi-Fi, Dave Sharpe
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: June 8, 2016
*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*
Even though I really enjoyed the last issue of this mini, I have to say that now that the whole shebang is said and done with this issue, this whole Lost Army/Edge of Oblivion thing, where our Lanterns are lost in a Universe that existed before our own has come off like a failed experiment. Now maybe this issue will be better and make up for everything that's come before and give purpose to an otherwise pointless series, but don't go holding your breath on that one. I mean, was all of this just to get Hal Jordan all by his lonesome so he could play Renegade? I certainly hope not because we all saw how that fared. In our previous issue we saw Guy Gardner kicking ass and taking names after him and a handful of Lanterns discovered that the giant ass protectors of this Universe's last city were actually Cthulu like monsters that were the ones responsible for this whole thing. The fight continues here as the Universe is on its final leg and our heroes desperately try to find a way back to their own Universe. Let's jump into this final issue of Edge of Oblivion and see if we get the resolution and answers to all the questions we've had since the Green Lantern Corps first disappeared. Let's check it out.
Explain It!:
Our final issue begins........ and pretty much continues throughout this story with a big ass fight scene, where our Lanterns are at first trying to take down the Blackest Knights with brute willful force, until they try to lure them down to the sentient planet known as Perduran, but more likely you'll know it as the Last City of this Universe. That's jumping a head a bit though.......... but really, not by much. This issue is all about seeing the Corps fighting as hard as they can to take these monsters down and since this is such a hairy situation, some of our Lanterns (luckily, none of the important ones) die. These deaths while a little touching with Guy Gardner's brief narration about how he knew each fallen Lantern does have a bright side and that's because when the rings fly off they don't shoot back to Mogo like they've been doing, but instead head straight for that big ass rift in space, where B'dg and Arisia were last seen and presumed dead.
Since there really isn't much of an option what with the Universe on the verge of dying and taking everyone still sticking around with it, Simon Baz decides that someone needs to check this rift out because all signs lead to this being the exit strategy our heroes were looking for........ It's going to have to be a leap of faith though because while Simon goes in and broadcasts back to Guy as long as he can, it's never determined in this book whether he made it back or not........ but since Simon and the rest of the Lanterns are out and about kicking ass and taking names in Rebirth, I'd say it's a good bet that he did. With no other options, but to follow Simon's lead, our Lantern heroes transport the people of the Last City onto Mogo, while the rest of our heroes first drive the Blackest Knights away and then try to lure them back because Perduran will hold them in this Universe while everyone else makes back to the Universe we all know and love........ but really, this feels like a way to pad out the book a bit because........ come on.
In the end, we really see little more than green beams of light and tentacles when it comes to the battle between the Lanterns and the Blackest Knights even though it's going on throughout the issue, but the bit we do see as the Lanterns try to drive the monsters back to Perduran is your usual fair, where they gather up their will to fight for everyone that they've lost or who they're trying to get back to. I'm just happy that we didn't end with everyone chanting the oath because that's as cliched as they come for a finale to a Green Lantern arc, but even though they didn't go that far, this ending is humdrum as hell because the Blackest Knights are pulled into the sentient planet and our heroes just simply go through the rift....... That's it. No explanation about why the Green Lanterns specifically where pulled into this Universe or even a callback to what happened to Relic and Krona. It's just done and I just hope that Rebirth gives us something.
That's it for this finale to Edge of Oblivion and besides for Guy giving some touching narration throughout the book and the oh so common ra-ra speech that got our Lanterns turning the dial of their willpower up to eleven.......... there isn't much else to this book. After getting such a wonderful issue previously I really had high hopes that Tom Taylor would end this mini on a high note, but it's little more than our Lanterns just exiting stage left after a big ass battle, which because of the points of narration that we followed, we didn't really get to see anything at all. I just feel really let down with this because not only did we end Lost Army with no explanations at all, but now we ended the second leg of that story with knowing only that our Lanterns make it home and we only know that because Rebirth books have come out and told us.......... We don't even get the resolution of knowing that our heroes made it back at the end of this book and that's crazy to me. Just a real let down and even though the art was easy enough to follow and did its job, I can't say that I was a real fan of the style....... So yeah, not a lot going on here.
Bits and Pieces:
Edge of Oblivion comes to an end........ and that's about all it does because if you were waiting for any kind of explanation about what went down with our Lantern heroes and why they ended up in this Universe that existed before their own........ well keep waiting because you won't find that here. This is a very humdrum finale to a series that didn't offer us much to begin with and all I can really be thankful for is that it's finally over and we can get back to some Green Lantern Corps fun now that Rebirth is out and about.
Since there really isn't much of an option what with the Universe on the verge of dying and taking everyone still sticking around with it, Simon Baz decides that someone needs to check this rift out because all signs lead to this being the exit strategy our heroes were looking for........ It's going to have to be a leap of faith though because while Simon goes in and broadcasts back to Guy as long as he can, it's never determined in this book whether he made it back or not........ but since Simon and the rest of the Lanterns are out and about kicking ass and taking names in Rebirth, I'd say it's a good bet that he did. With no other options, but to follow Simon's lead, our Lantern heroes transport the people of the Last City onto Mogo, while the rest of our heroes first drive the Blackest Knights away and then try to lure them back because Perduran will hold them in this Universe while everyone else makes back to the Universe we all know and love........ but really, this feels like a way to pad out the book a bit because........ come on.
In the end, we really see little more than green beams of light and tentacles when it comes to the battle between the Lanterns and the Blackest Knights even though it's going on throughout the issue, but the bit we do see as the Lanterns try to drive the monsters back to Perduran is your usual fair, where they gather up their will to fight for everyone that they've lost or who they're trying to get back to. I'm just happy that we didn't end with everyone chanting the oath because that's as cliched as they come for a finale to a Green Lantern arc, but even though they didn't go that far, this ending is humdrum as hell because the Blackest Knights are pulled into the sentient planet and our heroes just simply go through the rift....... That's it. No explanation about why the Green Lanterns specifically where pulled into this Universe or even a callback to what happened to Relic and Krona. It's just done and I just hope that Rebirth gives us something.
That's it for this finale to Edge of Oblivion and besides for Guy giving some touching narration throughout the book and the oh so common ra-ra speech that got our Lanterns turning the dial of their willpower up to eleven.......... there isn't much else to this book. After getting such a wonderful issue previously I really had high hopes that Tom Taylor would end this mini on a high note, but it's little more than our Lanterns just exiting stage left after a big ass battle, which because of the points of narration that we followed, we didn't really get to see anything at all. I just feel really let down with this because not only did we end Lost Army with no explanations at all, but now we ended the second leg of that story with knowing only that our Lanterns make it home and we only know that because Rebirth books have come out and told us.......... We don't even get the resolution of knowing that our heroes made it back at the end of this book and that's crazy to me. Just a real let down and even though the art was easy enough to follow and did its job, I can't say that I was a real fan of the style....... So yeah, not a lot going on here.
Bits and Pieces:
Edge of Oblivion comes to an end........ and that's about all it does because if you were waiting for any kind of explanation about what went down with our Lantern heroes and why they ended up in this Universe that existed before their own........ well keep waiting because you won't find that here. This is a very humdrum finale to a series that didn't offer us much to begin with and all I can really be thankful for is that it's finally over and we can get back to some Green Lantern Corps fun now that Rebirth is out and about.
4.5/10
For the most part, I thought the art was strong during this series. It was nice to see some depth added to Guy Gardner's character. It was long overdue.
ReplyDeleteHuge GL nerd here with a small complaint - what bothered me most was the presence of dead Lantern drawn in the background. I appreciate the artist using already established GLs in the background art, but do some quick fact checking before you add well known, but dead, Lanterns like KeHann, Galys Zed, Chaselon, KT-21, and Boodikka in your shots.
ReplyDeleteDC fact checking has not been strong lately! They must have gotten out the Big Book of Lanterns and just grabbed whomever they thought looked cool...throw caution (and continuity) to the wind!!!
DeleteNot that the art is bad but that kind of art looks better in a TMNT book, right Jim. I had to laugh when Kilowag said "they're carving us up, John". How were the Blackest Knights killing them?? They showed one lantern being grabbed by a giant tentacle so I assume that's how. That perfectly sums up this whole storyline, lots and lots of assuming.
ReplyDeleteYes, TMNT art rocks in TMNT books. And don't you go assuming...
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