Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #16 Review and **SPOILERS**

There Was an Arkillo that Swallowed a Guy

Writer: Robert Vendetti

Penciller: Rafa Sandoval

Inker: Jordi Tarragona

Colorist: Tomeu Morey

Letterer: Dave Sharpe

Cover: Sandoval, Tarragona, Morey

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: March 8, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Do you think that the United States is so politically divided because they don’t show the Filmation Green Lantern cartoons on television any more?

I feel like we’ve lost something. Maybe we can find it in my review of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #16, right here!

Explain It!

The order to round up wayward Sinestro Corps members is in effect, and two-being teams of Yellow and Green Lanterns are all around the galaxy, arresting ring offenders. They’re given the chance to join the good side or get thrown in Science Cells, so I think we know which way most of them lean. The same deal can’t be made for Arkillo on Planet Heep, however: once Sinestro’s right-hand…er, person, he would never turn to the side of law and order. And besides, Guy Gardner has a score to settle with him—and he wants to square off in a fair fight! Without rings, I mean! Which actually isn’t fair at all because Arkillo is like a full foot taller and about two hundred pounds heavier than Guy Gardner! But whatever, I guess!

Arkillo thinks he’s killed Guy with one punch—as would I, to be honest, but this only makes Guy recall the abuse at the hands of his father that he experienced as a kid. Here’s where a recap won’t do the story justice, so I won’t even try. But suffice to say, it’s a bit of a tear-jerker and gives a lot of insight into Guy Gardner’s defiant, resilient attitude. The exquisite artwork (and goopy blood) by Rafa Sandoval doesn’t hurt the proceedings any, mind you. Despite taking a severe beatdown, Guy is actually able to get Arkillo to yield, pretty much right when John Stewart, Soranik Natu, and Space Cabbie show up, so he can brag about it later without compunction. Which isn’t likely, because on the last page Guy Gardner is dead.

But let’s remember that Kyle Rayner is sort of an expert at this sort of thing. Speaking of whom, he, Hal and Saint Walker return to Mogo elsewhere in the issue, and Ganthet and Sayd have a special, unnamed task for the Blue Lantern. But the main story in this issue is obviously the one about Guy Gardner’s childhood, and I think it was handled pretty well. I didn’t have the same experience as a kid, but I definitely felt the same kind of helplessness and frustration, emotions channeled expertly in Sandoval’s facial expressions. It’s probably owing to how much I like Guy Gardner as a character, but I enjoyed this issue quite a lot. I hope we see some more character development in this series going forward.

Bits and Pieces:

There's some good character development for Guy Gardner in this issue, handled expertly in terms of plotting and art. This was my favorite issue of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps in recent memory, and I think it had to do with it not pulling my attention to other plots the whole time. Keep it up, we could use some more development for our otherwise one-dimensional Lantern crew.

8/10