Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #24 Review and **SPOILERS**

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The Sentence for Murdering a Killer is Death

Writer: Robert Vendetti 

Artist: Ethan Van Sciver 

Colorist: Jason Wright 

Letterer: Dave Sharpe 

Cover: Van Sciver and Wright 

Cover Price: $2.99 

On Sale Date: July 12, 2017

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

We’ve got a hot-headed Green Lantern, an orderly and militaristic Green Lantern, a loudmouth brawling Green Lantern, and a sensitive goofball Green Lantern…uh, plus two other Green Lanterns that aren’t normally in this series. What we’re missing, however, is a swashbuckling Green Lantern in the model of Flash Gordon. Someone that cruises around in a flying dildo, skewers ugly aliens with his ring constructs, and grabs half-clad damsels onto said flying dildo for future space adventures. Because “Space Opera” doesn’t have to mean “Space Soap Opera.” Capisce? Okay, enough venting in the intro, let’s check out my review of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #24 and see if I’m made to look the fool!

Explain It!

Now that we know that Tomar-Tu killed Sinestro Corps kiddie murderer Romat-Ru, we get to see a flashback of the actual event, and it looks like Fantas-M was there the whole time. Furthermore, Romat-Ru surrendered himself to Tomar-Tu, albet with lots of sarcastic and sadistic remarks. So Tomar-Tu incinerated him with his Lantern ring, then held Romat-Ru’s yellow ring in emerald stasis so no one would find out about his crime. Fantas-M agrees not to snitch, but suggests that he may be tortured by this secret, especially since to keep the yellow ring from finding a new recipient Tomar-Tu has to stay awake constantly. How long did he think he could keep this up? Did he think he’d just stay awake forever? Or did he figure the yellow ring would be released upon Tomar-Tu’s death, when his culpability wouldn’t matter anymore? I can’t help but feel he didn’t think this through.

Hal Jordan almost seems reason to keep a lid on this whole thing, but Tomar-Tu agrees to confess and take his punishment like, uh, some kind of anthropomorphic squid/sunfish? I was never clear. I’m thinking all he really wanted was some sleep. John Stewart is sort of freaking out about this thing that threatens to shatter the peace between the Sinestro and Green Lantern Corps, so he tells Hal to keep Tomar-Tu under wraps until he gets back. He goes to Bolphunga in the Sciencells to tell him that Guy and Arkillo wrecked his secret hideout last issue and took their evidence of Tomar-Tu killing Romat-Ru, and Bolphunga rightly thinks John is there to tie up loose ends…of Bolphunga’s esophagus. John Stewart isn’t there to kill him, though, but to advise that his whole criminal clique will learn that he tried to broker a deal with the Green Lantern Corps and leave all his buddies twisting in the wind. I think most of them would probably say, “Yeah, sounds like Bolphunga alright.”

Meanwhile on Mogo, Soranik found out that Sarko is her and Kyle’s dead kid from the future, and she is pissed off at him. Kyle explains that he was trying to forestall Sarko’s time-traveling plan by getting Soranik to join the Green Lanterns…which is a strange concept since that was literally one of the exact things that led Sarko to want to destroy the Green Lantern and Sinestro Corps in the first place. I guess Kyle doesn’t know this, though. Soranik is more pissed that she performed an autopsy on a guy, only to discover he was her son. She goes nuts beating up Kyle, who doesn’t even suit up to defend himself, and finally she burns a Sinestro Corps symbol into his chest to remind him that, uh, Soranik is a bad-ass. Guy finds him in this condition and seems amped to avenge his badly burned buddy, just as John Stewart makes a public announcement about Tomar-Tu’s crime—and now the entire Sinestro Corps is calling for his head!

There was something a little off about the pacing in this issue…the transition between scenes with John Stewart and Kyle Rayner was just slightly jarring. That’s a middling point, however, about a pretty good issue. I liked seeing the details of the actual murder, which could be considered justified by some. I’m also enjoying John Stewart’s role as a judicious leader, instead of a proud Marine grunt that makes ordinance out of Green Lantern constructs. The stuff between Soranik and Kyle is okay, I guess it sort of has to play itself out, but knowing what we know about where there relationship will eventually go, some of the bite is lost. Unless the future is unwritten now that Kyle has screwed things up with his foreknowledge? Meh. I still only care a little bit. More Guy and Arkillo, please.

Bits and Pieces:

John Stewart has all the facts about this peace-shattering murder that Bolphunga tried to lord over him, and...well, it's unclear that justice is served. Something is served, but it may well be a Green Lantern's head on a platter before all is said and done. Another enjoyable issue about the office politics of the Sinestro and Green Lantern Corps, but I swear if we spend the next twelve issues on Mogo in some trial or something, I'm going to grab Volthoom from the Green Lanterns comic and lay waste to the whole thing.

7.5/10