Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #45 Review and **SPOILERS**

Join or Guy

Writer: Robert Vendetti 

Artist: Ethan Van Sciver 

Colorist: Jason Wright 

Letterer: Dave Sharpe 

Cover: Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza and Wil Quintana 

Assistant Editor: Andrew Marino

Editor: Brian Cunningham 

Cover Price: $2.99 

On Sale Date: May 23, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Don’t you think the Darkstars should have an application process? It’s cool that they specifically recruit new members, but there should really be some kind of “rush week” for folks looking to join, but who haven’t yet committed themselves to murderous justice. Maybe they’re just looking for the right organization to give them the opportunities! This must be covered under Equal Opportunity Employment laws. Hey, why not read my review of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #45, right here? Maybe it will help you on the Darkstars test later.

Explain It!

This may very well be the most difficult review I’ve ever had to pad out. This issue picks up directly from the previous one, and three things happen: Hal is able to extricate Hector Hammond from Stryker’s Island Penitentiary, Guy Gardner secures Arkillo’s help against the Darkstars and then joins ‘em, and John appeals to Zod’s narcissism to get his aid against the Darkstars. As for Kyle and the New Gods, we don’t see ‘em, but I bet they’re getting along just fine. And that’s about it. Interactions between Guy and Arkillo still rule, and Guy joining up with the Darkstars despite getting Arkillo on his side was unexpected. John’s interaction with Zod and his family is fairly unmemorable and more than a little mean for John Stewart.

I guess Hal Jordan’s freeing Hector Hammond is the most interesting bit, in that it involves Atomic Skull and Hector being gleeful at finally becoming a hero. But I just described it in a sentence. There are nuances, but barely enough to bother the cover price for this comic. Shall I rail against the mandatory six-issue story arc again? Once again, it has left an issue or two bereft of content. Nice to see Ethan Van Sciver on the interior of this comic book, but to be honest after weeks of Tomeu Morey on colors, it’s tough to go back to something more “standard.” Still, Van Sciver is an adept storyteller, and there are some very dynamic sequences in this issue.

Dear DC Comics: if you continue to pad stories out to fill six-issue trade collections, you will sell fewer comics over time. This is not a threat, nor is it a guarantee that if you allow shorter story arcs that sales will increase. But anyone reading this series regularly—that is, twice a flipping month—has to be feeling ripped off about now. Hardly anything happens worth mentioning in this issue, and since the villains recruited to aid the Green Lanterns against the Darkstars were already revealed, this thing falls really flat. The six-issue story arc is killing comics. Please reconsider this injurious and depressing practice.

Bits and Pieces:

Some nice interactions and a smattering of intrigue save this issue from being a complete wash, as this story continues to move at a glacial pace. The mandatory six-issue story arc is killing comic book enthusiasm. It's impossible to build momentum in a story that happens in such small increments.

6/10