Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #50 Review and **SPOILERS**

You’ve Been Jordaned

Writer: Robert Vendetti 

Penciller: Rafa Sandoval 

Inker: Jordi Tarragona 

Colorist: Tomeu Morey 

Letterer: Dave Sharpe 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: August 8, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Yes, the Green Lantern series, starring John Stewart but featuring Hal Jordan in the title, has come to a close. But fret not! There’s some more Green Lantern stuff around the bend. And Green Lanterns is going to continue I think? I really need to pay more attention to comics news. For now, check out my review of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #50, right here!

Explain It!

It isn’t every day that a comic book series reaches 50 issues. Heck, it isn’t every day that a mainstream comic book reaches 20 issues, much less a bi-monthly number that implies two full years of publication. It’s something to be celebrated, and this achievement should be a bittersweet moment for fans of the series in question. The final, 50^th issue of a comic should include some nostalgic memories, some familiar character moments, and hopefully a knowing wink to the reader at the end. These should be well-earned incidences, that will leave the reader with a sense of satisfaction at having read so many issues for a nice pay-off at the end.

What we get, instead, is the end of this Darkstars story, which ran too long and was devoid of any actual stakes from the outset. Using Hector Hammond, Hal does the same willpower burst that destroyed Sinestro and Warworld back at the beginning of this series, and this burst takes over the Darkstars, wrecking their armors. And that is about it, folks. A super-spike in willpower, and what was couched as the single-greatest threat to space is concluded. Why is this an oversized issue? Why are we still mired in this story? Using this gimmick from earlier in the series only highlights how many loose threads have never been pursued, like Sinestro’s return (in the pages of Superman and Action Comics), or Soranik Natu taking a band of Yellow Lanterns to…who knows where, to do who knows what. Instead of a knowing wink at the end, we’re left with the feeling that we’ve been taken by a huckster.

Visually, this book is amazing, and this final issue makes great use of my favorite GL art team of Sandoval, Tarragona, and Morey. There are space battle scenes that are absolutely amazing and can be enjoyed completely by themselves. But these scenes are devoid of any meaningful story content. This arc, and indeed this entire series, is the definition of five pounds of crap in a ten-pound bag. What a disappointment.

Bits and Pieces:

The big conclusion turns out to be a dud, as nothing of import happens except for concluding the final arc. An Absolute edition of this series might be worthwhile for the artwork alone. But in terms of narrative, this issue was a microcosm for the title as a whole: no real stakes, and a convenient conclusion that is unearned. What a shame.

6/10