Art by: Xermánico
Colors by: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters by: Dave Sharpe
Cover art by: Steve Beach
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: March 12, 2024
Green Lantern #9 uncovers the truth behind Hal's new ring when he crosses paths with an old friend who leads him to a failsafe and a new era for the Green Lantern Corps.
Is Green Lantern #9 Good?
Yes, this is better. Jeremy Adams has done his level best to get the Green Lanterns back on track after the wonkiness of Thorne's run. While the series got off to a slow but promising start, interrupted by the ill-conceived Knight Terrors, now we're hitting a stride that makes sense and promises clear potential in Green Lantern #9.
When last we left Hal Jordan, his search for answers about his mysterious new ring led to a temporary partnering with Razer, the revelation that Lantern Batteries across the galaxy are being destroyed, that UP Lanterns can change colors, and that Madame Xanadu's hoodoo voodoo contains a clue about where to go next. It was a little messy and rushed, but Adams got all the info out.
Is Green Lantern #9 Good?
Yes, this is better. Jeremy Adams has done his level best to get the Green Lanterns back on track after the wonkiness of Thorne's run. While the series got off to a slow but promising start, interrupted by the ill-conceived Knight Terrors, now we're hitting a stride that makes sense and promises clear potential in Green Lantern #9.
When last we left Hal Jordan, his search for answers about his mysterious new ring led to a temporary partnering with Razer, the revelation that Lantern Batteries across the galaxy are being destroyed, that UP Lanterns can change colors, and that Madame Xanadu's hoodoo voodoo contains a clue about where to go next. It was a little messy and rushed, but Adams got all the info out.
Now, Hal flies to South America to track down the source of his ring's power. There, he encounters longtime GL ally Tom Kalmaku and current New Guardian, who shows Hal what he's been searching for. The Guardians of OA placed a Green Lantern Battery and a new set of rings in a secret cavern deep underground to begin a new Green Lantern Corps on Earth if Oa should ever fall. Humans have an "excess of Will," according to the Guardians, so starting a new Corps on Earth with all the Earth-based Lanterns now has a place, a purpose, and a design.
Hal uses his new (permanent) ring to head to Oa to warn the UP about potential rogue guardians who can shift their colors. He's captured by overwhelming numbers and brought to the Science Cells for a hearing, but he's soon rescued by probably the next GL up for recruitment - Jo Mullein.
What's great about Green Lantern #9? For a while now, the Green Lantern titles have suffered under brokenness and uncertainty about the status of the Corps and the assortment of Lanterns. This issue goes a long way toward answering the current questions and "fixing" the pre-existing problems that make writing current Green Lantern stories so difficult. The answers are good. Clarity is good. Combined, Adams establishes a new status quo that's ripe with storytelling possibilities.
What's not so great about Green Lantern #9? Tom Kalmaku's return feels shortchanged. If you think it's not a big deal, it's not so much that Tom is the greatest character ever who needs a dedicated series but that Tom's presence as a New Guardian should be explained more than "I did my part, so I'm going home now." What does it mean to be a New Guardian? Is there a new connection between the Green and the new Battery? Shouldn't Tom be spearheading the establishment of a new Council of Guardians? Why bring Tom in just to discard him almost immediately? It's a wasted opportunity.
How's the art? Excellent. I'd be surprised to ever see a bad panel from Xermánico, so you're in good hands. The visuals pop, the acting is on-point, and the ring-slinging looks great.
Backup Story
If you like eight pages of Jessica Cruz talking like she's a middle school TikTok influencer from Southern California, you can skip it without missing anything.
Hal uses his new (permanent) ring to head to Oa to warn the UP about potential rogue guardians who can shift their colors. He's captured by overwhelming numbers and brought to the Science Cells for a hearing, but he's soon rescued by probably the next GL up for recruitment - Jo Mullein.
What's great about Green Lantern #9? For a while now, the Green Lantern titles have suffered under brokenness and uncertainty about the status of the Corps and the assortment of Lanterns. This issue goes a long way toward answering the current questions and "fixing" the pre-existing problems that make writing current Green Lantern stories so difficult. The answers are good. Clarity is good. Combined, Adams establishes a new status quo that's ripe with storytelling possibilities.
What's not so great about Green Lantern #9? Tom Kalmaku's return feels shortchanged. If you think it's not a big deal, it's not so much that Tom is the greatest character ever who needs a dedicated series but that Tom's presence as a New Guardian should be explained more than "I did my part, so I'm going home now." What does it mean to be a New Guardian? Is there a new connection between the Green and the new Battery? Shouldn't Tom be spearheading the establishment of a new Council of Guardians? Why bring Tom in just to discard him almost immediately? It's a wasted opportunity.
How's the art? Excellent. I'd be surprised to ever see a bad panel from Xermánico, so you're in good hands. The visuals pop, the acting is on-point, and the ring-slinging looks great.
Backup Story
If you like eight pages of Jessica Cruz talking like she's a middle school TikTok influencer from Southern California, you can skip it without missing anything.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces:
Green Lantern #9 is the issue that pays off what's been lacking in this series - meaningful answers. With a new status quo for all GLs and badly needed canon fixes, Adams is on the right track to get the Green Lanterns back to their place of prominence in the galaxy.
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Bits and Pieces:
Green Lantern #9 is the issue that pays off what's been lacking in this series - meaningful answers. With a new status quo for all GLs and badly needed canon fixes, Adams is on the right track to get the Green Lanterns back to their place of prominence in the galaxy.
8.5/10
I was very positive with this series and do not consider the previous issues (except knight terrors which came out of nowhere and went nowhere) a slow start. The pacing was fine. Ironically this issue though was the weakest in the series for me because while I do know who Tom is and the reference but it's very clunky here and his appearance wasn't explained very well. ( A point which you brought up in your review and I agree with except for me it brought down the issue way more since a lot of stuff that happened was because of this setup in this issue). I also do not like the convenient solution of the guardians having a secret bunker on earth of all the planets in the galaxy. Even if some of their top officers are from this planet, this could have been set up more + doesn't necessarily mean earth itself is a safe place for headquarters (considering it is getting attacked by alien forces and from within every Tuesday in this world). Besides am I missing something or is this the first time the green light of the emotional spectrum has been connected to the green? I know a bit about Alan Scott kinda being related but had not read anything about the green lanterns and guardians being related. Always thought the green was an earth exclusive thing but maybe I am wrong, I just remember some vague stuff from Animal Man.
ReplyDeleteAs for the backup, putting aside the insufferable dialogue and tone, I do like the idea of the story. This little stories we get about how across the galaxy different lanterns are banding together to fix their corp is actually an interesting and sensible story, Just the actual execution was lacking in this one because of the flippant tone which takes away from the tension and investment and coolness of the plot.
I like Adams previous work on Flash, I want to like this, but the GL mythos is getting confusing and convoluted - mixing the Green with the lantern battery was odd, but acceptable in terms of the story - I want to like this run more than I actually do, DC has created a rainbow of GL characters and its hard to reinvent the wheel...
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