Green Lantern – “Agent Orange” (DC)

Writer: Geoff Johns | Artist: Philip Tan, w. Eddy Barrows (#3-4), Ivan Reis (Origins & Omens), Rafael Albuquerque (Tales of Orange Lanterns: Weed Killer) | Inks: Jonathan Glapion, w. Ruy José (#3-4), Julio Ferreira (#3), Oclair Albert (Origins & Omens)

It’s the prelude to Blackest Night as the War of Light continues to intensify! Mongul attempts to establish his hold on the Sinestro Corps by enslaving the planet Daxam and making it the home world of his Corps. What does Sinestro’s right hand man, Arkillo, think of all this? And will Sodam Yat, the Green Lantern known as Ion, fight to save his homeworld, which he’s vowed to never return to?

Collects: Green Lantern #39-42

So. Very little of what’s mentioned in the synopsis bears any resemblance to what’s actually in this book. Mongul and Arkillo, certainly, don’t feature at all. Regardless, Sodam Yat’s return to his homeworld is a feature, and has major repercussions for what the Green Lantern Corps is about to experience. This is another great book. The prelude to Blackest Night (which I’ve already read), this book collects the final issues of the pre-New 52 Green Lantern series. And they’re damned good.

“Blackest Night” (DC)

Writer: Geoff Johns | Artist: Ivan Reis | Inks: Oclair Albert, with Rob Hunter (Prologue), Julio Ferreira (#2) & Joe Prado (#3-8) | Colors: Alex Sinclair

Throughout the decades, death has plagued the DC Universe and taken the lives of heroes and villains alike. But to what end? As the War between the different colored Lantern Corps rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends and it’s up to Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps to lead DC’s greatest champions in a battle to save the Universe from an army of undead Black Lanterns made up of fallen Green Lanterns and DC’s deceased heroes and villains.

Collects: Blackest Night #0-8

This book is, in a word, epic. The story, the action, the consequences are incredible. Unfortunately, that also makes it a little tricky to review. This is set shortly before the New 52 re-launch, and taps into (as far as I can tell) every DC Comics title. The story is very fast-paced, and I couldn’t put it down. It is also, however, a tricky review: given how quickly things start to spiral and take on a life of their own, I have decided to keep story-elements to a minimum.