Green Lantern #14 review

There’s an awful lot going on in this Absolute Power tie-in, and it’s awfully good.

Yes, I sound like an Enid Blyton character, but I loved this comic. There’s so much happening courtesy of writer Jeremy Adams and it’s beautifully presented by penciller Fernando Pasarin, inker Oclair Albert, colourist Romulo Fajardo Jr and letterer Dave Sharpe.

So what’s happening? Well, Hal Jordan has escaped from confinement in the Genoshan prison for superheroes and villains and is on the run from Amanda Waller’s goons. Yes, he’s powerless, but he’s also fearless, and his long membership of the Justice League means he knows a useful super-weapon when he sees one. Even something as seemingly daft as Condiment King’s guns

Elsewhere in the facility, elder Green Lantern Alan Scott has freely submitted to capture by one of the power-sucking Amazo droids Waller has used in her world takeover.

Otherwhere, in the Tower of Fate, Alan’s Justice Society friends are working out their next move, having saved sometime Star Sapphire Carol Ferris from capture.

And on Oa, the Durlans posing as United Planets Council members are listening to President Thaaros, legally elected but the man behind the takeover plan which has led to the death of millions.

Each vignette is full of intrigue or action, there’s even humour despite the dire straits in which the heroes find themselves. Working within the outlines of Mark Waid’s Absolute Power event, Adams uses careful plotting and sharp characterisation to enhance the overall story while progressing existing Green Lantern storylines.

And while everyone is good company, the resourceful Hal is the star of the show, demonstrating once again that he’s formidable with or without the ring. Surely even the biggest Hal haters – and there are a lot – will like him a bit more after this.

And he looks fantastic, courtesy of Pasarin and Albert, hot as heck without his shirt, but look at his ‘up for it’ expression in the face of a massive challenge.

There’s equally fine work with Alan, thanks to sharp observational skills, artistic craft and pure talent. Pasarin’s superb compositions benefit from Albert’s fine fine finishes, while Fajardo really shows what he can do with one of Hal’s fightbacks. Now, I don’t like to spoil big moments, but this issue is full of them. So…

Wow, or what?

And Sharpe shows he’s taking this crossover seriously with such details as a wee logo for ‘Gamorra’ which he also uses in this week’s Absolute Power: Task Force VII #4.

The issue has a back-up tying into the United Planets subplot, with a new Green Lantern ruminating on what it means to be one of Thaaros’s ‘Shadow Lanterns’.

Courtesy of writer Mark Guggenheim, Shynt D’Proba is a splendid new character, a thoughtful being who isn’t as daft as Thaaros hopes. And the art from veteran Darick Robertson is exceptional, with wonderfully crowded panels of diverse Lanterns from the various space sectors currently abandoned by the Guardians of the Universe. Diego Rodriguez provides wonderful rich colours, managing to make green pop anew.

I’ve never been a massive fan of ‘Tales of the Green Lantern’ shorts, but this is a wee gem.

Ariel Colon’s cover is fun, not representing anything that happens in the issue, but letting us know it’s a ring-free Hal to the fore.

If you’re not a regular reader of Green Lantern, but have some cash to spare, or a DC Infinite subscription, give this issue – which is edited by Jillian Grant and Paul Kaminski – a try. I think you’ll enjoy it too.