Green Lantern #26 Review

With The Sinestro War finally over, I’m sure that Green Lantern #26 will be a slower paced issue designed to let the reader catch their breath before we move on to the next story arc. I’m sad to see that Reis isn’t handling the art duties on this issue. Still, I’m sure that we will get a quality read with Green Lantern #26. Let’s hit this review.

Creative Team
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Mike McKone
Inkers: Andy Lanning, Marlo Alquiza & Cam Smith

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with the Guardians revealing that their new Alpha Lanterns are now born. We then slide back to yesterday with Hal Jordan visiting Sinestro in his jail cell. Sinestro claims that he won the war. Sinestro says that he only had two friends: Abin Sur and Hal. Sinestro says that the Green Lantern Corps would be lost without the Guardians new law allowing lethal force. Hal then tells Sinestro that he is sorry for him. That Sinestro isn’t just in jail. That he is on the new death row created by the Guardians. Hal flies off.

We cut to John Stewart sitting in space where the Xanshi star system was destroyed. That after ever big that Guy usually drinks with Kilowog, Kyle locks himself into a room and paints and Hal finds a girlfriend to shack up with. And John comes to this location.

Salaak notifies the Guardians that the Lost Lanterns have requested to notify Ke’Haan’s family of his death and return his body to them. The Guardians grant the request at Salaak’s urging.

We shift to Laira, Hannu and Boodika mourning Ke’Haan’s death. That Ke’Haan trained Laira and that she fell in love with him and he with her. But, they never did anything about it since Ke’Haan had a wife and family.

We cut to Cowgirl and Hal taking off in their jets to test some new equipment. During the testing, ground control is amazed that Hal and Cowgirl are flying in perfect sync with each other. We see the two planes flying next to each other and in between the jets is Hal and Cowgirl in a green bubble. Hal tells her how much her missed Cowgirl. The two kiss.

We shift to Coast City where John Stewart is putting his architect skills to good work and coordinating the finished construction of all the buildings in Coast City that were never finished since no one ever moved there. Now that people are flocking to Coast City to live there, John has a lot of work to do to make sure all the buildings are finished and ready for the new inhabitants.

Tomar and Graf Toren contact John with their power rings. They tell John that they have been searching the Hall of Great Service on Oa for any information about The Blackest Night. So far they haven’t found anything.

Salaak enters the Hall of Great Service and tells Tomar and Graf that their request to deliver Ke’Haan’s body has been granted by the Guardians. We see Hal arrive in Coast City to help out John.

We cut to the Lost Lanterns arriving at Ke’Haan’s family’s home. There they find Ke’Haan’s wife and children slaughtered. Amon Sur steps out from the shadows and claims responsibility for killing Ke’Haan’s family. Amon then says he is surrendering and giving himself up willingly. Amon says that there will be more attacks on the families of Green Lanterns who perished during the Sinestro War.

Laira spits that her power ring has been enabled to use lethal force. Laira tells Amon to die and she splits his torso opens and kills him. Graf is saddened and asks Laira what has she done? End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Green Lantern #16 was a solid read. Johns delivers a well paced and plotted issue. The pacing certainly slows down greatly with this issue as Johns gives the reader a chance to catch their breath after the dramatic conclusion of the Sinestro War story arc. Johns uses Green Lantern #16 to lay a solid foundation for the next story arc. It is wise for Johns to take his time considering how many incredibly detailed plotlines he is planting on this title.

Johns serves up some good dialogue. Johns engages in quality character work and gives the reader a nice insight into how both Hal and John Stewart deal with big victories. Always the more cerebral of the two, John engages in some deep introspective soul searching. Johns does a nice job showing that John has a heart of a true hero and always pushes himself to be an even better Lantern.

I loved the scene between Sinestro and Hal. Johns has made Sinestro such a delightfully understandable villain. Sinestro makes a valid point about the necessity of the Lanterns being able to employ lethal force. And I really dig the twist of Johns revealing that Sinestro is not just in jail. Sinestro is on death row. I wonder if that changes Sinestro’s view about the Guardians authorizing the use of lethal force?

Johns teases the reader with the appearance of the Alpha Lanterns. This is an intriguing plotline and I’m curious to learn more about these characters. Times are definitely changing in the Green Lantern Corps.

The ending to Green Lantern #26 was pretty sweet. Amon Sur killing Ke’Haan’s family was sick. And Laira refusing to accept Amon’s surrender and viciously killing him made for a powerful ending. This ending certainly drives home the point to the reader that this definitely isn’t your father’s Green Lantern Corp. Johns reveals the darker side of the Lantern’s new authority to employ lethal force. It is one thing to use lethal force when battling a villain. And it is another completely different situation to use lethal force when a villain has surrendered. This new law is allowing the dark side of some Lanterns to come bubbling up to the surface.

Mike KcKone provides this issue with plenty of nice artwork. While, I certainly prefer Reis on this title, McKone is a good replacement. McKone’s artwork has a nice smooth and slick style that works well with this title.

The Bad: Even though I enjoyed the ending, I have to say that it would be nice to see if Johns can go an entire issue without some gruesomely violent deaths. Johns is beginning to run the risk of relying on violent deaths in order to carry a story rather than quality writing.

Overall: Green Lantern #26 was another good read. This issue certainly lets up on the accelerator compared to the previous issues. But, that is to be expected as Johns recalibrates everything and gets the reader set for the next story arc. Green Lantern is an excellent title that is still the best thing that DC has going at the moment.