By Geoff Johns et al.
(reprinting various issues, see below)
Like a couple of other DC
series, I like Green Lantern – and indeed much of the
Lantern'verse corner of the DC nUniverse – very much … in
collected format. Readers of this blog may in fact remember how I
chose to drop back to collected format with the advent of the New 52
after “burning out” on monthlies and repeated Lantern'verse-wide
events in the months beforehand, but when I acquired and read Green
Lantern vol. 1: Sinestro, the first New 52 collection, I
enjoyed it so much [link]
that I jumped back into the monthlies – for just a couple months
that quickly reminded me that the series indeed reads much better in
collected format.
Then a few months back came
the realization that with the return of Lantern'verse-wide
events, DC was going to collect the four franchise titles (GL,
GL Corps, New Guardians, and Red Lanterns) both
in their separate titles and in “compendium” volumes centered
around the event and interweaving the four titles' issues to
(presumably) tell the entire multifaceted story. I initially decided
to just stick with the collections for the two titles I was
interested in (GL and GLC), but then accidentally
neglected to pre-order the next GL volume. Finally, a few
weeks ago, I was in Barnes and Noble and, seeing this “compendium”
volume, I impulsively bought it.
Of course, an effect of me,
relatively speaking, whizzing through my monthlies that I received
early in November was that for the first time in a while I was
actually able to get to a pretty vast and growing backlog of
collections that I have accumulated. (I actually got through several
in the past couple of weeks, what with also being off for
Thanksgiving week.) Rise of the Third Army was the first.
My overall assessment is:
Man, I do love me some Green Lantern action, read in this far more
reader-friendly format (for myself, at least)! I maintain that,
somewhat unfortunately, Geoff Johns has shifted his entire writing
style to one no longer suited for the episodic format, and since he
was until recently the show-runner in particular of the
Lantern'verse, everything here reads so much better in
a big chunk like this. I thoroughly enjoyed it rather than more or
less forgetting in the intervening weeks what had happened last and
thus being pretty thoroughly mystified – and frustrated –
each month. And this story is so sprawling that in order to get the
full view you do need to be reading all of the series – even if I
do still detest the whole concept and especially the execution of the
Red Lanterns as being pretty egregious grotesquery. On the other
hand, I quite surprisingly enjoyed the New Guardians issues
'way more than I expected. Kyle Rayner has always been my least
favorite of the quartet (now quintet?) of “Earth Lanterns,” and
with that book being centered around him I hadn't even considered
reading it. Here, however, and at least in the issues contained
herein, I really liked the interplay between himself and Star
Sapphire Carol Ferris (whose new costume I heartily approve, by the
way). As to the two “main” GL titles, what can I say –
I thoroughly like John Stewart and Guy Gardner in addition to Hal
Jordan, and found newcomer and “fifth wheel” Simon Baz an
interesting add to the mix. And it's a good story, albeit continuing
Johns' long-running trope of the blue midgets as soulless,
manipulative bastards that I wish he hadn't started in the first
place – but since they're telling that story, at least they're
telling it well. And for the most part, it's the characters and the
world of the Green Lanterns that is so compelling. Many of the
individuals in this
science-fiction/super-hero/space-opera/police-procedural/legal-drama
mash-up shine in virtually all colors of the spectrum. Well, except
for red....
There is a bit of a
trade-off in buying this event-compendium rather than the collections
of the individual series, however. I realize there's something
missing. Here's what I mean:
This volume comprises Green
Lantern #13-16, Green Lantern – New Guardians #13-16,
Green Lantern Corps #13-16, Red Lanterns #13-16, as
well as selected material from Green Lantern Annual #1 and
Green Lantern Corps Annual #1 (presumably selected material
also, but I'm not absolutely certain). Somewhere around thirteen
issues for a cover price of $30 – not a bad value at all!
Especially considering that, e.g., Green Lantern Corps vol. 2:
Alpha War comprises issues #0, 8-14 of that series – eight
issues for $25. However, notice what I just wrote – there is a
two-issue overlap between GLC vol. 2 and Rise of the Third
Army. I already had that GLC volume. Okay, no harm, no
foul.... … Except …
The main Green Lantern
series vols. 1 and 2 comprise issues #1-6 and 7-12 (plus most of
Annual #1 concluding that second story-line), respectively, of that
series. Issue #12 was followed by the “stunt” issue #0, which is
not included in either GL vol. 2 or Rise
of the Third Army. Issue #0 tells the story of how Simon Baz
received Hal Jordan's ring and leads directly into the beginning of
issue #13 which leads off Rise – and it is a very
pertinent story to what follows! I've read it, of course, since that
was one of the few issues I got in my abortive attempt to jump into
the monthlies, but had I not, I'd've been totally lost. And it is collected in the third of the series collections, Green Lantern vol. 3: The End [link] ... along with several issues that are here, but only from the GL series itself.
Bad form, DC! I like the
idea of such compendia as an optional way to collect such closely
related series as the Lantern'verse titles, and would probably
buy a series of such compendia were DC to offer it as an ongoing
option rather than the individual series collections. But it seems
that in order to get all the issues, including pertinent
issues of all the series in an event, they want you to buy all
the series collections in preference to the compendia. I'm sure they
would prefer you buy both, and I'm sure there are those who do. I
don't intend to.
My plan going forward
depends somewhat on how the Lantern'verse stories progress.
Geoff Johns and his cadre of writers are ending their run at about
issue #20 of all the series. The new writers are, as I understand
it, at least kicking off with a line-wide cross-over. My intention
is to get through that in compendium form. After that, I believe
they are to split off at least for a while – and I'll only buy
those titles I'm interested in, in series trades. That may well
include New Guardians (and I may go back and get the first
couple of trades of that series as well, maybe reverting to compendia
if (when) an event happens. Nothing I can conceive of would make me
get series collections of Red Lanterns, or the newest addition
to the 'verse, Larfleeze. Issues from those series may be
integral to events, and I'll read those, but RL at least has
not been enjoyable even in those cases. That kind of
grotesquery just does nothing for me. And any individual issues I
might miss because of that inconsistent pattern of buying I can just
get digitally.
Anyway, as a standalone
story (inevitably leading into another compendium which will be
published in a few months, Green Lantern: Wrath of the First
Lantern) is, with the suggested prefatory reading of Green
Lantern #0, this particular book – Green Lantern: Rise of
the Third Army – is an excellent read, with the typically
top-notch art that has long graced the Lantern'verse titles. This is an incredibly pretty book.
Cheers! ... and Thanks for reading!
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