How do you think things are going to play out for Relic and Krona? And is it just me, or did lightsmith Kilowog remind you of Kingdom Come Alan Scott? Patrick! How did this issue treat you? Are you “falling in line” with John’s tough decisions? Sadly there’s only one issue left for this series. Plus it’s a good strategic move to free as many of the prisoners as possible to ensure a successful escape. You could argue that it’s an empty gesture, since their universe will soon die, but it’s still heroic. Despite this, Bunn and Saiz still want to emphasize John’s compassion by depicting him free some of the other doomed prisoners. He puts the lives of the Corps ahead of the lives of this old universe – “It’s not my job… not the job of the Corps… to save these people.” That’s the kind of tough call that the commanding officer has to make. ![]() John embraces his military roots and remains steadfast in doing whatever it takes to get his people home safely. That’s one of my favorite characteristics of Superman: if he fails to save just one person, he feels that loss. That right there is one of the big quandaries that superheroes face – you can’t save everyone. In the past few issues we’ve seen Guy and John argue about whether or not they should warn/help the inhabitants of the old universe, space-time consequences be damned. The Green Lantern Corps is stranded in the past – specifically in the doomed universe that came before the Lanterns’. Conversely, I think that Bunn is utilizing this concept to influence the Lanterns’ actions to a greater effect in Green Lantern: Lost Army. I found Robert Venditti’s “Lights Out” storyline about the “dwindling emotional spectrum reservoir” to be way too preachy. One of the beautiful things about comic book continuity is how concepts and plots can grow on you over time. We don’t need to see triumphant John Stewart parading out of that cave, rescuing his fellow soldiers seeing him make the decision to go back is enough. I think that many mainstream comics are used to spoon-feeding readers their intended message, but here Saiz and Bunn merely provide the setup for the obvious conclusion. In the course of three pages Saiz shows us the severity of John Stewart as he kills an enemy to survive as well as John’s compassion. ![]() Jesus Saiz is similarly minimalist about this flashback scene. In Green Lantern: Lost Army 5, Cullen Bunn uses this narrative device very economically the message: John is not the kind of guy who just saves his own ass. ![]() In terms of quality, “John Stewart marine flashback stories” are typically a coin toss. Green Lantern books never let us forget that before John was a Lantern he was a marine. With all of those big personalities, John Stewart’s role is basically the straight man – which is a thankless job that is mostly overlooked. Hal is the devil-may-care cool guy, Kyle is the hopeful dreamer, Guy is the unapologetic loudmouth and Simon Baz? He’s still too new so I’ll just say he’s got a cool costume. After they escape Relic helps the lanterns track down Mogo, who seems to be enduring quite the whooping from the old universe lightsmiths.Ĭompared to the other Earth Green Lanterns, I often find John Stewart to be a little boring – which is unfortunate because superhero comics always need more diversity. Much to John’s surprise, future corps enemies/current corps allies Krona and Relic come to their rescue. John frees the other “lightsmiths” and they work side by side as they revolt against their pirate captors. The GLs retrieve their captured rings from the pirates– except Kilowog, who seems to be the only GL who has to use the lightsmiths’ power for some reason. John Stewart continues to take charge while trusting in his fellow corps members. Green Lantern: Lost Army 5 is a prison break story where intergalactic space cops have to escape from a space jail that is not their own. It also does something that is equally difficult: making John Stewart interesting. Michael: How do you value one life over another? Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few? Green Lantern: Lost Army 5 shows us the burdens of being the person in charge who has to make this tough decisions. ![]() Today, Michael and Patrick are discussing Green Lantern: The Lost Army 5, originally released October 21, 2015.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |