Green Lantern #22
Written By: Robert Venditti Art By: Billy TanNow that the status quo of Hal Jordan’s personal and professional life has been established, as seen last isssue, Green Lantern #22 offers an Oa-bound, straight-up action story. In doing so, Venditti and Tan focus on second tier Corps members, but lose some of the humour and charm from their debut issue.
Characters like Nol-Anj, and the new recruits put the focus of the series on how characters deal with incredible new powers. Vendetti shows us two different reactions, corruption and resistance, both fascinating in their own way.
It’s amusing to see Hal Jordan deal with a new generation of ring slingers, in particular, get slugged in the back of the head while trying to maintain an authoritative persona. In doing so, Venditti manages to make Hal vulnerable, even though Carol isn’t there to cripple him emotionally. The other Corps members losing their powers also brings out their vulnerability in an entertaining fashion.
My only complaint, besides the absence of an Earth element, is the decision to keep the Orange Lanterns as the sole antagonist at this point. While I’m sure Relic will be revealed to be behind it all, it feels redundant at the point to have Corps members fighting each other yet again.
Tan manages to showcase the diversity of Corps members, having the newer members create more basic constructs, while delivering the cool, classic imagery, with Hal Jordan in a Willpower Buggy.
It’s obvious that this is still the quiet, building stage of Venditti’s run, which makes complete sense since it’s only his second issue. Because of this, there’s not a ton going on, but what Venditti delivers on in terms of both action and his focus on how power affects individuals, offers a whole lot of depth and entertainment to be had in Green Lantern #22.
