By Geoff Johns, Szymon Kudranski and Ardian Syaf

Agreenlantern18cvrs we march towards the end of the Geoff Johns era of Green Lantern, Johns is certainly not skimping on excellent character interaction and development. Sure, his last issue of GL is sure to have some blockbuster moments, but for the time being, he seems to be choosing substance over style. With Green Lantern this good, it’s just making it harder for fans to see Geoff go.

This issue revolves around Simon Baz finally being introduced to the original owners of his ring, Hal Jordan and Sinestro. All three are now stuck in The Dead Zone, with seemingly no means of escape. It’s absolutely riveting to watch Simon Baz react to Hal and Sinestro. Simon is a tad unimpressed with Hal, since he has built an image of Hal in his head that could never be lived up to. He was told stories that made Hal sound like Superman, instead of a cocky and flawed individual who just happens to know how to be a first-class ring slinger.

What Simon Baz has been told about Sinestro seems to be right on the money. Johns has slowly morphed Sinestro into more of an anti-hero, but here he seems to be crawling his way back to his villainous ways. It remains to be seen whether these are the acts of a desperate man or if Sinestro has had enough of being a borderline hero. In a Lord of the Ring-style fight, he is driven mad by not having his GL ring. These are very interesting character developments given his recent status.

There are two separate art teams for this issue, which is fine when done well. The problem is that the two vastly different styles don’t complement each other at all. One style (Szymon Kudranski) is very dark, with a gritty realism that shows off the coldness of The Dead Zone. The other art team (Adrian Syaf) works outside of The Dead Zone and seems to be going for a more cartoony style that looks great, but is too much of a shock to the eyes after staring at the previous pages. That being said, if you separate the two, both are pretty great.

Geoff Johns keeps giving us reasons to mourn his departure. Although the art is a bit of a hiccup, this comic is still an enjoyable read. The trio of Simon, Hal and Sinestro is superhero comic gold. Thanks to Geoff Johns for making it so.

Writing: 9/10
Art: 7/10
Overall: 8/10

Save 10-50% on Iron Man Comics, Apparel, and More!
Derek Baker

Derek Baker

Managing Reviewer/Reviewer at ReadComicBooks
Derek Baker lives in a small town right outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has been collecting comics since he was about 8 years old. When he first walked into a comic book shop, he knew that he was home. Derek has never really stopped reading comic books since. It all started with him watching the Batman and Robin and Superfriends cartoons in the ’80s. In the ’90s, his need for comics grew even more with the comics boom of that time, as well as animated television shows like Batman: The Animated Series and Spider-Man. For Derek, being an adult just means having a job and getting more money for comic books. Although he enjoys indie comics, Derek is a DC and Marvel fanboy at heart. Especially DC. His favorite characters include Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, Swamp Thing, The Flash, Aquaman, Spawn and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Derek is also a toy and video game collector, old and new. Derek lives with his lovely girlfriend, Nicole. He works in the health care industry and is also going to school to be a registered nurse.
Derek Baker

@hookmoney

Derek Baker

Latest posts by Derek Baker (see all)