Stephanie Kay
Oct 13, 2007, 11:36 pm
<a href="http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/8820/gc8ge4.jpg"><img src=" http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/4839/gc8tnya4.jpg" hspace=10 align=left alt="Green Lantern Corps #8"></a>Reviewer: Manny Cordeiro, manny_cordeiro@hotmail.com
Story Title: The Dark Side of Green - Part 2 of 3
“I am a thousand blades inside your head, human.”
Writer: Keith Champagne
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Prentis Rollins
Colorist: Moose Baumann
Letterer: Phil Balsman
Associate Editor: Michael Siglain
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover: Gleason and Faucher
Published by: DC Comics (www.dccomics.com)
The penultimate issue of “The Dark Side of Green” sees the elite special ops unit of the Green Lantern Corps, known as the Corpse, confronting a Khund threat while an ambitious scientist avenges his wounded pride and places a familiar planet in jeopardy.
In issue 7, Keith Champagne introduced the Corpse, the secret black ops unit of the Green Lantern Corps. For stealth purposes, Corpse members replace their power rings with digestible dark rings, which give them a purple glow. Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, the introduction of the Corpse facilitates storytelling possibilities that aren’t normally possible. For instance, using the Corpse allows a writer to bypass the prohibition of killing. It also creates realistic tension as Corpse members will be abandoned if they are captured due to the secretive nature of the unit. In other words: our heroes cannot call for backup but they can use any means necessary to complete their objective. It’s kind of Jack Bauerish when you think about it. Nice job, Keith Champagne.
In addition to contributing something new to the Green Lantern mythos, Champagne also connects his creations into existing continuity, specifically Hal Jordan’s eradication of the Corps. According Champagne, Jordan’s actions left members of the Corpse to fend for themselves without power or the ability to confirm their covert status. (Imagine an elite unit of spies being abandoned by their superiors… or imagine Jack Bauer.) Champagne foreshadows the inevitable meeting between Corpse member, Daggle, and Hal Jordan, which will likely occur in the next issue. Some readers may describe Champagne’s integration of the Corpse as a ret-con but it works effectively and demonstrates Champagne’s knowledge of Lantern lore.
The issue also features a clever allusion to Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a scene that is easily the best in this issue. Guy Gardner is ordered to “shut up” the Dominator’s telepathic apprentice. The scene opens with a page-wide panel of a tiny glimmering light followed by a close-up shot of Gardner revealing the glimmering light emitting from his clenched fist like a scope of a sniper rifle. As a nervous Guy hesitates in killing his Khund target, the target asks, “To kill or not to kill. Your mind swings back and forth, Lantern Gardner.” Aside from the obvious allusion to the opening lines of Hamlet’s soliloquy, the scene also depicts the Khund holding a skull under a dim spotlight. The cleverness of this allusion comes from Champagne’s decision to have the mind-reading Khund utter Hamlet’s words rather than Gardner himself. Thus, we are privy to Gardner’s reluctance to shoot without reading caption boxes. Besides, Patrick Gleason’s art conveys Gardner’s reluctance and stress most effectively.
Oh, Patrick Gleason. His work since Green Lantern Corps: Recharge has been phenomenal. While I’ve always enjoyed how he draws anything non-human, his facial expressions in this issue particularly impressed me. Guy Gardner’s violent confrontation with the Khund is visceral and the panel of Gardner having his face smashed against a wall was painful to read. Also, the Dominators’ lair has a demonic/medieval style to it, which is quite impressive.
Moose Baumann’s colours were also stellar in this issue and effectively established the tone and mood of the issue. Baumann’s choice of dark turquoise for the storm scenes convey a sense of foreboding, which, of course, as anyone familiar with Shakespeare knows, rarely indicates that a weekend spa appointment is in the characters’ futures.
While this issue was well-written and impressively drawn, I was disappointed by several instances in which R’Amey Holl’s (female Lantern) breasts and behind were unnecessarily emphasized in the art. This bothers me because the inclusion of this emphasis in the pages I’m referring to (cover, p. 6, p. 20) did not contribute to the plot or theme of the issue in any way. On the other hand, the brutal images of R’Amey Holl being impaled and lying with her intestines hanging out are certainly more provocative than clothed breasts and perhaps too explicit for an all-ages title. Long-time comic readers are likely familiar with the term “women in refrigerators”. For those that are unaware, it is a phrase used to describe the trend of brutality towards women as plot devices in comics. The term is a reference to, ironically, a Green Lantern issue in which Alex DeWitt, Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend, is killed and stuffed in a refrigerator. The brutal depiction of violence against a female character can be justified by claiming its necessity as a plot point; and in this case, such a justification is reasonable. But is it necessary to the story to sexually objectify a character? Issue 7 featured Holl on the receiving end of Gardner’s playful flirtation to which she responds by emphasizing her capability as a law enforcement officer. Gardner, predictably, is attracted to his subordinate’s rejection of his advances. Holl kisses Gardner in issue 8 and is brutally impaled pages later. Let’s assume that Holl is dead; her purpose in this storyline was to be an object of Gardner’s affection, eye candy, and a murder victim. That’s unacceptable. If she survives this storyline, I hope Champagne gives her some serious character development.
Issue 8 was well-crafted and I eagerly await the conclusion of this storyline and Keith Champagne’s eventual return to the title when Dave Gibbons takes another break. The blatant objectification and victimization of R’Amey Holl damaged an otherwise enjoyable issue of Green Lantern Corps but the damage isn’t critical. I hope future issues of this space cowboy title mature into science fiction by subverting gender roles and stereotypes.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/glfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/glfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/glfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/glhalf.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/glnone.jpg
Buy Green Lantern Corps #8 from X-World and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1972&cat=GREEN+LANTERN+CORPS)
Story Title: The Dark Side of Green - Part 2 of 3
“I am a thousand blades inside your head, human.”
Writer: Keith Champagne
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Prentis Rollins
Colorist: Moose Baumann
Letterer: Phil Balsman
Associate Editor: Michael Siglain
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover: Gleason and Faucher
Published by: DC Comics (www.dccomics.com)
The penultimate issue of “The Dark Side of Green” sees the elite special ops unit of the Green Lantern Corps, known as the Corpse, confronting a Khund threat while an ambitious scientist avenges his wounded pride and places a familiar planet in jeopardy.
In issue 7, Keith Champagne introduced the Corpse, the secret black ops unit of the Green Lantern Corps. For stealth purposes, Corpse members replace their power rings with digestible dark rings, which give them a purple glow. Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, the introduction of the Corpse facilitates storytelling possibilities that aren’t normally possible. For instance, using the Corpse allows a writer to bypass the prohibition of killing. It also creates realistic tension as Corpse members will be abandoned if they are captured due to the secretive nature of the unit. In other words: our heroes cannot call for backup but they can use any means necessary to complete their objective. It’s kind of Jack Bauerish when you think about it. Nice job, Keith Champagne.
In addition to contributing something new to the Green Lantern mythos, Champagne also connects his creations into existing continuity, specifically Hal Jordan’s eradication of the Corps. According Champagne, Jordan’s actions left members of the Corpse to fend for themselves without power or the ability to confirm their covert status. (Imagine an elite unit of spies being abandoned by their superiors… or imagine Jack Bauer.) Champagne foreshadows the inevitable meeting between Corpse member, Daggle, and Hal Jordan, which will likely occur in the next issue. Some readers may describe Champagne’s integration of the Corpse as a ret-con but it works effectively and demonstrates Champagne’s knowledge of Lantern lore.
The issue also features a clever allusion to Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a scene that is easily the best in this issue. Guy Gardner is ordered to “shut up” the Dominator’s telepathic apprentice. The scene opens with a page-wide panel of a tiny glimmering light followed by a close-up shot of Gardner revealing the glimmering light emitting from his clenched fist like a scope of a sniper rifle. As a nervous Guy hesitates in killing his Khund target, the target asks, “To kill or not to kill. Your mind swings back and forth, Lantern Gardner.” Aside from the obvious allusion to the opening lines of Hamlet’s soliloquy, the scene also depicts the Khund holding a skull under a dim spotlight. The cleverness of this allusion comes from Champagne’s decision to have the mind-reading Khund utter Hamlet’s words rather than Gardner himself. Thus, we are privy to Gardner’s reluctance to shoot without reading caption boxes. Besides, Patrick Gleason’s art conveys Gardner’s reluctance and stress most effectively.
Oh, Patrick Gleason. His work since Green Lantern Corps: Recharge has been phenomenal. While I’ve always enjoyed how he draws anything non-human, his facial expressions in this issue particularly impressed me. Guy Gardner’s violent confrontation with the Khund is visceral and the panel of Gardner having his face smashed against a wall was painful to read. Also, the Dominators’ lair has a demonic/medieval style to it, which is quite impressive.
Moose Baumann’s colours were also stellar in this issue and effectively established the tone and mood of the issue. Baumann’s choice of dark turquoise for the storm scenes convey a sense of foreboding, which, of course, as anyone familiar with Shakespeare knows, rarely indicates that a weekend spa appointment is in the characters’ futures.
While this issue was well-written and impressively drawn, I was disappointed by several instances in which R’Amey Holl’s (female Lantern) breasts and behind were unnecessarily emphasized in the art. This bothers me because the inclusion of this emphasis in the pages I’m referring to (cover, p. 6, p. 20) did not contribute to the plot or theme of the issue in any way. On the other hand, the brutal images of R’Amey Holl being impaled and lying with her intestines hanging out are certainly more provocative than clothed breasts and perhaps too explicit for an all-ages title. Long-time comic readers are likely familiar with the term “women in refrigerators”. For those that are unaware, it is a phrase used to describe the trend of brutality towards women as plot devices in comics. The term is a reference to, ironically, a Green Lantern issue in which Alex DeWitt, Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend, is killed and stuffed in a refrigerator. The brutal depiction of violence against a female character can be justified by claiming its necessity as a plot point; and in this case, such a justification is reasonable. But is it necessary to the story to sexually objectify a character? Issue 7 featured Holl on the receiving end of Gardner’s playful flirtation to which she responds by emphasizing her capability as a law enforcement officer. Gardner, predictably, is attracted to his subordinate’s rejection of his advances. Holl kisses Gardner in issue 8 and is brutally impaled pages later. Let’s assume that Holl is dead; her purpose in this storyline was to be an object of Gardner’s affection, eye candy, and a murder victim. That’s unacceptable. If she survives this storyline, I hope Champagne gives her some serious character development.
Issue 8 was well-crafted and I eagerly await the conclusion of this storyline and Keith Champagne’s eventual return to the title when Dave Gibbons takes another break. The blatant objectification and victimization of R’Amey Holl damaged an otherwise enjoyable issue of Green Lantern Corps but the damage isn’t critical. I hope future issues of this space cowboy title mature into science fiction by subverting gender roles and stereotypes.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/glfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/glfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/glfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/glhalf.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/glnone.jpg
Buy Green Lantern Corps #8 from X-World and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1972&cat=GREEN+LANTERN+CORPS)