Comic Books

GREEN LANTERN #53

A BRIGHTEST DAY tie-in! Exploding out of BLACKEST NIGHT comes the next exciting chapter in the Green Lantern mythos: “New Guardians”! Forced together during the rise of the Black Lanterns, Hal Jordan, Sinestro, Carol Ferris, Saint Walker, Atrocitus, Indigo-1 and Larfleeze must agree to disagree if their next mission is to succeed. But when one of the strangest beings from Green Lantern’s past returns, the future of the Lanterns and the universe at large once again falls into question.

Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art and cover by DOUG MAHNKE and CHRISTIAN ALAMY
Variant cover by RODOLFO MIGLIARI

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 2.5%

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Comments

  1. Alright this still has Mahnke as artist, and it focuses on probably the most intriguing aspect of Brightest Day.

    Let’s see where this takes us.

  2. Why is there yello color coming out of Hal’s ring? Ohhhh noooo …

    could just be a coloring mistake. 

  3. yay.

  4. This is unfinished colored cover. the DC site has the finished version. 

  5. Lookin forward to this one the most this week. It’s staggering to find that even after BN, I still don’t feel a even tinge of Lantern-fatigue. That’s the power of Johns at work I suppose.

    Lovin that cover too. It’d be a great poster or t-shirt. Mahnke continues to improve and impress with each issue. Bring it on.

  6. I don’t have Lantern fatigue but I do have long drawn out story fatigue.  I hope this is a one issue deal (for now) so we can get back to some good old GL adventuring for a few issues.  The last thing I want is another 2 year long story with a so-so ending and a to be continued in the pages of….

  7. @matt – you’re right. Here is the finished product

    Green Lantern #53

  8. Why do we have to go right from Blackest Night to Brightest Day?

    Why can’t we have Hazy Afternoon or Partly Overcast Lunchtime?

  9. I see what you did there.

  10. "I hope this is a one issue deal (for now) so we can get back to some good old GL adventuring for a few issues."

    Part of me loves all the cosmic excitement of GL post Sinestro Corps (even the recent "long-drawn-out-story"), but I do find myself wondering recently "When’s the last time we saw Hal Jordan rescue a civilian?" It has to be pre Sinestro Corps War at the latest. Yeah, I know he technically saved the entire world in BN, but you know what I mean. So I’m occasionally torn between enjoying the new status quo and (like DamonS23) longing for a return to good old fashioned GL stuff. But that’s part of being a fanboy. We’re never truly content. Are we? More importantly: Should we be?

    @DamonS23: As for your hope of this being a "one issue deal", I wouldn’t hold your breath. I’m pretty sure Green Lantern proper will be tied to Brightest Day until the end. But I would put money on BD having a definitive ending.

  11. I am going to go out on a limb here and predict the seven latern corps don’t continue to all work together from here on out. I just hope they don’t start wiping em out to in some sort of misguided effort at housecleaning. Have them fade into the background a bit, but I for one hope people are still vomiting blood in space ten years from now.

  12. I recently completed reading the Green Lantern series up to just before the Blackest Night arc. I’m eager to start that and get to Brightest Day.

  13. Oh Green Lantern, I am so excited to read thee. 

  14. I’m beginning to think the various color corps are here to stay.  I thought they might end up being dismantled as soon as Blackest Night ended (kinda like the Alpha Lanterns got pushed out of the spotlight rather quickly after Final Crisis).  I’m pleasantly surprised.

  15. @JimBilly – I feel the same way about pushing them to the background a bit. What i am afraid of, is that they will launch new titles for each corp. It would be impossible to turn it down, so it would be a major blow to my wallet.

     I love all the different corps, but i really miss Hal being center stage. GL hasn’t let me down since Johns has been on, so i guess i really have nothing to complain about.

  16. @stuclach i was disappointed that they pushed the Alpha Lanterns away…

    I am excited to see what Johns has in store for us now…  

  17. "Colour Corps"

  18. @stuclach almost positive the alpha lanterns will be a big part of GLC coming up 

  19. @rift1128 – I liked the idea of the Alpha Lanterns, too.

    @mrmister – That’s good news. 

  20. I like brightest day #0 and Flash #1 and am looking foward to all th cross-over fun!

  21. @stuclach/mrmister Judging from GLC solicts they look to be essential right now for the corps. Maybe even as antagonists?

  22. I was planning on dropping GL as soon as Blackest Night was over, but I guess I’ll keep reading for a little while longer.

     

  23. I just got caught up on GL in issues so I can’t wait now!!

  24. @TNC – I assumed they (most of them) would play that role if they stuck around.

  25. I know this is the knock on Events, but I’m super pumped for all these new stories to play out.  Rather than "Well, that happened." we’ll get to see all the aftermath of the numerous idea and concepts brought up by Blackest Night.  Should be a good thing.

  26. I just saw the first six pages and it looks amazing. Can’t wait till tomorrow!

  27. Sorry, but I think I’m out on this one.  I’m getting sucked into another crossover with a different company (rhymes with BLARVEL).  I’ll be back, but could use a break from the ‘colour corps.’

  28. The coloring of the final cover is kind of meh.

  29. Yeah, i really liked the flat colors on the white background much more than this one.

  30. yeay! felt like pre-blackest night green lantern! 5 star!!

  31. Great issue… I felt like this is what should come directly out of the event. I was slightly sad i have to get all 3 or 4 green lantern books each month to keep up on each story but this issue was great. 

  32. Very good. A great issue to come right after an event. It was slower, calmer but yet still achieved the creation of a new, post-event status quo. Set-up just enough to whet the appetite but stayed with everyone long enough to make it count. 5/5 for me.

    So, bets on who the "First Lantern" is? I want to say Krona (especially since he was name dropped all over the place at the end of BM) but I don’t think that make sense from the portrayal.

  33. The coloring of the cover is like an uber shiny Jesus Saiz.

  34. @Prax: That’s who I was thinking too. 

  35. @Prax – I agree wholeheartedly.  This did everything I wanted it to do.  Johns is one hell of a tease.

    I don’t think it’s Krona either.  I get the impression that this is someone who’s been on that planet for a VERY long time. 

  36. Refreshing issue, glad for something newer. Huge pleasure to read how all the characters are interacting post BN, and I especially loved the Larfleeze and Lex scene.

    Intruiged by the bit about Guy at the end. Hope I can get the bulk of that story from reading this and Brightest Day. If not, anyone know the creative team behind "Emerald Warriors"

  37. @Jaque I know Tomasi is going to be the writer for series, and Tony Bedard is taking over Green Lantern Corps.

  38. @Jaque – this is an excerpt from Newsarama:

    "Peter Tomasi won’t be leaving the Corps behind just yet. In addition to co-writing Brightest Day with Geoff Johns, Tomasi will be launching  Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, a book starring Guy Gardner, and featuring Kilowog "frequently." Fernando Pasarin joins Tomasi as artist…"

  39. I think the guy is one of the previous Guardians. Maybe one of the first and was somehow banished to Ryut? Could be.

    A solid issue all around. Geoff Johns is creating new stories that are really intriguing. His interactions with Larfleeze and Luthor are really entertaining. Also that small moment with Flash/St. Walker was really good. My big problem though was that stupid advertisement we got at the very end of the issue. Why they had to do that is dumb. Like we didn’t have enough coverage of what to read. Really did bring me down a bit, cause this was close to my POTW. 

  40. I agree this was a book that has me dying to know where the hell all this is going, but in a good way.  Lex Luthor looked a bit funny though, kinda chubby.

  41. It occurs to me that it might be the Old Timer from the Hard Travelin’ Heroes era and the 90s GL Relaunch. Hmm… (Would explain the chains at least.)

    @TNC The Advertising was there to let you know where those story threads would be taken up next. It was relatively unobtrusive. As well, that segment wasn’t out of place as this issue was premised on visiting each of the New Guardians. 

  42. @Prax: Well I didn’t see the need of it. It felt very jammed in there and they could’ve easily done something after the issue ended. Maybe an epilogue or something?

    I just don’t want to see the last page of a comic and be barraged by several ads on how a story will continue. I’m pretty sure I can figure out I need to read GLC and Emerald Warriors without the need of that ending. It also hurt Hal going towards the White Lanterns. It pushed that aside just to show the ad.

  43. @TNC How exactly was that pushed aside?

  44. @Prax: Cause it’s pushed together with the other advertisements. I actually didn’t notice Hal had another line or two until a second read through. I thought his involvement with the story ended earlier and they were just showing him to entice readers to follow Brightest Day.

  45. Really good issue. It’s starting to make sense now how Johns continually stated that we would see more of the entities post-BN, so that’s very exciting. Also, I thought it was a dick move for Sinestro to blow up their planes. Such an asshole.

    @TNC & Praxie-I didn’t like those ads either. They didn’t break the issue for me, and I understand the reason for having them, just didn’t like them. Also, we follow Hal into Brightest Day? So he will be in both Brightest Day and Green Lantern? If so, that’s the first I’m hearing about this.

    And finally, Larfleeze standing on his guardian’s head = epic. I want to own that page. 

  46. This is a good jumping on point, I think.

    I love that they have captions when they appear, it feels like a TV show to me.

  47. Are they sure BN is over? This issue makes me feel like being on a halftime break.

  48. I liked this. Has a quiet, religious epic feel to it.

  49. @Drake I’m pretty sure it’s always been the case that Hal is going to be flitting through both books. Anything concerning the White Lantern(s) is probably going to be addressed in Brightest Day as well.

  50. I enjoyed this, but like some others didn’t like all the ads on the last page. This is the only GL book I’ll be picking up (just can’t afford to follow everything) and I really hope I won’t feel left out by not reading Brightest Day and the other GL books.

    Really intrigued by the intro, as I have no clue who that mysterious shrouded character is…Scar, perhaps?

  51. I’ve always thought "well Johns has been setting up Blackest Night for about 5 years now Almost everything has been aimed toward that. What can he do after?"  Needless to say, those first few pages calmed my worries and maybe I got a little nerd wood when i saw the 7 logos, and Parallax chained to the yellow one.  This guy’s going to gather all 7 and try to host them all?  Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’ll make Galactus, Anti-Monitor, Spectre, and Nekron all look like huge wusses.  Can’t wait.

    This is my POTW right now, but I plan on picking up Brave and the Bold later today. 

  52. @Slockhart: he also mentioned that Brightest Day is his day, so maybe Brightest Day is not so safe at all.

  53. This issue raised a lot more questions than I expected. Which is awesome! First Lantern? Who knows?! Could be Krona. That’s a pretty good guess. Old Timer? Another beautifully obscure guess. One thing’s for sure, anyone that can contain Parallax is not to be fucked with. I’m sure his identity won’t be revealed for another 4 or 5 years, but I can guarantee I’ll be there when it is.

  54. Larfleezeburg? …Larfleezeburg!?

  55. Good issue and didn’t mind the ad at the end telling you where to read each charactor as much as the ads every other page throughout the book. Not saying there shouldn’t be ads but seemed overkill.

    Looking forward to the rest of this story. Amazing how a year ago I didn’t care about GL and now probably my favorite superhero

  56. I think its because I don’t know a lot about Guy but why would he go against the Corps, or is that not what they were discussing on the last page? I don’t why but something about that last page threw me through a loop.

  57. @Crin This would not be the first time Guy has gone against the Corps. In the 80s, during Crisis on Infinite Earths when he was introduced beyond being a "What If?" character he was a villain working against the Corps. He was then wrangled into being a good guy (heh!) for Justice League. He was always portrayed as being an ass/kind of bad guy until he left the Corps. Then he went and stole Sinestro’s ring and had a 90s anti-hero book. The Kyle Rayner stories kind of mellowed him out a bit, before the recent GL relaunch where Guy is very much a hero with a anti-establishment attitude. I bet this has something to do with his involvement in the Corpse, actually. So there’s precedent for it, but I have a feeling that scene is being played to be provocative as opposed to straightforward.

  58. I liked the beginning sequences, they set a heavy tone and introduced a mystery that grabbed me. The art in general felt solid and fit my taste. The writing of the Hal/Carol and later the Hal/Carol/Sinestro interactions that made up the heart of the book felt choppy with “thin” and awkward dialogue and I really didn’t enjoy it. The pointless destruction of the planes and the weak battle that followed felt like a waste of space and annoyed me more than it entertained me. Closing with in-story adds reminded me of what I haven’t liked about the last few issues of Adventure Comics. It started strong then petered out; 3/5, disapointing.

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