I really liked Red Lanterns #1 and while I wasn’t sure how the concept could stretch out to be an effective series, it still provided some fun Green Lantern styled moments. Then we get issue #2 and it seems my above mentioned concern has merit.

This issue features a lot of sluggish narration from Atrocitus. He tells of a war on Ghan IX between two factions that I couldn’t care less about. After some children from one group are senselessly and mistakenly killed by two soldiers from the enemy army, Atrocitus steps in to impart justice for the lone young survivor. The main problem is that the planet, the war, and the factions are completely uninteresting. There’s no reason to care which side is good or bad and with exception of seeing alien children accidently slaughtered, there’s nothing emotionally engaging. Atrocitus comes across as strangely unstable and not in the “mad as hell” vein. He rambles and carries on a conversation with the dead body of Krona. There’s just not much that works storywise.

The high point of the issue is Ed Benes’ fantastic art. He draws the science fiction and alien thing really well. I also love how he’s able to convey genuine raw emotion from his characters through still-shot body language and facial expressions. It’s such a slick and polished look and his art alone almost overcomes the sub par story.

Sadly, “Red Lanterns” #2 may ease this series off of my pull list. It’s not that it’s a terrible issue. But with so many new titles out there, I’m looking for a series that really draws me in. “Red Lanterns” had me interested after the first issue but not so much after this book. If only Dex-Starr had made an appearance. Maybe he could have saved the day.