I added this to my new 52 pulls for one reason; curiosity.

First off, why give an ongoing to what (I consider) the most one-dimensional group of Lanterns in the whole spectrum? I mean, sure they all have back stories. But they are now basically blood-spittin’ hate-spewing anger bags. How will they make that interesting?

Then there was the creative team. Peter Milligan’s X-Force and X-Statix was one of the best things to happen to the X-Universe IMO. And while Ed Benes may draw criticism for some of his more cheesecake poses, I enjoyed his Birds of Prey a lot. Seems like the team who could add some dimension to the Red Lanterns.

And to their credit,they try. But as a certain someone would say, “Do or do not. There is no try.” With 52 books (not counting the competitors) and an odd choice for starring role material, that’s pretty much what had to happen.

What’s bad about this book is that over the course of these last two issues, it’s done the one thing I dislike most in comics: it’s bored me.

I have dropped comics because of what I felt was bad writing or art. I have dropped comics because of outrage over directions I hate. But when I’m being bored by a comic, it’s very different. Because you don’t have an immediate visceral reaction to it. There’s nothing offensive that makes you say “I’m dropping this NOW!”

And most other boring comics have the advantage of stars I have a long-standing affection for. Red Lanterns doesn’t have that. I sort of know the lead and that’s about it. And that lead is not the same one I knew because he’s not motivated the way he was before.

That’s why I generally set the bar at three issues for a book I find boring. If you don’t grab me somehow by issue three, that’s more than enough time by me. There are too many books out there and my budget is too tight to go beyond that mark.

I generally try not to be this harsh. Especially with a comic I picked up on little more than a whim. But to see a great creative team delivering such dull material… well, it just reminds me that there are other characters in the DCU I’d rather see.

Strike Two, Red Lanterns. I’ll give you one more month though. Just wake me up instead of making me doze off.