I know
that I mentioned last week that I try to review the lesser
known stuff and that I try to make you, the reader, aware
of books that you wouldn't no about otherwise. Then, I broke
that solemn vow and reviewed critically loved Y: The Last
Man. Well, I'm breaking taboo again.
Judd Winick
has been writing Green Lantern for a couple years now and
from what I've heard (mostly from your favorite editor and
mine, Derek McCaw), it's a pretty solid run. I don't pick
up GL by the issues for a million reasons (no, I'm not one
of those "Hal Jordan is the ONLY Green Lantern!"
people, those people are jerks and Hal was insane), but I
have grabbed the TPBs that collect Winick's stuff. How the
man writes three to four different comics on a monthly schedule
and still makes them good is beyond me, but he damn well pulls
it off.
The
Power of Ion trade is a good example of his pulls-it-off-ness.
See, a while back, Kyle Rayner, last of the Green Lanterns
(kinda), got a major power boost; he became Ion, the living
embodiment of all the power of the Green Lanterns.
He was,
in fact, something very close to being a God (think the almighty
is everywhere at once? Try the Almighty Green Lantern, beeyatch!).
This trade is the story of how he gets the power, how he uses
it, and ultimately how it leaves his possession.
But hey,
you're saying,"this isn't anything new. Superheroes become
gods all the time in comics. Then they get drunk with power,
try to reorder the universe, and then get the multi-title
crossover equivalent of a spanking. Oh man, and then the redemption…"
Winick
knows this is a tired plotline so he spins it around: what
if the god-like guy didn't get drunk with power? What if he
decided to a lot of good stuff AND still be a guy you can
go grab a sundae with at the Dairy Queen?
Kyle doesn't
become Hal Jordan and go balls out crazy (take that Jordaneers!);
he instead feeds the hungry, averts a planetary civil war,
and restructures soil so it's more applicable for farming,
all while enjoying a movie and some super-hanky-panky with
his green skinned girlfriend Jade (ahhh, every Fanboy's dream).
It's damn
refreshing to see a mainstream book not act mainstream. It's
predictable to have a character attain great power, abuse
said power, and then realize with great power comes…(you
know the rest, damn Tobey Maguire). Winick never lets the
story get predictable or boring.
Part of
that is the fact that he doesn't always focus on his lead
character. Under Judd's plotting, GL has become more of an
ensemble book than a straight leading (super) man story.
Characters
like Jade and Sentinel get large parts of the action and characterization,
as well as some rump-kicking fun, but no one supporting cast
member gets more attention in this volume than former GL Jon
Stewart. The background story about his paraplegic status,
and the real reason for his loss of mobility is thoroughly
engaging, and Winick gives the reader a complete highlight
of Jon's career as a superhero and life in general, to further
flesh out the character. It is expertly done.
The art,
as it is with most monthly books nowadays, is a toss-up due
to the frequent artist changes from issue to issue (not so
much a problem here as it is in the eyesore that the Superman
books have become).
While
I love Dale Eaglesham's several issues (the man has a great
touch with the characters and the various energy constructs
that inevitably pop-up), some of the others like Jamal Igle
and Eric Battle just don't hold up when standing next to his
work. But don't worry, there's more than enough Eaglesham
to go around in the book.
As collections
go, this one doesn't have all the bells and whistles that
a lot of other trades have been sporting recently, but there
is a small cover gallery and, in a nod to fans who may not
follow Green Lantern too closely, a great two page section
called "What You Need To Know" that outlines the
basic plot of GL and the backgrounds of the major characters
(DC, the reader friendly comic company). Also, it's a great
deal at $14.95 for the equivalent of nine issues of comics.
Even at $2 a comic, that still comes out to $18, and my finite
math skills count that to be…savings!
Oh, I
do remember fondly the days when $2 was the maximum for a
comic. It seems nothing but a lofty dream now…
