Green Lantern: Lost Army #1 *Previews/Spoilers*

[Hypo Lil' Leaguer Find all posts View Profile Close Hypo]

Green Lantern: Lost Army #1 Preview + Interview
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Jesus Saiz

[jhpace1 Green Lantern Initiate Find all posts View Profile Close jhpace1]

Three stars.

Artwork was kind of...shoddy. Not first-rate. Plot was okay, but not inspiring. It was actually the non-verbals, which the artwork tried to convey and failed at, that kept you going as a reader. A handful of Green Lanterns, not the entire 3600+ Corps. Just a few main characters. Not the extras we're used to seeing.

The Sneak Peek has some spoilers already told, like the new GL that changes shape according to whom they are physically close to. The strange aliens that are trying to hunt and destroy GLs. They're more like "universe antibodies" than bounty hunters. Krona is somewhat arrogant, but not unhelpful to the GLs.


Now for the spoilers.

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Guy Gardner returns! As a hybrid Green-Red Lantern no less. If he wasn't so poorly drawn I'd give the review another star just for that.

And the final reveal on the last page is...a Wrath Central Power Pyramid from the Relic universe! For those who don't know, Relic, the titan-large alien from the "Lights Out" storyline, came from the universe before this one. There, the red light of Rage was called Wrath by the "lightsmiths" who used staffs instead of rings. Instead of Central Power Batteries, they used Central Power Pyramids. Relic was a scientist who thought the lightsmiths were using up all the emotional energy in the universe, and failed to stop their consuming all the energy of the universe before it self-imploded.

So what killed the three GLs? Are they in the universe before this one? Is Krona age-regressed, or is this a different Krona? Do the antibodies attack Lanterns because this is a different universe, similar to the previous one Relic left, or is the the previous universe? The GLs still have no way of recharging their rings, and most are down to 40-45%.

[Star-Lantern Weaponer of Qward Find all posts View Profile Close Star-Lantern]

I think the art is excellent. The only thing I criticize Saiz on is his depiction of outer space. It's rather boring and flat, and considering how much it is used as a setting, it can make the book look a little samey and drab from page to page. That said, I can deal with it. It doesn't take away from my enjoyment, but I see something that could and probably should be better. Saiz's depiction of the emerald energy isn't my favorite, but again, I can deal with it. This is a bit disappointing, though, because what Marcelo Maiolo did with that was the best I've yet seen. Where Saiz really shines is his work on the characters. I really like the way he depicts all of them. I prefer him to Chang in this regard. While I love Bernard Chang, I admit that he often over exaggerated John's lips and nose. None of that here. And Arisia looks great! Krona's armored suit is boss.

The story is excellent. I like the overall concept a lot and I enjoy the cast and how they play off of each other. Krona is incredible. I really enjoyed the short origin for him that was shown. I enjoy seeing John take the lead, and I'm happy to see that he has another theme (being a good leader) as opposed to the played out 'coping with tragedy' angle writers usually hamper him with. Here's hoping Xanshi is never even mentioned in this series. The action was really good and depicted great by Saiz.

This series really gives me the feeling of a grand adventure with an interesting assortment of characters. I had a blast reading it. 5 stars. Really about 4.7, because of a couple little nitpicks with it that I have (John's eyes aren't green, space could have looked more interesting, and so could the emerald energy) but I'm rounding up.

["Chosen" NOT his black friend Find all posts View Profile Close "Chosen"]

I thought the art was the only redeeming factor, way better than Bernand Chang, whom I thought drew John like a caricature.

Not excited about building on the ideas presenting in Venditti's opening arc, I always thought the whole Lightsmith and Universe-before the universe idea was terrible. Now it seems as though the GLs' are sent back to that previous universe.

Guy being in it was a surprised, I'm sure the John Stewart fans are pissed about his inclusion.

[goldlantern Kilowog's Recruit Find all posts View Profile Close goldlantern]

Hehe...Christmas Lantern.

[Booster Beetle Will break before he bends Find all posts View Profile Close Booster Beetle]

I'm really digging Christmas Lantern's costume

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

Not exciting about building on the ideas presenting in Venditti's opening arc, I always thought the whole Lightsmith and Universe-before the universe idea was terrible. Now it seems as though the GLs' are sent back to that previous universe.

If them being in the previous universe leads somehow to the discovery that Relic was WRONG about what led to its demise, and lets the GLC go back to using their rings without eco-guilt, then I'm all for it.

If it simply serves to underline that issue, then I'll be gritting my teeth.

[Star-Lantern Weaponer of Qward Find all posts View Profile Close Star-Lantern]

If them being in the previous universe leads somehow to the discovery that Relic was WRONG about what led to its demise, and lets the GLC go back to using their rings without eco-guilt, then I'm all for it.

If it simply serves to underline that issue, then I'll be gritting my teeth.

I won't be surprised if Krona winds up being the reason that universe gets destroyed.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

I'm not sure why, but I kept hearing nuKrona with a Russian accent in my head.

Hehe...Christmas Lantern.

That was my favorite line in the issue.

[W.West Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close W.West]

Issue out. Poll up.

[Mechinoid Hal's Understudy Find all posts View Profile Close Mechinoid]

I won't be surprised if Krona winds up being the reason that universe gets destroyed.

Depending on how this Krona is, that would be beneficial to his research; to watch or to create the event that destroys this universe so he can further his research on how his universe gets created. Either way I'm really enjoying how Krona is Krona again, and will really enjoy this series if it keeps this up.

[Star-Lantern Weaponer of Qward Find all posts View Profile Close Star-Lantern]

Depending on how this Krona is, that would be beneficial to his research; to watch or to create the event that destroys this universe so he can further his research on how his universe gets created. Either way I'm really enjoying how Krona is Krona again, and will really enjoy this series if it keeps this up.

It could also be that this is when his curiosity gets out of control and he begins pushing more and more boundaries. He seems like a fairly nice guy now, but this series may depict a gradual decline into him becoming the villain we're familiar with.

And yeah, this Krona is great. Krona is an overall fascinating character. I really enjoyed the short origin he was given. It was really well executed. It's also very interesting seeing him as something closer to a regular person.

[Kane2814 Weaponer of Qward Find all posts View Profile Close Kane2814]

I think that - similar to Sinestro - Krona will be colored with shades of grey, especially if he's a younger version who hasn't committed the "original sin" yet. If knowledge is his motivation, that certainly doesn't preclude having other qualities that we admire. He might even be a good ally for the GL's and make emotional connections, but he will always serve himself and his primary need first. It's just a matter of when he's going to turn on them - which can be very interesting...

Regarding Guy, I was never into any of his "Warrior" incarnations, but Red Lantern seemed to suit him. "Christmas Lantern" ... eh, not enthused, but the jury's still out. I do know that I don't like the new costume though - Just throwing red into a variation of Guy's old outfit isn't working for me.

[BLACK HAND Green Lantern Initiate Find all posts View Profile Close BLACK HAND]

I don't like the Christmas lantern thing. I think they should stick with one color for now until more is explained about what happened to the GL corps and set the table a big more before mixing it up. Art was fine, story was okay, definitely better than the other GL titles out now, including the main one.

[jhpace1 Green Lantern Initiate Find all posts View Profile Close jhpace1]

Well, look at it this way: Guy Gardner is a Green/Red hybrid Lantern, they just found a Central Power Pyramid from Relic's universe. It's a Wrath CPP, so theoretically Guy should be able to recharge his ring from it. The fact that Guy's Red as well as Green should make him able to talk to whomever is running things around here, or controls the Wrath CPP. If this is an alternate universe and not back-in-time to Relic's universe.