Green Lantern. Rise of the Third Army Prologue.

Green Lantern #1 Review (Annual October 2012)

“Rise of the Third Army” prologue and “The First Soldier” epilogue.

The newest annual from Green Lantern hit store shelves this week, covering the prologue for the upcoming Rise of the Third Army event. Incorporating all of the Green Lantern universe, Rise of the Third Army is sure to shake up the Lanterns, and the question isn’t going to be “who will be victorious?” but rather “who will survive?”

Green Lantern Annual #1 has Hal Jordan, fresh from his defeat at the hands of the Black Hand, digging himself from his own grave. In his weakened state his only hope of surviving this uneven battle is to join forces with Sinestro again. Their attempts to subdue the Black Hand will prove futile, for the Guardians have deemed the Lantern’s a failure and the world a chaos ridden embarrassment. No Lantern is safe.

Pardon my review if I seem ignorant or uninformed when it comes to Green Lantern mythology, I’ve never picked up a Green Lantern book in my life, which is odd considering the “New 52” Green Lantern is written by one of my favorite writers right now, Geoff Johns. The book is a surprisingly easy read, even for a laymen such as myself. Fortunately I do know about some of the lore, like the guardians, how the rings work, and such, so the large book wasn’t intimidating. Obviously the writing by Geoff Johns is superb, so that leaves the only critique of the book on the art of Ethan Van Sciver. The art is sharp, the colors pop, I love seeing bright greens in contrast to dark backgrounds, and I’ll just have to assume the characters look true to form.

Green Lantern fans will be happy with this issue, and I’d have to say they’ll probably be a little more concerned about some of their favorite Lanterns well being in the upcoming #13-16 issues of their respective titles. The Rise of the Third Army is supposed to incorporate Green Lantern: New Guardians,Green Lantern,Green Lantern Corps, and the Red Lanterns, so expect cross universe, galactic mayhem. My only disappointment came from the Guardians “creation” that, while being a supernatural being, seemed a little too zombie-esque for me, kind of a cop-out for an army that can produce unspeakable numbers in little time. I understand the challenge this will give the Lanterns, so I respect Geoff Johns choice of enemy minions.

Green Lantern Annual #1 is available now at Cosmic Comics! so pick it up, #getyourfix, and prepare for war, the Third Army rises.

Burke