Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: Alessandro Vitti
Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb/Hi-fi
SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
“Stop whininggg! Find rage! Be Atrocitusss, not baby!!”
Once the battle with Relic was won, Gardner left with his Red Lanterns to cash in on the deal Hal made with him in exchange for their help. With Atrocitus still in space with Dexstarr searching for a new ring to get his power back, what will this mean for Guy if he does find one?!
The Ups: After the events of ‘Lights Out’ the Reds story picks up right where it left off. This issue had a lot of interacting amongst the groups members which was a very different change of pace from what the series has done thus far. Soule shows that Gardner has spread his influence to the other members with all the laid back drinking and celebrating going on, which is something Atrocitus would never allow. Speaking of Atrocitus, we are seeing how him and Dexstarr are still going through space in search for a ring that Atrocitus sent out prior to Gardner taking over the Reds, and what Atrocitus runs into is going to make things interesting.
The Downs: There is a whole lot of dialogue in this issue so prepare to read a lot. Not that I minded it but it’s very rare for Red Lantern issues to have so much talking and basically no action which this issue lacked as well. The issue is mostly a filler that Soule was very slowly setting up a new story which almost felt like he was just reaching for something that the Corps could do while they progress the story with Atrocitus. The artwork was also a little rough and extremely inconsistent which to me was surprising because Vitti and Eltaeb have done such great work in past issues. Towards the beginning the scenes were nicely detailed and the colored and in the last couple of pages it becomes very lacking and some of the colors are too blended together a lot of the characters get lost in the shuffle.
Overall: A very slow and awkward start for the new story arc for the Reds. Soulem, Vitti and Eltaeb have done such great work in the past I have faith that this is just a bump in the rode and things will definitely pick up the next couple of issues.
Grade 2 of 5
ComicsRefueled 