Writer: Charles Soule / Robert Venditti
Artist: Alessandro Vitti / Billy Tan
Colorist: Alex Sinclair / Gabe Eltaeb
RED ALERT
A not so round Zilius Zox and a very red Supergirl
Hal and the rest of the Green Lanterns have regroup to counter the disaster the Durlans have created. A bigger problem comes knocking at their door. She is angry, Kryptonian, and seeing Red! Meet the Red Lantern’s new recruit: Supergirl! On the flip side, Guy continues to court Ice while Zilius Zox and Skallox are having a problem reasoning with the Shadow Thief! Plus Rankor and Bleez have found Ratchet’s ring but a greater evil is awaiting them.
The Ups:
Green Lantern #28: This issue is already awesome off the bat. It is a double issue flip book that includes not only Green Lantern #28 but Red Lanterns #28 as well. All for the one price of $2.99. If you are not reading either one of them and can spare some extra room on your pull list I highly recommend these series! Venditti throws us into the Red by starting this arc with a Red Lantern Supergirl. The issue dealt with re-energizing the corps after the Durlan’s communication attack. Hal has to do some unusual things, like recruiting the Corps criminals as aid and swearing them in temporarily. It is a good scene in the issue because you can see the lack of leadership that Hal has. Venditti provides a few pages of Saint Walker. It was something I wanted to see as a fan and it is a sad moment as Walker has lost his ways. Tan’s art is very detail and dynamic. His attention to detail is amazing. Each scene was visually presented in a grand way without losing any detail drawing so many characters. Sinclair’s color are what the Green Lanterns are about which is being bright vibrant colors. Fantastic colors.
Red Lanterns #28: Soule has sold me on Red Lantern. The character interactions are hilarious with a sense of brotherhood among the Reds. I go on record to say the Zilius Zox is my favorite of them all. His obsession with round shape is enough to drive me to buy this book. The scene which he meets a box shape lantern named B’ox was my highlight among the many other funny moments. Besides seeing Guy’s new stache, Soule digs deep into Guy’s motivation. You’ll see that Guy is a damaged man and he doesn’t always do things for the right reasons. Zilius Zox and Skallox are a great team and after this issue I wish there was a series just about them traveling the world together. These characters are hilarious together. Soules continues to develop the relationship between Bleez and Rankor which will become an interesting plot line. Vitti’s art relies on the heavy inks that has become a trait of this book. His Ice make over was really cool. I liked the hair style along with the Guy stache. Vitti is also a highly detailed artist and it was a treat. Eltaeb brings a darker tone element to the colors of the book. His colors emphasizes the inks well.
The Downs: The Supergirl Red Lantern origin was not in the series and won’t be seen until Supergirl #28 in 2 weeks. Not a big issue but the green lantern book is dealing with the Durlans but shifts to Supergirl with out a lead in.
Overall: Soule and Venditti balance the cross over well. They both bridge to each other without a hitch. The art is top notch on both series and are can’t miss. This concept was produced perfectly. The cross over is contained to these 2 issues and won’t force the reader to buy an extra book to follow it. Although I urge that you try both series. They are great and I, myself, will start picking up Red Lanterns. Buy this issue because you can’t go wrong with 2 for 1.
Grade 4 of 5
ComicsRefueled 