Green Lantern Corps #32

By Van Jensen, Bernard Chang, Moritat, and Marcelo Maiolo

Uprising continues to be a very strong story. With only the two-part finale left, the pace quickens in Green Lantern #32. To this point, Uprising has been a slow build. Each issue of Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, going back to December, has slowly been peeling off another layer of the onion. Plot details that seemed minor and insignificant have slowly been bubbling up to the surface, showing just how much consequence they actually have. This came to a head in Green Lantern #32, when the full gravity of the Durlans’ master plan was revealed.

In Green Lantern Corps #32, we start with John Stewart and his band of Green Lanterns arriving on Daxam. Sodam Yat’s re-emergence in Green Lantern Corps #31 was arguably the biggest reveal, to this point, in Uprising. We see some pay off here as he finally returns to his home planet. On Daxam, we get some great character moments for John Stewart, Sodam Yat (especially the end of the book), and Jruk, a new recruit introduced by Robert Venditti last summer who continues to be one of my personal favorite lanterns. Over on Mogo, we also get a hugely vital scene with Van Daggle and Salaak. In this scene Van Daggle, who has declared to the corps that he cannot be trusted, finally reveals where his allegiances lie.

Jensen’s script picks up the pace from previous installments. In doing so, he fully presents the urgency of John Stewart and his companions. The corps is becoming desperate, and Jensen nails this aspect of the book. Along with that, Bernard Chang and Moritat deliver solid work on art. Chang’s style leans more toward cartoon-y then most DC books, yet it really stands out in the lantern universe. It’s a perfect pairing for his style. Chang’s attention to detail, especially his approach for drawing Durlans, shows immense talent. The same, however, cannot be said for Moritat. His Durlans, along with other characters, just do not match up with Chang’s. It’s the only real drawback in this issue.

Perhaps the most important stat of the art team is Marcelo Maiolo’s colors. Every single page pops. Every. Single. One. He makes Daxam, heavily tinted with a pink sky and deep shades of blue in the architecture, feel like a unique alien planet. This is a significant accomplishment, considering the number of planets the Green Lantern Corps visits. Maiolo also has this special way to put an exclamation point on vital scenes (that readers of Green Arrow will recognize). Maiolo will white out the foreground and add bright contrasting colors to the background. He does this a few times in this issue, and one can’t help but love that visual WOW factor to drive home the weight of those scenes.

Green Lantern Corps continues to be a highly entertaining read. Jensen is giving new depth to John Stewart, who felt largely ignored during Geoff John’s time running the Green Lantern universe. This issue has a strong story, with only one slight hiccup. The twist in this issue was highly predictable. So much so that Van Jensen’s true intent may have been some dramatic irony, where the reader knows what the characters do not. I can’t speak fully of his intent, but I truly hope it was the latter. This issue successfully set the table for the two-part finale to come next month. It should be a doozy.