Tony Bedard is out and Justin Jordan is in. So far, things have been looking up for all the new changes in the Green Lantern line as the old writers leave and the new ones enter. Can Justin keep this trend up and get the reader excited for this new beginning? Most importantly, is it good?
Green Lantern: New Guardians #21 (DC Comics)
Kyle Rayner is asked by the New Guardians if he can take them around the universe and see what exactly has changed in all of the years they’ve been locked away. While not exactly thrilled about it or even trusting them to begin with, Kyle reluctantly agrees to it. Their first stop is at the edge of the universe where this odd anomaly lies and that has been worrying the Guardians since they were locked up so long ago.
It also looks very icky. The universe should really see a doctor about this.
To really sum up my feelings about this issue’s writing in one word, it would be “average.” Just completely average. Everything feels average. The action (well the last action scene at least), the dialogue, the setup, the character stuff, etc. The only thing that doesn’t feel average or plain in the writing is the premise or idea of the issue. Kyle and the Guardians are going to explore the cosmos and see what is out there and what has changed. Getting to see new worlds and the creativity to them has a lot of potential, but the way the issue ends, I’m thinking the comic isn’t going to be about that, so that idea seems like it is going to be squandered. I could be wrong though, but that’s what it seems.
None of this stuff is bad by any means, but nothing is exciting me to read more and only two things besides the premise jumped out at me. Kyle and Hal beating up space sharks. Even if the action is a bit average towards the end, fighting space sharks is still cool (you can’t convince me otherwise). The other is the scene between Kyle and Carol, where Kyle is putting his stuff into storage. While it starts off fine, it gets very annoying quickly when we go over how Carol is in and not in love with Hal and how their relationship is rocky now. I said it before in Green Lantern #21, this is still a step back for the two characters and so unneeded. Plus, it has no purpose or place in this comic, radically shifting the mood with its inclusion for a page.
Oh boo! Take this crap back to main title and keep there.
On the flipside though, the art is anything but average. It’s beautiful in every way you look at it. The characters are great and the emotions from them are terrific, the action with the sharks is incredible, the backgrounds are detailed, and space scenes are amazing. Seriously, there is so much to look at that you’ll find your eyes darting all over the pages trying to take everything in, though it could be hard to focus on the dialogue if you are doing that. Still, very great looking.
Jaws 5: In Space!
7.0
- The art is completely gorgeous and a sight to behold
- An action scene involving space sharks!
- The writing is perfectly fine…
- …though this issue isn’t particularly exciting outside of a moment.
- Not much really happened.
- The Carol bit was completely unnecessary.
Is It Good?
It is (mostly thanks to the beautiful art), but it’s not great either. It’s not very exciting or doing anything particularly memorable in this new start. It could easily turn that around by the next issue of course and perhaps the art can keep you interested until then. Right now, maybe hold off on reading this until you get the next issue.
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