The Green Lanterns are in Gotham, Batman is none too pleased with Simon Baz’s gun, and the Scarecrow is filling the heads of Gothamites with fears of the bat. Seems like a good team up so far, but how does it conclude this week? We peer in to answer the question, is it good?
Green Lanterns #17 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? The summary reads:
“DARKEST KNIGHT” part two! The finale of the Dark Knight/Emerald Knights team up! Scarecrow’s mastery over fear shakes Simon to his core. Can Jessica rally her own will to save her partner and stop the fear mongering maniac? Will Batman save the people of Gotham City from a new fear toxin more insidious than ever before?worked so hard to forge?
Why does this book matter?
Sam Humphries continues to write an intriguing series due to the insecurities of the lead Lanterns. Add in Batman who is no nonsense and that makes the story ripe for dynamic storytelling.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Now that is scary.
I wasn’t sure what to expect this issue after the unbalanced first issue of this arc, but I was very surprised to enjoy Simon’s personal story here. Last issue, we learned Batman was very unhappy with a hero carrying a gun into his city and that carries over here. Of course, this issue opens with Alfred about to blow Simon’s head off which certainly makes it a talking point! The relevance of the gun culminates in a meaningful dialogue in this issue with Simon and Batman and a satisfying conclusion too. The fact it took Batman pressing Simon about his gun to figure out it’s wrong to use a gun for justice is a tad surprising, but it definitely makes him giving up the gun more purpose in the grand scheme of things.
Customary to Humphries’ work on this series, we get a full page spread of one of the Lanterns basically losing it. In a beautiful showing of the reasons why he holds the gun, Humphries shows a hero coming to grips with a great fear.
Anyone waiting for the Batman two parter to end might want to pick this up for the last page. It’s a nice reminder a close ally is possibly the biggest threat to the Lanterns and humanity as we know at this juncture.
The art by Eduardo Pansica continue to be high in detail and very dark (inks by Julio Ferreira). Batman looks positively badass and no nonsense which is a stark contrast from Jessica and Simon’s rather emotive personalities. Backgrounds are always rendered well and even Batman’s cape looks great (check out the image below). There’s also a good use of perspective and choice of angles to remind the reader the Green Lanterns can fly and go just about anywhere. Scarecrow looks pretty flipping unhinged too with a nice use of his scythe throughout.
It can’t be perfect can it?
Once it’s all said and done, Scarecrow really wasn’t a match for these three which makes the conclusion a slight disappointment. Clearly Humphries is more focused on Simon’s personal battle with his fear than a villain, but considering this is a superhero comic it’s a let down Scarecrow doesn’t put up much of a fight.
Sweet cape!
Is It Good?
This is a good issue if you’re a Batman fan, but a great one if you love Simon Baz. The gun he’s holstered for years now comes to the forefront as Simon must tackle an inner demon.
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