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Far Sector / Green Lantern
Courtesy DC Comics

Comic Books

‘Far Sector’ #12 has the emotion, but doesn’t go far enough

Jemisin and Campbell deliver an issue that feels bittersweet.

Far Sector #12 brings to a close one of the best series in print over the last two years. N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell have obviously poured their heart and soul into a book that will assuredly go down as a quintessential Green Lantern story, especially considering the oncoming breakout of Sojourner Mullein. So how is readers’ last day in one of the deepest, most expansive worlds in comics?

Jemisin has such a clear and clean grasp on how to convey her stories, themes and ideas in non-complex and digestible ways. In what’s essentially the climax of the whole story, readers are privy to one of these moments in which the truth of Jemisin’s meaning cuts so clearly through the metaphor that it smacks readers in the face. It distills simple truths in ways that inspire first-time understanding, such as how those in power have throughout history construed lower classes as emotional, and illogical as a means of holding onto their power, something that becomes very easy to grasp when it’s a Black woman screaming it.

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These are the clever, and deftly written moments the series has been full of. 

What’s apparent from this issue’s structure though is that Jemisisn clearly had more story she wanted to tell than she had pages to tell it with. The lack of exploration into the emergence of the Cloud Kratocracy makes it pretty clear that the medium might’ve confined this story more than it needed to.

Additionally, about thirteen of this issue’s pages read pretty clearly as an epilogue, an odd structure for a conclusory issue. It feels as if elements of the climax are rushed through, while these latter sections of the book get to breathe a little too much in comparison.

This doesn’t make any of the actual content bad, though. So much of the last few pages enforces and further proves just how lovable Mullein is. Readers will undoubtedly want to see more of her, Syzn of the Cliffs, by the Streaking Ice and @CanHaz. They’re all incredibly fun characters that work wonderfully off each other, especially considering the developments of this issue.

As an actual conclusion this doesn’t have the same punch that many of the issues leading up to it had. It largely feels as if it’s missing a step somewhere in the middle to get us from where readers were to where they are now. There needed to be more in regards to @Blaze-of-Glory and her coup, and the actual political structures which were at work. It’s hard to know if this is a reflection of Jemisin’s actual planned plot, or if too much was cut to have it fit in the right issue size. 

DC Preview: Far Sector #12
Courtesy DC Comics

Luckily, though, Campbell’s work doesn’t really suffer in the same ways. This actually might be one of the most beautiful issues in the whole series. Whether it’s the large-scale battles or the quiet intimate moments, everything just sings. More than in any past issues, his colors stand out as absolutely breathtaking here. Explosions, lantern constructs, spaceships, Mullein herself all jump off the page. 

It’s crazy to see the diversity of his skillset on display in this issue. The bombast of the first half of the issues, marked by explosions and movement, are such a contrast to the quiet, sometimes motionless final pages, yet Campbelle pulls it all off with aplomb. 

More than anything, Jemisin and Campbell deliver an issue that feels bittersweet. They both have obvious talent on display, and it seems like all of the issues’ flaws simply stem from there being too few pages. However, the flaws that exist are fairly significant, and can really water down what had been set up to be an extremely exciting conclusion.

Far Sector / Green Lantern
‘Far Sector’ #12 has the emotion, but doesn’t go far enough
Far Sector #12
More than anything, Jemisin and Campbell deliver an issue that feels bittersweet. They both have obvious talent on display, and it seems like all of the issues' flaws simply stem from there being too few pages. However, the flaws that exist are fairly significant, and can really water down what had been set up to be an extremely exciting conclusion.
Reader Rating0 Votes
0
Jemisin's usual poignant writing
Campbell's stellar colors
The range Campbell pulls off with aplomb
The characters are just so likable
Things were clearly cut to fit into the page count
Doesn't have the same impact as earlier issues
Half of the issue feels like an epilogue -- a weird structure
7.5
Good

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