DC Comics
Green Lantern Corps. # 20
By Koppy McFad
February 9, 2008 - 00:07

DC Comics
Writer(s): Peter J. Tomasi
Penciller(s): Patrick Gleason
Inker(s): Prentis Rollins
Cover Artist(s): Patrick Gleason



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Mongul gets his own yellow power ring while Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner relocate to the last place you would expect. There is surprisingly little action in this issue. Instead, we get a look into the private lives of Guy, Kyle and Mongul... as well as some hints on what the Sinestro Corps is up to.

There is something almost complacent about this issue. DC apparently assumes that the Green Lantern franchise is so hot, they can spend entire issues on Kyle and Guy moving house and on the Sinestro Corps rings vanishing. Instead of seeing Mongul go on the attack immediately, it looks like we are due for another long-drawn-out plotline. Hopefully, they can deliver the goods eventually and maybe this new development with Guy and Kyle will result in a lot of hilarious hi-jinks but the creative team should not let their pacing get sloppy. Part of the success of the Sinestro Corps war was the atmosphere of desperation created by how swiftly the story unfolded.

The good news is the character bits we do get are impressive. Continuity is not forgotten and the relationships of the three main characters are played up well. Mongul is looking more and more dangerous. No longer is he just an overmuscled dictator. He seems to have darker ambitions beyond mere conquest. This is a good thing as the character was in danger of turning into a jobber who is kept around for the occasional beating at the hands of Superman.

The art is a bit overly-dark. Even the scenes that do not have to be dark look rather gloomy. Panels are also rather crowded, partly because the artists resort to close-ups even when they don't have to. But the story is always easy to follow and the characters are all lively and attractive to the eye. And yes, Mongul comes off looking extremely menacing again. Maybe they should change the title of this book to "the Mongul Corps."

This gets a respectable three and a half stars out of five.
 



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