Review: Green Lantern Corps Vol. 2- Alpha War

Quick Summary

Pros: The opening story arc starts with great emotions and some interesting politics. This story arc also has some creative and entertaining action to it. The focus on Guy Gardner is interesting and works well in the past and present. The narrative builds excitement for the future. The artwork looks good and enhances the collection.

Cons: The elements related to the “Third Army” story arc are introduced somewhat poorly.

Overall: The second entry in this series proves that this is a comic to watch out for. This volume takes the awesome action, gripping emotions, and interesting situations of its predecessor and makes them even better. It continues to advance the development of this series in a way that makes the present stories fun while also building excitement for the future. Anyone who enjoyed the first volume should keep reading here.

Story

Green Lantern Corps Vol. 2: Alpha War, by Peter J. Tomasi, utilizes and expands upon all of the successful elements established by its predecessor. It dives into some seriously compelling emotions as it examines the actions of the Corps members. This leads to an equally compelling exploration into some problems within the structure of this unique Corps. Then, it puts Guy Gardner under the microscope and shows how his past has influenced some radical changes taking place in his present. All of this is also accompanied by some excellent bouts of action, with awesome battles and some unexpected tactics. The entire book feels like an even better version of the military writing used in the previous volume.

(spoilers start here)

Alpha War starts out by further capitalizing on the emotions the were present at the conclusion of Fearsome (Review). This includes the emotions John feels over the death of his fellow corpsman, which are on display as he nearly kills himself with guilt and are at their highest when he has another meeting with the corpsman’s family. It also includes the emotions felt as the rest of the Green Lantern Corps are hit with blinding rage toward the dead corpsman, who both John and Guy try to defend. In general, the emotions in this portion of the book are compelling and well-written.

This portion of the volume also does well in exploring the political side of this series. The unclear nature of John’s trial and the clearly biased result point to problems within the Green Lantern organization. Though many of these problems are revealed to be the mechanisms of the Guardians, it is still interesting to see the political structure of the Green Lantern Corps explored.

After the trial ends, Alpha War shifts the focus from emotions and politics to fun action. The volume turns into a jailbreak and then an all-out mutiny. There are blasts of energy flying around, explosions in random places, and constructs everywhere. Then, John and Guy unleash their amalgam of former Green Lantern weapons to push the action even further. The entire battle ends with a satisfying defeat of the Alpha Lanterns, even if it did help the Guardians’ with their nefarious plans.

From here, Alpha War goes on to place more of a focus on Guy. Readers have a chance to learn more about his history with the Green Lanterns, which I actually thought was a worthwhile update to his backstory. Then, readers see him elevated to a new position before being removed from the Corps entirely. It will be interesting to see how he moves on from this point, especially since readers are now more aware of his past.

Alpha War also continues to do a great job in building excitement for the future. Watching the Guardians scheme and knowing that it is leading to something injects more suspense into the mix. The only problem is that the introduction to the Third Army is a bit sudden and does not tell the reader much about what it is (requiring knowledge about other books to understand). However, the desire to see how this plays out left me really wanting to read the next volume.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Alpha War looks even better than it did in the previous volume. Fernando Pasarin’s pencils have some solid creativity in them, which helps bring the constructs of the Corps and the various locations of the book to life. In addition, the entire book is structured well and allows the story to flow wonderfully. This is particularly noticeable in the fight scenes, which alternate between smaller panels, to show quick bursts of action, to full-page spreads, to highlight a specific moment or to show the entire battle all at once. The book also has a level of detail and quality that is appreciated. Overall, the visuals throughout this book look good and make the entire reading experience better.

Continuity

Green Lantern Corps Vol. 2: Alpha War continues the story from Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: Fearsome (Review).

The story here continues in Green Lantern Corps Vol. 3: Willpower and in Green Lantern: Rise of the Third Army.

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The Alpha Lanterns were created back in Green Lantern Vol. 4 #27, collected in Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns. 
• Sinestro became a Green Lantern again at the conclusion of Green Lantern: War of the Green Lanterns. This status was confirmed at the beginning of Green Lantern Vol. 1: Sinestro (Review).
• The Yellow Lantern Central Power Battery was recovered in Green Lantern Vol. 1: Sinestro (Review). 
• Some flashbacks and dialogue reference Sinestro’s war against the Green Lanterns. This was took place across Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War.
• Guy Gardner’s time as a Red Lantern is a part of the Blackest Night event.
• A past Green Lantern’s trial is mentioned. The actions leading up to this trial and the trial itself take place across Green Lantern Vol 4 #26-28, collected in Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns.
• Guy almost killed Sodam Yat in Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #7, collected in Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors.