Review: Green Lantern Corps Vol. 6- Reckoning

Quick Summary

Pros: John Stewart continues to be a great main character. Some moments from the main narrative are exciting. The artwork is mostly positive.

Cons: The book’s first half is lackluster and is presented in a way that is sure to confuse newer readers or readers unaware of the Green Lantern/New Gods crossover. The book’s conclusion rushes the conclusion of the final story arc.

Overall: This is a collection with a few positive points but a few more negative ones. The collection starts by poorly delivering a few mediocre chapters from a larger event and then goes on to rush the conclusion of its most positive story arc. Along the way, there are moments where specific characters and plot points have an opportunity to shine, but this does not happen quite often enough. In the end, this collection may still appeal to fans of John Stewart but definitely is not the best entry in this series.

Story

Green Lantern Corps Vol. 6: Reckoning, by Van Jensen, has some bright spots within but struggles to overcome its own flaws. It starts out with lackluster chapters from the Green Lantern/New Gods (Review) event and further complicates matters by presenting these chapters poorly, in a way that will make absolutely no sense for fans who are not reading the entire event. Then, it goes on to tell a decently exciting and interesting story arc. However, the conclusion to this arc takes place quite quickly and, thus, takes some of the gravitas away from this otherwise epic arc. The one consistent positive is that John Stewart is enjoyable all the way through this book.

(spoilers start here)

Reckoning opens with the Green Lantern Corps chapters from the Green Lantern/New Gods crossover event. There are some excellent moments within this crossover, like John’s clever decision to shoot off another Green Lantern’s hand at a critical moment or the creation of an insurgency on New Genesis. However, there are some equally poor moments within as well, like the illogical allegiance of the Indigo Tribe or the way John’s Violet Ring is able to illogically break his troops free.

Further weighing down this crossover is the way it is presented. Green Lantern Vol. 6: The Life Equation (Review) presents the Green Lantern issues from this crossover with pages of text that explain what happened in the non-Green Lantern crossover issues. Reckoning offers no explanation and does not even contain the event’s conclusion. I imagine many newer readers will be completely confused as to what is happening here or why a major cliffhanger goes completely unresolved.

Luckily, once Reckoning moves beyond the crossover issues, it starts to improve. The following story arc ties up loose ends for various members of the Corps. The newer recruits finally become full-fledged Green Lanterns, Von Daggle’s partner is found, and the Shadow Market is dealt with. In addition, these chapters detail a thrilling conflict between the Lanterns and a previously unknown enemy.

Unfortunately, the conclusion to this thrilling conflict is a bit disappointing. The Shadow Market was set up as a powerful force that has the resources to seriously disrupt the Green Lanterns’ mission. However, they are dealt with rather easily and the day is saved over the course of a few pages. It is a rather sudden end to the arc that subsequently makes the whole conflict feel less dire.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The most consistently positive aspect of Reckoning is easily the artwork. Bernard Chang has done great work throughout this Green Lantern Corps series and this volume is no different. The characters and their emotions stand out, the locations are unique, and the presentation of action is an asset to the story. I also continue to be a big fan of the way the visuals emphasize specific moments by altering the color scheme for a single panel here and there, as it really helps punctuate some actions. There are a few places where other artists step in and the quality of the visuals goes down but this does not happen often enough to seriously impact the overall appeal of this volume’s visuals. This Green Lantern Corps series definitely ends on a positive note.

Continuity

Green Lantern Corps Vol. 6: Reckoning continues the story from Green Lantern Corps Vol. 5: Uprising (Review).

Issues from this volume also form part of the Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead (Review) event, explained in our “Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead Reading Order“.

This Green Lantern Corps series ends with this volume. Their adventures continue in the Green Lantern Corps: Lost Army (Review) miniseries.

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Kyle Rayner became the White Lantern in Green Lantern: New Guardians #16, collected in Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 3: Love & Death (Review).
• Sinestro’s recent actions have been shown over the course of the New 52 Sinestro series, starting with Sinestro Vol. 1: The Demon Within (Review).
• Hal Jordan went on leave in Green Lantern #38, collected in Green Lantern Vol. 6: The Life Equation (Review).
• The original destruction of Xanshi took place in Cosmic Odyssey #2, collected in Cosmic Odyssey. The retelling of that story, which takes place in this volume, retcons some aspects of the original story.