Review: Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 1- The Ring Bearer

Quick Summary

Pros: The characters are interesting and their interactions are fun. The book has plenty of entertaining action. The book’s concept is unique and the mystery surrounding it builds excitement for the future. The artwork is mostly positive.

Cons: Some plot points feel unrealistic and make it hard to get fully invested in what is happening.

Overall: This is an optimistic start to a series with plenty of potential. It immediately kicks off an action-packed and galaxy-spanning adventure that ends up being very fun. The unique cast of characters and the mystery at the story’s center also ensure that there are plenty of reasons to return to this series in the future. Readers interested in seeing more Kyle Rayner or in seeing a unique side of DC’s cosmic universe should consider checking this book out.

Story

Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 1: The Ring Bearer, by Tony Bedard, is a positive start to an interesting new series. It follows multiple individuals with dramatically different goals, personalities, and allegiances who are forced to work together toward unravelling a mystery. This leads to a storyline with dramatic and fun action. It also leads to a storyline with compelling drama between individuals and an intriguing mystery. There are points where the narrative stumbles and points where it feels like further development could make the entire thing better but as an opening volume, it is very promising. 

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The Ring Bearer starts out with an interesting concept and manages to continue to make this concept more interesting as it progresses. The entire comic is about the “New Guardians”, a group of Lanterns comprised of one member from each Green Lantern Corps. As each of these Corps are comprised of individuals with dramatically different mental and emotional states, seeing them interact with one another is fun.

The concept then gets more interesting as it introduces a bit of mystery. No one appears to know why these particular Lanterns were chosen to work together or who chose them. There are hints that the answer to these questions may come from the collection’s main villain or from Larfleeze, but nothing is certain yet. The mystery really hooked me into the story and is one of the main reasons I’m excited about reading the next volume.

Alongside fun characters and an intriguing mystery, The Ring Bearer is also packed with action. Each of the Lantern Rings allows for a unique expression of power, which is on display for most of the volume. As it progresses, the enemies become more powerful as well, making for some exciting battles.

However, there are also places where the book pushes the limits on believability in order to push the narrative forward. The “New Guardians” are able to storm a Green Lantern stronghold and then leave it without encountering any opposition whatsoever, something actual Green Lanterns have trouble doing sometimes. It made for a strange encounter, as I was constantly wondering when a Green Lantern would burst into the room and provide backup. Then, later on, Arkillo nearly calls Saint Walker a friend, despite the fact that these two have had very little time to actually develop a friendship. This just feels like an inorganic development designed to push the volume’s emotional narrative. The collection, as a whole, is still good but the bumps in the road are noticeable.

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Art

The artwork in The Ring Bearer is mostly positive. Tyler Kirkham’s pencils are creative and help bring the world of this comic to life. Kirkham’s artwork allows the unique variety of characters and worlds, seen throughout this comic, to look different and feel as otherworldly as they need to feel. In addition, the pencils and page structures help amplify the volume’s approach to action, making it more tense and exciting. There are some problems with the volume’s visuals, like the fact that almost every female character is over-sexualized or a few places where characters’ faces look strange, but these problems are not very pronounced. Overall, the artwork in this collection looks nice and works well with the story.

Continuity

Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 1: The Ring Bearer starts the Green Lantern: New Guardians series. This series continues some elements from the pre-New 52 Green Lantern series, which began with Green Lantern: War of the Green Lanterns.

The story here continues in Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 2: Beyond Hope (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• This volume retells the story of Kyle Rayner’s origins. These origins were originally shown in Green Lantern Vol 3 #50. 
• Akrillo’s tongue was pulled out by Mongul in Green Lantern Corps Vol. 2 #34, collected in Green Lantern Corps: Emerald Eclipse.
• The creation of the Blue Lantern Corps is mentioned. This creation takes place in Green Lantern Vol. 4 #25, collected in Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War. 
• Ganthet’s emotional change was made in Green Lantern Vol. 5 #1, collected in Green Lantern Vol. 1: Sinestro (Review).
• Fatality’s time hunting Green Lanterns ended when she joined the Star Sapphires in Green Lantern Corps #30, collected in Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire.