Review: Sinestro Vol. 2- Sacrifice

Quick Summary

Pros: The entire volume is full of tense battles and awesome action. The characters are mostly well-written and flashbacks give readers an opportunity to learn more about them. The final chapter is a great set-up for the next volume. The artwork looks beautiful and helps improve the storytelling.

Cons: The crossover issues are collected poorly. One of the characters isn’t presented that well.

Overall: This is another win for the Sinestro series and further proof that this is a comic worth diving into. The positives here range from awesome battles backed up by some beautiful artwork to awesome characters who are only getting better as this series progresses. Meanwhile, the negatives are minimal and can easily be overlooked for now. Anyone who enjoyed the previous volume should read this, and anyone who was on the fence about reading it should know that the second volume is just as good as the first.

Story

Sinestro Vol. 2: Sacrifice, by Cullen Bunn, is not quite as explosively positive as its predecessor but is still a joy to read. This collection details two separate conflicts that manage to capture the harsh intensity and over-the-top action one would expect from the Yellow Lantern Corps. Meanwhile, characters continue to stand out throughout the book, especially in a few chapters that reveal some critical pieces of background information. The only downside is that there are some flaws in the presentation of the Green Lantern/New Gods (Review) crossover and some minor flaws in the presentation of another character. However, the majority of the book is still highly positive and does a solid job in continuing the quality of this series.

(spoilers start here)

The first half of Sacrifice contains the Sinestro chapters from the Green Lantern/New Gods crossover event. These chapters have the Sinestro Corps go head to head with the New Gods, who are easily the most powerful enemy they have faced. It also continues to detail Sinestro’s ongoing plan to strengthen his Corps, whether this is through testing them in battle or recruiting new allies to his cause. Both of these factors are enjoyable to see play out and keep the book exciting.

However, the issues from this crossover are presented rather poorly. 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. Sacrifice 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.

The second half of Sacrifice has Sinestro facing off against Mongul and Warworld. These chapters are more universally positive and are wonderfully exciting from start to finish. The ebb and the flow of the battle makes it seem like Sinestro is going to win, then lose, then win again. It creates a conflict where you never know what is going to happen next, as you’re never sure what trump card the main characters are going to suddenly reveal. All of this makes for an exciting, tense, and all-out fun portion of the read.

Finally, Sacrifice closes with an Annual chapter that dips into the histories of many of its main characters. These are all interesting to see and add to the overall narrative of the series. My only complaint is that Bekka’s reasons for joining Sinestro are not really justified here and, thus, she ends up coming off more shallow than the rest of the book’s characters. Besides this though, this closing chapter is great and works as a perfect set-up for the next volume.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Sacrifice is positive and ends up being a big part of this volume’s success. Artists like Brad Walker, Dale Eaglesham, and Ethan Van Sciver all put detailed and well-structured work into this book. However, the best part about this work is the way it lends itself to the action. There are pages here that depict imaginative conflicts featuring an equally imaginative variety of fighters utilizing an equally imaginative variety of fighting styles. It reminds readers that this is a book free from Earth’s restrictions but also feels unique and different from other cosmic books.

In addition, the visuals are surprisingly consistent throughout the volume. Though there are a number of different artists working on this book, the visual style does not change up randomly, as it may in other comics. In fact, the only chapter where the visuals do change rather dramatically uses these visual changeups to indicate the tone of various flashbacks.

Continuity

Sinestro Vol. 2: Sacrifice continues the story from Sinestro Vol. 1: The Demon Within (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“.

The story here continues in Sinestro Vol. 3: Rising (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Hal Jordan’s time spent infected by Paralax is mentioned. This time is revealed during Green Lantern: Rebirth.
• Many references are made to the destruction of Korugar and the destruction of the previous Guardians of the Universe. Both of these events happened during the Green Lantern: Wrath of the First Lantern (Review) (Reading Order) event.
• Earth’s success in repelling Darkseid’s invasion is mentioned. This is detailed across Justice League: Origin (Review). For more information, see our exploration into “The Origin of the Justice League (New 52 Version)“.
• Relic’s attack on the Green Lanterns is mentioned. This took place across the Green Lantern: Lights Out (Reading Order) event.
• Mongul makes a few references to his time as a Yellow Lantern.
  • He gained his first Yellow Lantern Ring in Green Lantern Corps Vol. 2 #19, collected in Green Lantern Corps: Ring Quest.
  • He officially established the “Mongul Corps” in Green Lantern Corps Vol. 2 #39, collected in Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps.
  • Sinestro defeated Mongul and regained his Corps in Green Lantern Vol. 4 #46, collected in Blackest Night: Green Lantern.