dickenst's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Wow the guardians are so terrible. I want to believe they've been corrupted by some outside force. I miss ganthet.

shane_tiernan's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

This was good, but it seems like there's a lot of history to this lantern stuff that is not in New 52. I thought this was a reboot, but from reading comments online it sounds like they did use the stuff from Blackest Night/Brightest day here and I didn't read those. So, I definitely feel like I'm missing stuff, like what the hell is a black lantern? Wish I would have known, I would have read those events first.

spocksveganfries's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

+ Prelude to Wrath of the First Lantern storyline

- Indigo tribe *sigh*
- Sinestro part of Indigo tribe back and forth *sigh*
- Black Hand story going nowhere

rltinha's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

Melhor que o primeiro vol.
Mas também não era difícil...

arrik's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I had the pleasure of being able to read the last arc of GL (before New 52) back-to-back. That still took a while, but if you consider how many years that spanned (what, nearly 5 years?), this volume is a major payoff to the amazing emotional spectrum story arc that has played out since Blackest Night. Okay sure, there's the epilogue encounter with Black Hand which was a good story (and damn near (NO SPOILER) led to a resurrection that I was shocked they would decide to pull off), but at long last, we know who the Indigo Tribe is. And I felt after so long it was a satisfactory answer with a good twist.

If I was forced to only pay for and read one trade, GL would definitely be it.

gohawks's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I really enjoyed what Johns has done with the different colored Lanterns, but I hated the Darkest Night storyline. It seemed like an easy excuse for DC Zombies. Totally lame. This storyline with the Black Hand and Black Lanterns is somewhat a continuation of that. However, the Guardians and First Lantern plot lines feel like the end game that Johns has been working towards for years. so while I can say that it's not all that interesting, it is impressive watching him tie it all together. As for Mahnke, his art gets better and more polished with every issue.

rhganci's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

While the first volume of GREEN LANTERN's New 52 story left me a bit disconnected from Hal Jordan's adventures in Space Sector 2814 as they continued rather uninterrupted from the pre-FLASHPOINT storyline, VOLUME 2: REVENGE OF THE BLACK HAND measured new and old into a cool, threat-level-midnight story about the impending collapse of the Green Lantern Corps and How Hal (Is Going to) [Got] His Ring Back. That, I assume, is all coming in Volume 3, but for now, I'm far more satisfied with John's second New 52 GL book than I was his first.

This story split its duties between continuing the story of Hal's temporary GL ring and his rivalry-based team-up with Sinestro, whose actions in the middle and at the end of the previous volume amp up to full concern here, with the Book of Black leading the danger in concert with the Guardians of Oa, who now want to destroy the Lantern Corps with something called the Third Army. I thought the story of the Indigo Lanterns, a context-rich story section that did a lot to bring me up to speed as a "new" reader. Key background includes: The origin of the Indigo Tribe, the fate of Black Hand, and the nature of the Guardians' new approach to galactic stability. Johns moves through the complexity of the lore much easier this time, with a steadier hand and a more engaging plot to get the information to us, and to get us to think about the things that we as readers are supposed to be thinking about with so much richness.

The second half of the story deals mostly with setup for the final Johns volume of GL, what I assume will include some kind of resolution to the "Is Hal Jordan a Green Lantern, or not?" question, which I consider the chief concern of the story: in the Justice League book, which directly references some of the goings-on in Hal's solo book, he appears to be 100% a member of the GL corps. I enjoyed the action sequences at the graveyard, the cliffhanger that Johns leaves us with (part of which does a lot to set my expectations for V3), and the significant but restrained role that Carol plays in this story, more as a catalyst for Hal's character than a key player of any kind. I hope to see more of her in the coming months, ring or not.

Doug Mahnke's art continues it strong presence in bringing the GL world to life, especially his settings. This volume takes us from Coast City to a prison world, and from there to a jungle and to Sinestro's secret lair and back to Earth again. Exciting, intense, and much more coherent to new and returning readers this time around, REVENGE OF THE BLACK HAND seems to be a book with mass appeal. It really raises the stakes and makes great use of the GL lore, and as a middle-act of a larger drama, definitely improves on the groundwork that the first volume established. Johns' final contribution to the GL sector of the DCU can only do the same, and this volume did much to set expectations and make promises for that conclusion.

calistareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This held my interest. The guardians, apparently, have gone crazy. They are supposed to guard the galaxy and protect it with the Lantern corps. Well, they are trying to take away free will to bring order to the galaxy as they can't seem to control Chaos with their lanterns. Too much order is its own evil. So they are crazy and they are going to wipe out the green Lanterns.

We also see where the Indigos get their power and what they are. I guess we didn't know before then. I like the indigos. They are pretty interesting and I want to see more of them. We also see the first lantern, which is sorta interesting. I kinda don't understand why it's always a Lantern, but I guess it has to do with light.

I'm going to keep going with this story. I think it's pretty good and I'm enjoying it. I want to learn more about this word as it is vast and I know so little about it.

mcacev's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

It's what you would do.

Que crying for an hour.

Volume 2 of Green Lantern is another 2 part story. The first 4 issues focus on Hal and Sinestro's trip to Nok, the home planet of the Indigo Tribe who were introduced during the last series as the purple corp of compassion, while the last 2 issues focus on Black Hand and his return as a villain.

I'm not sure why this volume is called Revenge of Black Hand, since he doesn't actually do anything until the end of the story; it would be more fitting to call it something pertaining to the Indigo Tribe because they are the true stars of this volume.

This is an excellent volume. I absolutely loved the Indigo Tribe story-line; we learn more about Sinestro's past, about the creation of the Indigo Tribe and about Abin Sur (the best underdeveloped character ever). The relationships in Sinestro's past are so interesting that I always love an opportunity to learn more about them, and this is no exception. There were 2 moments that made me really emotional; one is towards the end, when back on Korugar, Sinestro takes Hal back to his underground base. Hal sees the wedding portrait of Arin and Sinestro, and as he comments on it, Sinestro destroys it. Another is the quote at the beginning, which Sinestro gives Hal in response to Hal asking him if he is really about to fight an entire tribe of murderers and sadists with an empty ring.

The origin of the Indigo Tribe is fascinating and well thought out. I liked that it tied directly into Abin Sur's past, that Natomo was a really good friend of Abin's and the irony of having a tribe of compassion who can cycle through the emotional spectrum be entirely comprised of people who can't experience any compassion or emotions. I also like the cruel irony of the process of being 'converted' into the tribe involving torture and physical violence, as well as the tribe functioning more or less like a collective. They are really fascinating, and probably my favorite of the spectrum, save perhaps the Star Sapphires.

The relationship between Hal and Sinestro continues to be delightful. I loved their banter in this, how they are slowly returning to the dynamic they had before Sinestro betrayed the Green Lanterns. They care about each others so much, and yet neither one is willing to admit it, so they mask it with ridiculous posturing and sniping. I also for some reason appreciate how much Sinestro dislikes Carol, and I elect to believe that it's because he feels threatened by her (though again, Johns doesn't really do her justice in this either, so it's not clear).

Black Hand is an awesomely morbid villain. I liked him a lot during Blackest Night, but here he is even more over the top and crazy. I laughed a lot at the revelation in the Book of the Dead. I'm not sure if it was intentionally written to be funny, but the line HAL JORDAN IS THE GREATEST BLACK LANTERN is hilarious.

If I do have a complaint, it's the same as the previous issue. I love Johns' writing but he continues to sideline and kill of female characters to further the story of his male ones. However I can't blame him too much, because Arin Sur had died long before he took over Green Lantern duties, and I honestly don't know if Abin's daughter is his invention or was part of the canon before he took over. Either way, sidelining Carol is still annoying, but I'd rather have her not present than used simply as a soundboard for Hal.

Looking forward to continue with the series!

letstalkaboutbooksbaybee's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

This makes me not want to continue on with this series.