Green Lanterns, Vol. 8

Green Lanterns

by Dan Jurgens

EDICIÓN ORIGINAL: Green Lanterns núms. 50 a 57 USA

¡Última entrega! ¡El final de las aventuras individuales de Jessica Cruz y Simon Baz! Una infección crece en la batería central de los Green Lantern Corps. ¡Una oscuridad que ni siquiera los Guardianes han detectado, y que tendrá grandes consecuencias para el cuerpo! Mientras, Jessica se plantea abandonar. Ni siquiera Simon parece con fuerzas para convencerla de lo contrario. ¿Es posible que uno de los dos oculte un secreto sangriento? La mayor pesadilla de Hal Jordan está a punto de regresar. Y con ella, una batalla de proporciones gigantescas.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 2019

About the author

Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. Jurgens had a lengthy run on the Superman comic books including The Adventures of Superman, Superman vol. 2 and Action Comics. At Marvel, Jurgens worked on series such as Captain America, The Sensational Spider-Man and was the writer on Thor for six years. He also had a brief run as writer and artist on Solar for Valiant Comics in 1995.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B) 72% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: Out-of-the-blue, too intricate too, terribly messy and dense, vitality-stingy, visually dingy, lacking in focus and sense.

*Progress updates: Preamble ◦ Issues #50-51 ◦ Issues #52-54 ◦ Issues #55-57

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan Jurgens wraps up Green Lanterns by making Jessica and Baz minor characters in their own book. This is a GL Corps story instead. I liked the menace and misdirection of the first several issues. Unfortunately, DC editorial dropped the ball by revealing the villain on the back cover of all places. Thanks DC, you ignoramuses! At some point in the last few years, Mike Perkins's faces became very blotchy and swollen. Everyone looks like they were punched in the face several times.

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great ending to the series, although it feels more like a Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps book because it really focuses on Hal when all is said and done.

There are only two nit-picks I have here (some possible minor spoilers):
1: Any Green Lantern run ending always seems to have the same status-quo changes. Either the guardians all leave and/or come back, or the Lanterns have to relocate to some other base of operations.

2: For the villain's plan to work here, Simon has to be a complete and total moron. He even says "This doesn't make sense, but I guess I'll do it anyway" a few times as he royally screws everything up. I also felt that-while Jessica finally grew as a character-Simon actually regressed and became more untrusting like he was at the beginning of the series by carrying that stupid gun around again.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Green Lantern Corps are falling apart. With threats from within and without, Lantern partners at each other's throats, and a dead Guardian on their hands, it's a black night indeed.

This storyline has good ideas. A universe-sweeping problem, a fan favourite villain (although the trade spoils this by sticking them on the back cover of all places) and a murder mystery or two should keep you on your toes easily.

But it just all feels a bit pedestrian after all the Lanterns stuff that launched this book. Jess and Simon are basically supporting characters in their own title, and none of the side-villains have any gravitas, especially once Jurgens really starts getting his true villain going with his monologues. There just never feels like very much urgency or peril, despite it being yelled at on every page.

On the art front, Mike Perkins is a good fit for the darkness of space, but his Lanterns always feel a bit muted and dull rather than popping off the page as well.

Nothing majorly bad, but Green Lanterns has never been the same since Sam Humphries' departure. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. If you want a straight forward Green Lantern story, this is as good as any - but if you want real emotional Green Lanterns (spectrum, and otherwise), I've got some other books I can recommend you instead.

[Wing Kee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow what did I just read?

World: The art is ugly, it's dark, it's scratchy and muddle and just not good to look at. We went from Sandoval to this and yuck it's bad. The world building here is spotty and choppy at best, there are bits and pieces here from the past but most of it is not really used well and the pieces that are used are scarce. This is DC wrapping up the world before Morrison comes in and it's not done well. A lot of the depth and the wide cast of characters that Johns and Venditti has created are surprisingly missing and that's really a shame.

Story: Wow was this bad, the premise is stupid, the idea of the villain in the ring such a stretch that he needed to tell the GL Corps 3 times his plan. It's absurd and pointless and stupid. I love this villain but using him like this was really bad and the story makes no sense whatsoever. The contrived rift of Simon and the rest of the Corps does not work and makes the story laughable. The add to the fact that Jurgens pulls the punch in the end making this entire story pointless.

Characters: Everyone is out of character here and it is frustrating. All of them act differently because the story demands it and it's pretty bad. I don't even want to talk about this arc anymore.

This was bad, and to end the run like this is such a sad thing. This series has not been the greatest but to end it like this is just a disservice.

Onward to the next book!

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

So the Rebirth era of Green Lanterns comes to an end with this action pack story arc by longtime DC comics scribe, Dan Jurgens. I have to say I really enjoyed the Green Lanterns series starring Jessica Cruz & Simon Baz. The two rookie Lanterns have come a long way since Green Lanterns, Vol. 1: Rage Planet. I feel that the characters have really been fleshed out and this volume was a great way to end the Green Lantern books as Grant Morrison reboots the mythos with his run. The story here was simple but I was smiling as I read the book. Because for the first time in a while all of Earth's Green Lanterns are together on this adventure. Jurgens does a good job keeping each of the corps. members voice unique and each character gets their moment to shine. The artwork was pretty good as well. Hank Henshaw aka Cyborg Superman was an incredible villain. Henshaw and Hal Jordon have a really personal history. I really enjoyed this series and I am looking forward to Morrison's run.

[Xavier Hugonet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice throwback to the Death of Superman saga, written by Superman’s murderer himself, Dan Jurgens, for an okay finale. Can see it’s a series cut short, as there is no buildup to said finale.

Ah well, next comes Morrison’s series.

[Gabriel · Rating 2 out of 5]

What's not to love about the final stretch of a series sidelining its main characters?

A disappointing end to a series I otherwise enjoyed. Simon and Jess deserved better than whatever the hell this was.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75... losing Jess and Simon as the main characters was really disappointing, as was keeping them apart most of the story. I love how Jessica has grown, but again I feel like not enough time was spent developing Simon.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent read. Not my all-time favorite Green Lanterns, but I Ioved that this arc included the entire Corps and a mystery that went to the very root of the GL system—the main power battery. Even better, the villain was Cyborg Superman, which meant some great emotional stuff from Hal. (Even if Cyborg Superman’s abilities did stretch my suspension of disbelief a little farther than I’d like). This graphic also looked at Jessica and Simon’s trust of each other, which ultimately was more powerful than Cyborg Superman’s manipulation. I don’t know how I feel about Jessica going off on her own (I love her and Simon’s dynamic), but I also can’t deny that it makes sense for her character. Ready and waiting for the next volume!

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This latest installment of Green lanterns had it all. I didn't want to put my tradeback down! There was a great deal of lanterns showcased, especially Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Killawog, Simpn Baz, Jessica Cruz, and Hal Jordan. I got so used to only seeing rookie Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz. Any fan of these intergalactic cops will enjoy this space adventure against evil's might!

[Sarospice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read the entire green lanterns series and loved both Baz and Jessica. I'm excited where they go next. I wasn't bothered that this last trade needed the entire GLC to resolve, I just wish the main characters had gotten to be bigger parts before the end...

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 since it’s a serviceable volume but for a finale? It’s bad. While Cyborg Superman is a good villain he feels out of place in a GL book. Jurgen helped write Death of Superman and that whole event so it makes sense he wants to do some stuff with something related to his famous work but this feels out of place. Maybe if I was a diehard fan of the author I would be like "Oh my god! He's writing with that guy!" But as a GL fan it feels off. Eon and the Ravages made more sense and feel more in place so I wish they were given more of a role than Cyborg Superman instead. Otherwise this feels like the author going back and revisiting us youth and past glory in the finale of a entirely unrelated run. It just feels like waving he's waving his Superman OC and showing how cool and awesome and better it is. But, like to GL readers who care less.
The concept of "the rings go bad" has probably happened before but the execution is nice here. I enjoy how individuals are given conflicting statements from their rings causing confusion and creating trust issues between them. It happened especially well with Simon's ring in issue 3 and Jessica's cautious ring in the first and second issue collected here. Its a way to bring their buddy cop dynamic and strain it while maintaining the larger scenario the problem of galaxy-wide faulty rings creates.
I can also see why some say this is more of a Hal Jordan and the GL Corps story than Green Lanterns story as while Simon and Jessica are given time and spotlights the focus is more on the corps as a whole which is very different from the rest of this run. Simon gets more of a spotlight but his deal is awkward since it revisits his "gun instead of a ring" thing. Jessica gets basically nothing except for the all-of-a-sudden ending where she just dips. :/
Art-wise it's alright. It's mostly Mike Perkins who is not my favorite. He does well with sci-fi scenery and layouts for two page spreads but his faces are awkward as all get out the first issue collected here. Two issues are done by Santucci whose style is similar to Perkins with lovely sci-fi scenery but his general face expressions are much better making me prefer him more.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars.
So... this is what they decided on for the last Volume of Green Lanterns?
I'm... ok... with the ending, but again, I feel like much of GL (and all GL books) are just killing time till they can come back with an amazing story that will blow everyone away. (I miss the multiple Lantern Corps/ Geoff Johns era)
The basic story contained here is that the central power battery has been corrupted, leading to the death of a Guardian (an insignificant one I've never heard of before) and it appears as if Simon Baz is responsible. Turns out to be Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman, who has obtained the power of the Phantom Ring, a ring that can control all forms of the emotional spectrum. Bringing along an army of Ravagers (really? they even have blue skin just like Yondu from Marvel's Guardians...) all seems lost until they all band together (like every GL story anymore it seems) and surprise, Simon isn't a traitor. They defeat Hank, but he escapes with the Phantom Ring, ready to come back and fight again when they need a villain.
The end shows us that the GLC are moving back to Oa (which has been secretly rebuilt... more like to get the next GL comic book to not have to worry about that) and Jessica Cruz goes off on her own adventure, now having the confidence she didn't have at the beginning of the run (I actually like this part)
The volume isn't horrible. I enjoyed reading it somewhat, and it did give a nice emotional mark ending for Jessica Cruz's hesitation. (PLUS... it's WAY BETTER than the much more dull "The Green Lantern" that follows it) Overall, if you are a completionist, or are looking for a self-contained GL story that is "just ok", try this Volume. Otherwise, you could probably skip it.

[Pablo Rodriguez Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 8 - Ft. Jessica Cruz........................................................................................................................ y simon baz.

Que decir al respecto. La historia involucra a todo el cuerpo de Green Lanterns. Podemos ver interactuar a los Lanterns de siempre con Jessica y Simon, cosa que rara vez ocurre. Hasta ahí todo bien. Se plantea un suspenso que parte del asesinato de un guardian y la desaparacion de John Stewart, que no se revela hasta adentrado en las paginas. El responsable enemigo de turno: Cyborg-Superman. Este personaje logro infiltrarse como un virus en la batería central del cuerpo (no importa como, solo vean los dibujos), y desde ahí, envía registros falsos o interrumpe las comunicaciones entre los lanterns, SPAM. Esto provoca que se genere cierta desconfianza principalmente hacia Simon Baz.

Ahora, como puse en el titulo, esto parece un tomo de HJ&GLC mas que de Green LanternS. Hal es la estrella y no se molestan en disfrazarlo. Jessica y Simón quedan apartados al rol de personajes terciarios en su propia serie. Sobre todo éste último. En todo lo anterior de la colección siempre se mostraba el compañerismo entre ambos, los pensamientos, las dudas y basicamente todo... creando una sensación de fácil empatía con ambos. Apoyándose unos a otros en aciertos, errores y en todos los quilombos que el guionista pudiese tirarles, para salir victoriosos y un poco mas curados de sus traumas personales.
Con este tomo nos olvidamos de todo eso. Crecimiento para personajes = cero. Y solo podemos apreciar la parte de Jessica en cuanto a narrativa, porque a Baz lo dejan bien bien de lado. No se, uno esperaría que con la culminación de la serie llegasen a ALGO con los personajes. Pero no, eso no pasa. Hay una breve reflexión por parte de Jessica al final pero que si no estaba daba lo mismo. En números anteriores también habían planteado cositas pequeñas que podían afectar la relación entre ambos... pues no, nada.

En fin, van las 3 estrellas porque si no venís buscando lo que venias leyendo en esta colección, es entretenido.

[Roxanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not writing a synopsis for this one since I haven't been covering this series in its entirety, but since this is the last volume, I wanted to give my thoughts. Overall, this was not a good send off for Simon and Jessica. The main reason for that is the fact that this isn't really a Jessica and Simon book, it's a Green Lantern Corps book. It involves the entire Corps and that is going to downsize the amount of panel time the mains get. I swear, I think Hal got more time than Jessica did, and I love Hal, but this isn't his book. It felt more like Hal's book, especially with Hank Henshaw as the villain.

The ending felt rushed to get the characters, namely Jessica, to where they needed to be. Jessica is going off to JL Odyssey after this so it would have been nice if we had gotten a strictly Simon and Jess story. Instead, it's just kind of a hot mess until we find out what's actually going on with the Phantom Ring, which was another missed opportunity. Why is the whole Corps dealing with it when they couldn't have been bothered the first time? Whatever, it's fine. I'm not bitter.

The art bothered me, too. I'm sorry, I can't draw so I shouldn't say shit, but I was not a fan of the style and it made it difficult to keep engaged with it. It would have been cool to have the regular artists for the series return. Sigh, overall a disappointing end to a promising series. But if you want to try the series, I do recommend it because most of it is good stuff. It might surprise you.

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unbeknownst to the Green Lanterns, the central battery has been invaded and corrupted by one of their worst villains...

So Dan Jurgens has been doing a pretty good job on the title, but here he swings for the fences, and doesn't quite get the hit as well as he'd hope I'd guess. Don't get me wrong, the story is ok, but since this is the last volume, it should be great. Instead we get the main characters taking a backseat, because in essence, this is a GLC story, not really about Simon and Jessica, and the Cyborg Superman has been reused a lot lately. He's a cool villain, but I think less is more with him.

However the book kind of struggles with both the story and the art. The plot is paced unevenly, it doesn't really flow well when you read it. The dialogue is stilted, and the motivations and choices of the characters are sometimes baffling. This kind of read like a golden age book, and I don't mean that in a good way. Add to that art that seems really rushed, and you got yourself a not so great book.

I think the next iteration of the Green Lantern book is written by one of my favorites, Grant Morrison, and I think it's a smart move by DC to do a shake up of writers, because this ended on a bad note.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan Jurgens takes over for the final eight issues of the series. It's an improvement over Seeley, who has been consistently weak, and is a relatively straightforward action story without much additional depth to it. On its own merits, it's probably worth 4 stars, however, since the initial sense of menace and the method that the villain is using to combat the Corps works quite well - if you're really going to threaten the Corps existence, this is a pretty good way of doing it. And there are some good glimpses of the wider Corps, and the action does keep zipping along.

The reason I'm knocking it down to three stars is that the story is only barely about its nominal stars, Jessica and Simon. Certainly, they are in it, and both play a role in the resolution, but the story is as much about Hal and all the others as it is about them, and the primary threats are all from Hal's past. This makes it an unsatisfying end to the series, although it would be fine as part of something else. And the final scene does come a little out of left field, although it's as good a way to wrap things up as any.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a lot of plot threads coming together here - the Ravagers army, treachery from within the Green Lanterns themselves, and a whisper campaign against Simon Baz. All of them are paid off, but the plot beats needed to do it are pretty off-putting. Having everyone doubt Simon AGAIN is really getting old. The treachery from within the Green Lanterns literally made me roll my eyes. The Ravagers are cannon fodder, but Eon had some potential that ultimately gets squandered.
Jessica comes off well throughout the book, but Simon does a lot of idiotic things here, And the book cedes its center to Hal for the last issue, though at least it lets Jessica have a send-off as she heads in a different direction.
This ends the Green Lanterns series. It was never a particularly strong title, but I did appreciate the chance to get more in depth with Jessica and Simon. I'm not sure Earth really needed ANOTHER two Lanterns, but at least the ones that were added have diverse strengths. Maybe someday someone will figure out a story that can really utilize them well.

[Will Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall I didn't hate the actual story, of a mysterious villain taking over the battery and affecting the rings and trying to sow distrust among the corps. But here's where it breaks down for me:

The back cover reveals the villain so all surprise is completely gone! DC does it again!
Cyborg Superman is a murderer, he just wants to destroy the corps and blow up cities, so why is he holding back when he reveals himself and traps them all with their own rings? Have the rings kill each other! Or if they still have that failsafe, have them either deactivate or allow CybSup to kill each one. He's not ruthless enough and he should be an insane murderer.

[Abhishek Purushothama · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not familiar with the might and cunning of Cyborg Superman and due to the same, he did not successfully carry the might of evil both Zod and Phantom Lantern had taken in the previous volumes.
But this choice allowed them to bring the series to a satisfactory conclusion. Since the series started with the Jessica's joining of the Corp, it ended with her coming to her own as a Lantern and as an individual.

[Lucas Savio · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fase deveria ter finalizado com o arco anterior, n gostei do que o dan abordou principalmente senti que jogou fora elementos que ja foram aceitos no arco anterior e que foram muito bem finalizados e também achei q ficou muito extenso de forma desnecessária, o ultimo arco da tropa dos lanternas teve mais de 200 pags porem eu enxerguei o pq de tudo e ficou cometo diferente desse enfim eu amo os lanternas verdes nada muda isso mas esse arco n respeitou muito oq vinha sendo feito

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

It appears this is the end of Jurgens' run, during which he goes back to a character he has had a long history with.

My biggest issue is like SHIELD, most GL stories involve the entire Corps getting torn down so it feels like beats I have seen before.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fitting end to this low-mid run. There’s stuff to like about it. Surprise Villain. Big battles. Twists and turns. But there’s little Simon Baz and even less Jessica Cruz. Artwork is passable, but didn’t wow me. I can’t give this 2 stars b/c I was invested, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. There’s some John Stewart content I guess.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acknowledging that it’s a weird conclusion to this run, I quite enjoyed the Cyborg Superman arc. It was weird and fun. Somewhere along the way this title lost its identity, but still a lot of good stuff popped up along the way.

[Iris Nevers · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read in single issues)
I'm kind of sad that this title changed from being just Simon and Jessica to being the Green Lantern Corps

[Mark Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great story. It focuses more on the GL Corps. rather than just Simon and Jessica. Great villain, and the story arc is a decent length spanning issues #50 - 57.

[Sara (A Gingerly Review) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read over the weekend but forgot to add to GR.

[David Atwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting premise somewhat let down by contrivance and happenstance. A finale that really comes out of nowhere. Overall a bit of a disappointment.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

w book

Entertaining worth the read loved it

Need ton of words so gonna spam here h g h g h h