Comic review: Green Lantern Annual #3 (Godhead Finale)- Accountability is for the poor

Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Billy Tan
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 24th December 2014



There was something about the ending of DC Comic’s ‘Godhead’ arc that reminded me very much of its real world parallel in this post 9/11 world of western governments/corporate wars of aggression. It was just a moment, at the conclusion of the tale, but a moment that says a lot about what is happening in the real world today.

That moment came when the man responsible for all of the death and destruction that has been happening in the Godhead arc, the dictatorial ‘Highfather’ admitted that he was wrong, and that all of the violence he had unleashed upon the universe had inevitably come back upon his own people. It was a moment of admittance that ‘blow-back’ is inevitable, that when you put violence into the world, violence is what you get back from it.

Highfather admits that he was wrong, thanks the heroic Green Lanterns for their help, they leave, and he is left to rebuild the planet that he has completely messed up due to his wars of aggression, wars that were waged under justification of the greater good. There is no punishment for Highfather. No criminal investigations, no jail time, no trials, nothing. He admits he was wrong, and he gets to stay in power.

The only difference I can see between Highfather and western imperial powers (hiding under the illusion of ‘democracy’ where puppet spokesmen and women are replaced every five years or so) is that Highfather actually admits he was wrong. Our leaders don’t even have to do that. Consequences for their actions do not exist. They burn down a city, and then pay themselves to rebuild it.

Our real-world political leaders are handsomely rewarded for the mistakes that they make, and unlike Highfather they don’t even have to admit that they made mistakes in the first place. After their political (puppet) careers are over they are financially rewarded by the banks, corporations and arms manufacturers who they helped whilst in political ‘power.’ They then spend the rest of their lives being treated like Kings and Queens whilst being guarded 24/7 by men with guns, just to make sure that they will never see any consequences for their actions.

We are now living in an age of centralised democracy, an age where there is no dictator to blame. If you are looking for somebody to blame you will find that person in the street. The everyday man and women who votes for unaccountabable centralised corporate owned and controlled ‘democracy.’ A system where war is encouraged, and consequences for your actions do not exist. That is what we have today. That is our world. That is what you support when you vote.

As is usual in my reviews I have barely discussed the actual book itself. If you are new to my reviews then that’s pretty much what I always do. I take a comic book, use it as a platform, and then use that platform to launch into a self-indulgent rant on issues and ideas that currently occupy my mind. I realise that reviews are not supposed to do that, but these are not meant to be boring old comic book reviews, they are meant to be something more than that. But for those just interested in the entertainment factor and the comic itself, here’s a quick summary of the Godhead arc:

It was largely enjoyable, mostly okay, sometimes rotten, sometimes very good. That is what you get in long arcs, written by different writers and drawn by different artists. I’ve already reviewed a lot of the Godhead books here on my blog, so if you want more details than check out those individual reviews.

Green Lantern Annual #3 was the finale to the arc, and to me it was a satisfying ending, and I enjoyed reading it. I particularly enjoyed the four page source wall artwork by artist Billy Tan, and the narrative itself was satisfying, putting a traditionally loose full stop on events, and then concluding with a new threat, as you should do in a genre that never really ends. The old threat should be conclusively defeated, but something new should bridge from that defeated threat. That is what happens here, and it is done in an interesting way that will keep me reading the Green Lantern comic book.

I disliked some of the quippy dialogue in this final issue, as to me it made light of what was supposed to be a serious end to a serious galaxy wide threat, but the conclusion had elements that I really enjoyed. I particularly enjoyed the moment when a man getting off on the power of nihilism and death was stopped in his sociopathic ways. His moment of defeat was a symbolic moment, illustrating how the illusory power of darkness and death always crumbles and flees when faced with the power of life, light and truth.

The larger agenda behind a crossover event such as the ‘Godhead’ arc, aside from selling the event issues themselves, is to hook the reader into buying new books on a monthly basis when the event itself has concluded.  There are plenty of books in the Green Lantern universe, and before this event began I was buying two of them per month, those books being Green Lantern and Sinestro. That will not change now that the event has concluded, but that doesn’t mean that I disliked the other books.

Broadly speaking, I enjoyed reading the event, and the money and time that I spent on it does not feel wasted. I leave the arc feeling entertained, satisfied and grateful to all of the writers and artists that contributed to the project. I didn’t agree with a lot of the ideological or socio-political assumptions that were made, but just by putting them out there the writers gave me a tremendous amount of valuable material to think on, consider, and react to, here on my blog. So here’s a big, sincere thank-you from myself to every single inker, colourist, writer, letterer, cover artist and editor that worked so hard on the entire project. Thanks guys, it was fun. Now back to Christmas. I hope you are having a good one. Be nice to each other, and I hope you enjoy the remainder of the holidays.

Rating for Green Lantern Annual #3- Godhead Finale: 7.5/10

Rating for Green Lantern ‘Godhead’ arc: 7/10