Writer: Van Jensen
Artist: Bernard Chang
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 14th January 2015
Green Lantern Corps #38 is introducing a new story arc, so there are a couple of questions bubbling underneath the simplistic surface narrative. It’s trying to intrigue you, trying to get you hooked. But for me the most important thing about the book is that the structural framing to the narrative is full of the usual assumptions that you get in a mainstream corporate/globalist comic book today.
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| Flying around the galaxy to help poor victim-suspect-civilians. |
Okay, the structural framing devices. It’s your standard Police state assumptions.
The book starts with some army cult drilling, repeat slogan, repeat that you are the good guy, now go out into the world and Police it for the good old neo-liberal value systems that we all adhere to. Protect the poor innocent civilians. Centralised governmental systems are there to help you. Lawbreakers are bad. Drugs are bad (but only the illegal ones), now let’s fly around the universe to protect people.
No thinking is allowed, no agendas are involved. It’s all about the rule of law. Who is making the law? It doesn’t matter, just follow your orders and uphold arbitrary laws that you don’t need to morally inspect for yourselves to have true, individual moral responsibility for your actions. Put on your uniform, and get to work.
All of the good guy characters in this book are order following soldiers/police. A female order follower just wants to protect her children. Not from government, of course. Government is good. She’s going to protect the children (public) from drug dealers. Isn’t she a good person? Errr no, she’s an order follower. But weren’t the Nazi’s good order followers as well? Yes, they were, but don’t mention that, and so the wheels of the comic book ignorance machine continues to turn and the global Police state is welcomed with opened arms.
Do you see how it works? Is writer Van Jensen a secret member of the illuminati then? No, he is not. He’s just a jobbing writer, more interested in the story than his themes, and if he continues to produce Police state supporting work like this he’ll continue to be employed in mainstream comic books. That’s how it works. No conspiracy, just a career, and an exciting narrative where the police state agents help the poor innocent intergalactic civilians who cannot help themselves.
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| Agent of the state John Stewart gets his orders from the communist elite |
I don’t care if the story is exciting, or whether or not the characters have interesting or difficult times. A book that frames itself around unquestioning support for statism and the Police state has nothing to offer for somebody like myself.
Let me make this clear. Green Lantern Corps #38 is not a bad comic, the art is functional, and the structure of the story is well thought out, giving the reader a delicious hint at the close of the book that things might not be what they seem on the surface. That’s good story-telling, but I don’t want to read about agents of the Police state, so sorry, it’s not for me.
Hand it out to young police or army cadets. This book is for them. It will feed into their delusions of heroism, and make them eager to put on the uniform and get out there and start obeying some orders and protecting the poor innocent victim/civilian-suspects who cannot help themselves. That’s it, no more words. If you like centralised control systems with order following agents unquestioningly serving their masters then get the book, if you don’t like that Chairman Mao, communist world-view, then don’t.
Rating: 3/10 (must-read book for fans of centralised control systems)
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