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

Comic review: Green Lantern New Guardians #37-( Godhead Act 3, Part 3) Cheap cologne meets wet lettuce

Writer: Justin Jordan
Artists: Diogenes Neves & Rooney Buchemi
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 17th December 2014


The facial characterisations of the main feminine character in this book looked absolutely gorgeous. Seriously, the girl named ‘Carol’ in this book was drawn as the prettiest girl in all of human history.

The Carol character herself was your typical third wave feminist. Bossing around the feminised male lead (the completely ineffectual White Lantern) this very pretty girl took charge both physically and emotionally. That’s kind of a given in most mainstream comic books today where women are in charge and men are little more than accessories, cute handbag dogs, unable to do anything other than obey or get scolded for yapping.

Green Lantern New Guardians #37, more than any other comic book that I’ve read recently, reminded me of just why I stopped reading most of my mainstream comic book titles in the first place. It’s not bad, it’s well drawn, and the narrative of the ‘Godhead’ arc is nicely developed. The problem with it (at least the problem that I have with it personally), is that it’s not really saying anything.  It reminded me of a pleasant, but inexpensive, not very long-lasting cologne. On an initial application it seems perfectly okay, but the scent rapidly disappears, leaving little more than a synthetic, bland soapy residue remaining as a reminder of its presence.

Breaking it down the book is standard comic book fare. You get quips, good guys fighting bad guys, evil dictators being arrogant and err, evil, kind of, but not really, and just when it looks like the good guys are getting the upper hand, the main villain beats them down again and the fight continues. That’s it, it’s a ‘hope’ spot in a pro wrestling match where a beaten down good guy gets a brief flurry of offence before the bad guy punches him in the gut and continues to beat him down. This process continues until the eventual ending of the match where the heroic good guy wins at the last moment against all odds and to huge cheers from the crowd.

Yes, I understand that comic books are supposed to work to that formula, just as wrestling matches work to that formula. And yes, I understand that super hero comic books in particular always work to that formula, but when you give me nothing else but that narrative formula I tend to zone out. It’s an age thing. As a 12-year-old I can follow the pro wrestling match/comic book, but as a grown adult male I need a little more than the basics to keep me interested.

This book isn’t terrible, so don’t go away from my review thinking that I hated it, because I didn’t. It’s a cheap, bland cologne, and it smells okay for a bit, and it does the job. The facials look really pretty and it has those big exciting action scenes that everybody loves, but to me it didn’t offer anything other than surface thrills and pretty faces. The bossy, in-charge female was annoying, but she’s a standard these days, so I can’t complain really can I? If I buy comic books she’s going to be there, manipulating the wimpy men and telling them what to do, a bit like the real world actually. That’s all I have to say about the book. It’s okay, but okay isn’t enough for me these days. I’m a vegetarian, but I still need something to get my teeth into, and unfortunately I couldn’t get much out of this particular wet lettuce of a book.

Rating: 4/10 (for the facials)

Comic review: Green Lantern Corps #37 (Godhead Act 3, Part 2)- Democracy is an empty lie

Writer: Van Jensen
Artists: Bernard Chang & Mirko Colak
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 10th December 2014


Without the illusion of democracy the US and all of the other western countries attached, limpet like to the new imperial empire of planet Earth, would have no moral legitimacy whatsoever. Their wars for corporate profit would be naked, displayed as the murderous, anti-human resource and money making schemes that they actually are. Why am I mentioning this at the beginning of a comic book review? I’ll explain.

The evil dictator

The main villain in the ‘Godhead’ arc is a character called ‘Highfather.’ He is portrayed as a tyrant because he is waging a war against various planets in order to defeat a greater evil, that evil being a villain called ‘Darkseid.’ In other words, it’s a preventative war. He’s subjugating people for their own good, at least that’s the way that he sees it, but he’s a villain, remember that. He’s a tyrant, a bad guy.

Now, think about reality for a second. What did the US do in 2003? They invaded a country for preventative reasons. They claimed that the country had secret weapons (they didn’t) and so they destroyed it, murdering hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, stole it’s resources and gave them to it’s multi -national corporations. They did all of this for good reasons, of course. Ask Tony Blair and George Bush, they defend those reasons still to this very day. That is not a controversial thing for me to say. It might annoy people when I say it, but it is fact.

Here’s my question. What does the average comic book reader think when he reads a comic book like the ‘Godhead’ arc where the main villain is doing exactly (and probably less violently) what the US, UK and many other western countries have done, and continue to do today? The character in this Green Lantern Corps comic book is a bad guy, right? So what the Hell does that make our own western governments? Think about it. Think about what is going on here.

And this is where the illusion of democracy comes into play. Without that illusion, that we are different because we get to choose our leaders, the truth is very naked, don’t you think? A very dangerous assumption is at work here, that being the assumption that evil only comes from a dictator (like Highfather in this comic book), not from a ‘free’ democracy. Safe in the knowledge that evil cannot exist in his own ‘democratic’ country, the average comic book reader can read this comic without seeing any irony in it whatsoever.

And here comes the heroic resistance fighters

So when the US gets ready for it’s next corporate election between the Bush and Clinton families, remember what I said here. The illusion of democracy gives moral cover for the actions of the tiny number of ‘elite’ families who own and control the west. No crazy dictator is needed when the political system is owned and controlled by a few corporate and banking interests. Crazy dictators are for comic books and mainstream news networks. That’s the truth, like it or not.

Oh yeah, the comic book review. Sorry, this is a review isn’t it? Green Lantern Corps #37 (Godhead Act 3, Part 2) does the usual crazy dictator thing, that I’ve just discussed, puts the lanterns in position as the heroic resistance, one of the Highfather’s goon’s gets a kicking, and it’s fight back time for the good guys.

All of this comic book action is played out with the usual lack of awareness of the real world reality where US corporate imperialism (backed up by the most expensive military/war machine that the world has ever seen) is fighting real resistance movements all over the world. Funny stuff really. You have to laugh, you really do.

Rating: 6/10 (Decent art and some narrative advancement)

Comic review: Green Lantern #37- Godhead, Act 3, Part 1: Ranting away about sofa geek culture

Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Francis Portela
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 3rd December 2014


I had something like six or seven back episodes of Gotham (the new television show about a young Bruce Wayne) to watch on my futuristic surveillance device/television, but yesterday I deleted them all.

I did this after watching half an hour of an episode that was focussed on the young Penguin character. He’s the best thing about the show, but as I was watching his violent and manipulative adventures something dawned upon me. It was the realisation that this man on my television set, a murdering psychopath, was being portrayed as a strong willed hero, a man that we should be looking up to as a role model. The television viewer was being manipulated into feeling admiration and empathy for the man. Everything the Penguin was doing was made to look cool and empowering. I could almost here a voice coming from my television set saying:

‘Hey comic book geeks, isn’t it cool to be a psychopath? Don’t you just want to be a psychopath as well?’ 

Okay, so I’m exaggerating to make my point, but I hope you understand what I’m getting at here. I keep seeing this glorification of illness, with diseased, feeble, broken cowards made to look like the coolest guy in the room. It’s the Dexter effect, the Breaking Bad effect, the Game of Thrones effect, the Joker tormenting Batman with his own face held on by rubber bands behind his ears. It’s this sense of joy at embracing the worst elements of humanity. A celebration, a glorification of inhumanity towards your fellow man, but all dressed up in this soft voyeurism that screams suburbs and smart bombs and drone attacks and pathetic, lame, flabby cowardice.

Is this a 2014 trend, or was it always there, lurking in the back of sofa geek culture? I call it ‘sofa geek’ culture for a good reason. It’s a flabby watching but not getting involved culture that isn’t really a culture at all. It’s the reason why I don’t attend comic-cons, even though I’m sure I’d pick up some good rare books there. It’s this feeling that my comic book hobby reflects the worst aspects of myself. It turns me into something that I don’t want to be. A lazy, silent watcher, an audience member, an anonymous face in the braying idiot crowd, a man who thinks that violence is cool, but has never been in a real fist-fight in his entire life.

Why I am bringing up this unappealing sense of weakness and the revelling in disease and violence from a distance that is indelibly imprinted upon the sofa geek culture? Why am I mentioning the Penguin character and my deleting back episodes of the Gotham television programme? It’s because there’s a character in Green Lantern #37 who encapsulates every sick aspect that I’ve just been railing against. That character is another sofa geek hero/psychopath called, ‘Black Hand.’

Black Hand sadly laments, ‘I was born after all the good wars.’ No you weren’t mate. You are living in a period of never-ending war right now. If he really is supposed to be some creature that gets off on war then he would know that, but no, he’s that curious mainstream media murder junky that can’t see reality past his television set.

This Black Hand character dominates the narrative of Green Lantern #37. He’s seen revelling in the worst aspects of humanity. He loves war and death, but he’s strangely stuck on the History channel version of war and death, and doesn’t appear to recognise that war didn’t end after the Nazi’s were ‘defeated’ in 1945.

His character reminds me of somebody who sees war as a story told in a history book, not something that is happening all around him right now. Not something that he himself funds through quiet acquiescence to the unaccountable state apparatus of slavery, torture, incompetence, misery and death.

War is Hitler isn’t it? War is a dusty history book, a black and white television documentary, a DVD box set? It’s that kind of mentality, that kind of wilful ignorance about the world as it is today that I see again and again in my comic books and it bugs the Hell out of me.

It really does sicken me, and for the rest of the book this death obsessed, but out of touch sofa geek is portrayed as a grim reaper with cool factor. He’s a child with suburban serial killer fantasies, but with access to power that backs up what he’s saying, making him look far more important and impressive than Hal Jordan, the character in this book who is supposed to be the hero that the audience identifies with.

I’m getting the sense here that writer Robert Venditti actually admires the Black Hand. The Black Hand is soooo kewl, and Green Lantern is so lame after all. I can’t stand it, and that voice is talking to me again, it’s saying again and again:

‘Hey comic book geeks, isn’t it cool to be a psychopath? Isn’t it cool to be a psychopath? Isn't it cool to be a psychopath?

ENOUGH!!!!!!!

It is not cool to be a psychopath. It is not cool to obsess over death and stamping on your neighbour’s face forever. Torture is not cool. Drones are not cool. War is not cool. Death is not cool. These things are a symbol of weakness, not strength. Celebrating these aspects of humanity makes you spindly, feeble, enslaved, stupid, weak and ugly. You are a drone pilot with a jumbo carton of Pepsi diet poison, medals on his chest, flabby gut hanging out, press fire on the console, wedding party destroyed, time for more medals and football. Oh, a kid just shot up a school again? How did that happen? We better ban guns now, eh? War is peace, ignorance is strength, I’m voting for Bush/Clinton again.

That is the image I get when I see the Black Hand, or the Joker or the Penguin or whatever new psycho of the week portrayed as a sofa geek hero. It bother’s the Hell out of me, because it’s a symptom of the underlying disease that runs through the comic book industry, and the entire mainstream media as a whole.

It’s ugliness, celebrated, lauded and then put up against Batman, the Green Lantern, Commissioner Gordon, all of these statist control freaks who are there to restore order and protect the poor innocent victims/civilians. It’s a con game, a simplistic light and dark show for simpletons where the light are uniformed order followers and the dark are celebrated sofa geek cool psychopaths.

It’s a slaughterhouse psychological operation targeting the collective mind of the corporate media consuming slave public. They are telling you that it’s cool to be a psychopath, but at the same time they are telling you that the state must prevail to protect you against the very thing that is being pushed as cool and desirable. I’m not saying it’s deliberate. I’m not saying it’s a ‘conspiracy,' but it’s there, a disease that is messing with us all. That’s a mind trip, don’t you think?

I need to explore this celebration of psychopathy and it’s duel aspect the control system of the state a bit deeper, but for now I’ll finish this up as it’s already far too long. Hopefully I’ve managed to convey something in this review, something more than you’ll get in your typical comic book review anyway. That’s the entire point here. That is why I am doing these ‘reviews.’ They are not really ‘reviews’ at all, but you knew that, right? Thanks for reading. Hopefully I managed to say something here, and yes, this train of thought will continue on my blog, writing, as I do, free from corporate constraint, and free to say whatever the Hell I want to say.

It’s not about comics, it’s not about getting myself a job on a stupid keep your mouth shut and get re-tweets corporate comic book web-site. It’s about saying whatever is on my mind. Comic books and the other media that I consume feed my mind, and stimulate a response. I’m a big-mouthed annoying guy, and when I read something I like to tell people all about it. I say things that people don’t want to hear, but sod it. I’d rather say it than keep it to myself. That’s why I’m here, that’s why I’m writing on this blog. 

Rating: 5/10 (for the narrative progression that is keeping me interested in the arc)

Sinestro #7- Godhead Act 2, Part 5- Enjoyable stuff from the talented Mr. Bunn

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Ethan Van Sciver and Geraldo Borges
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 3rd December 2014


Sinestro #7 is a good old fashioned comic book with a conniving and calculating villain temporarily working with the good guys in order to defeat a greater threat, but all the time looking for openings, for opportunities that will benefit his own cause when the current conflict is settled.

I particularly enjoyed some of the dialogue from Sinestro himself in this book. Writer Cullen Bunn is doing an excellent job with the character of Sinestro and it’s the complexity that is imbued within his characterisation of the man that makes this comic book such a consistently enjoyable read. Nothing changes during this crossover. Sinestro is the name on the cover, and that is what you get within. This is a book about Sinestro, not just a half assed and resentful add on to the main Godhead arc.

As with any character based narrative there has to be a strong supporting cast of characters to back-up the main protagonist. Bunn’s Sinestro title has two such characters. A conflicted daughter who has joined the Green Lantern corps and is struggling with her duties versus family loyalties and a new leader trying to prove himself a capable replacement for a man (Hal Jordan) that Sinestro has great admiration for.

With this strong foundation of well-drawn (figuratively and literally) characters the narrative doesn’t have to do all of the heavy lifting. It is almost a passenger, subservient to the bigger picture, and when things do happen it’s the reaction of the characters themselves that is of most interest, rather than just the narrative development itself.

That is a great position for a comic book to find itself in, so when at the close of this book a huge narrative development takes place it’s merely the cherry on top of an already very delicious creamy concoction.

This Godhead arc from DC Comics is the only thing that I am reading from Marvel and DC at the moment. I’ve given up on Marvel completely, and until they reboot their entire line of books and writers I have no interest whatsoever in what they are doing. DC has almost lost me as well, but it’s the sci-fi element in the Green Lantern universe that is keeping me hooked in there.

Within the sci-fi genre you can deal with contemporary issues and socio-political concerns under cover of different universes and fictional characters. Clever and aware writers can get away with revealing a lot of truth that might not be allowable in this age of corporate statism and dumbed down media monopolies. When I get that in my comics it is reflected in my ratings here on my blog.

Sinestro #7 doesn’t say anything about the military industrial complex, false flag terrorism or mainstream media manipulation designed to justify the latest wars of empire and conquest. It doesn’t really say anything about our times, about the society that we live in. What it does do however is look into the individual, underlying motivational mechanisms that drive human actions and interactions. It also drives the Godhead arc forward with a fantastic old school denouement/reveal on the final page that makes the reader salivate at what is going to happen next in the crossover series.

Cullen Bunn has, to use a simple metaphor, dribbled the ball with great skill, dodging potential tacklers along the way, and nicely laid off the perfect pass for his team-mate to continue the progression of the move. That move continues in this week’s Green Lantern #37, a book that I’m now very much looking forward to reading and reviewing due to the excellent work done here in Sinestro #7 by a very much on top of his game Mr. Cullen Bunn.

Rating: 8/10

Comic review: Red Lanterns #36 (Godhead Act 2, Part 4)- A decent shift by Mr. Soule

Writer: Charles Soule
Artist: J. Calafiore
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 26th November 2014


This is the second time that writer Charles Soule has written a part of the ‘Godhead’ arc, and it’s a lot more enjoyable than his first effort in Red Lantern #35.

That first effort was terrible. His characters came across as American idiots, completely unaware of what was happening in the world. That was because the backdrop to the story was the real country of Dubai. In Soule’s story the country was portrayed as a luxury holiday resort where the heroes go to have a bit of a break. The real-world reality of a country owned by one billionaire dictatorship family that uses slave labour and has no regards for human rights was not mentioned, probably because that family is western friendly (to the banks and corporations that own the west that is), much like other western backed human rights violators like Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Witnessing one of DC’s superheroes sunbathing in Dubai and enjoying an alcoholic drink was a stark reminder that to American eyes some dictators are good, and that some dictatorships are not even seen as dictatorships at all. It was depressing, and the story that Soule attached to it was brief, lazy, uninteresting and no fun at all.

There is no mention of western friendly dictatorships, or human rights violators in Red Lanterns #36, so already it’s better than Soule’s first attempt on the Godhead arc. If you can’t be honest about the real world, then leave it alone. That’s what he does here, constructing a story about the personalities rather than anything that is going to insult the intelligence of the reader. The story is chunkier as well. More effort has been put in, and as a reader it felt less throwaway, less inconsequential.

As far as story progression goes, it’s not exactly a must buy book, however, something fairly important happens, and you see why it happened, from beginning to end. I also understand the motivations and personalities of the two main characters a lot more than I did before reading this book. It’s probably also the first time that I’ve seen a verse of the Quran used in a comic book. It’s a fairly uncontroversial verse, but I do appreciate the fact that Charles Soule was brave enough to use it in a mainstream comic book in the first place. In a world where mainstream comic book writers are usually in career mode it’s nice to see somebody stick his neck out, even if it’s only a little bit.

I also have to mention, and applaud, another line put into the mouth of one of the characters in this book. That line being, ‘There are no truly good rulers.’ That says it all. That’s why the human race is in the position that it is today. We voluntarily give away our power and freedom to rulers who don’t give a damn about us. They care about our votes, but once they have them, they serve the agendas of the real behind the scenes (corporate and banking) rulers of this planet. When we stop giving our power away to these puppet rulers things will change. Until then, the human slavery business will continue as usual. Charles Soule puts it out there in this book that all rulers are bad. I like that. I noticed it. I appreciated it, and I just want to thank him here for doing so.

So another review where I don’t even talk about the art? Yeah, that’s how I do it. I always put up a couple of samples next to the review though, so at least you’ll know what you get if you buy the book. I had no problem with the art, but I’m not an artist, so I’ll leave detailed analysis of art in comic books to people who actually know what they are talking about.

Red Lantern #36, or Act 2, Part 4 of the Godhead arc, is a character based book that has some moments of interest, story development and a couple of jokes as well. I enjoyed it. There’s quite a lot in there, no mention of western backed dictatorships like Soule’s previous Godhead book, and as a whole I give it a big old anarchist thumbs up. It’s not great, but it’s a lot better than I thought it would be, with writer Charles Soule putting a good shift in, and largely succeeding in creating an interesting and readable comic book experience.

Rating: 7/10

Comic review: Green Lantern-New Guardians #36 (Godhead Act 2, Part 3)- Weak sauce

Writer: Justin Jordan
Artist: Diogenes Neves
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 19th November 2014


I didn’t know too much about Kyle Rayner, the legendary White Lantern of the Lantern universe before reading this book. All I knew was what I had been reading in this Godhead arc, so I had this idea that he was a super powerful character who had bridged the very boundaries of reality itself. Pretty impressive, and more so when you consider that not only had he gone through these barriers of realty, but he had returned as well, more powerful than ever.

Crazed dictator alert

In Green Lantern-New Guardians #36 this mighty, powerful, reality changing character voluntarily gives all of his power away to a cartoon villain who walks around with a big neon sign above his head flashing:

*******CRAZED DICTATOR***********
*******CRAZED DICTATOR***********
*******CRAZED DICTATOR***********
*******CRAZED DICTATOR***********

Errrrrr, why did the great White Lantern do that? Why did he give his ring away? That kind of makes no sense. And now he’s moaning about it, saying that he’s made a stupid mistake. Well, no s*** Sherlock. What the Hell was going on here?

This is coming across like one of those occasions where story progression forces characters to act like idiots. It comes across as very soap opera, and not very believable at all. Kyle Rayner is either stupid, gullible, or both. He’s also a bit of a whining b***h as well. With heroes like this it’s no wonder that the villains are having such an easy time of it in the Godhead arc right now.

Very rushed and unimpressive artwork here

I’m not sure if the White Lantern was always this lame, but wow, what a useless, clueless twerp he turned out to be.

As for the artwork in this book, it looks rushed and unfinished. It’s noticeably lacking in detail and colour, and it appears to have been hurried out on a strict deadline. There’s one panel that needs to be good, the panel where the White Lantern is introduced to the new Genesis. His reaction is amazement at how awesome it all is, but in this comic book the art shows a half-page of beige coloured and roughly sketched sand dunes, not impressive at all.

That’s it for this week in the Godhead arc. A moaning White Lantern who voluntarily gives his power away to the most obvious villain since Ming the Merciless, some rushed looking art, and that’s it, the end. It’s a massive fail, and in comparison to last week’s impressive outing by writer Van Jensen and artist Bernard Chang (I gave that issue of Green Lantern Corps #36 a very well deserved 9/10) it’s chalk and cheese.

I guess that’s what you are going to get in these long crossover arcs with different artists and different writers working on the same story week to week. Sometimes it will be good, and sometimes it will be bad. This week, it’s bad. Oh well, let’s hope it’s swings and roundabouts and next week it’s gets good again.

Rating: 2/10 (and I’m being generous with that rating)

Comic review: Green Lantern Corps #36- Godhead Act 2, Part 2: The Power of Love

Writer: Van Jensen
Artist: Bernard Chang
Colourist: Marcelo Maiolo
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 12th November 2014

I’ve been very disappointed with this ‘Godhead’ arc over the last few weeks. The writing has lacked ideas, it has been treading water narratively speaking, and has been reading like the writers are not fully behind the crossover. It’s like this is something that they have to do, contractually speaking, and they have done it half-heartedly, with no passion, no intensity, no conviction and no love for the story.

I’m happy to report that writer Van Jensen has bucked that trend. He’s taken the time here to construct an emotionally engaging story with character development and heart.

I say ‘heart’ because that’s what is key here. His main character, Lantern John Stewart, has been emotionally damaged. He thought that he was loved, but he feels conned by it now. He feels that the love wasn’t real, that it was a construct designed to deceive and control him. Green Lantern Corps #36 develops his feelings of emotional betrayal, and takes them to a place with deeper meaning, not just on a narrative level, but on a ‘heart’ level as well.

This theme ties into the power of the main protagonists; a group of space aliens called the ‘Star Sapphires.’ This race of beings gets their strength through love, not violence. That’s one Hell of a deep message for a comic book, and I appreciate it, because it is true. Violence begets more violence, and its usage cannot lead to true spiritual strength. Whatever you use on your enemy rebounds upon yourself, so violence can never be the key to solving any of our problems. That’s how it works, it is a deep, moral, spiritual truth that is so often lost in this world today with our perpetual wars, done now under the deception of a propagandised word called ‘humanitarian intervention.’ That’s not how things work. It’s a lie, and that is why this world is in the mess it is in today.

Artist Bernard Chang and colourist Marcelo Maiolo have tapped into the undercurrent of deep spiritual and moral truth that is flowing through the narrative of this book and have constructed panels that perfectly compliment the story that is being told. It’s the panel variation that is key here, the use of colour, shadow, of hinting at what is taking place without letting it get too graphic, too bloody. It’s subtle, clever and always very, very interesting to the eye.

Green Lantern #36, or Godhead Act 2, Part 2, takes what was a wavering crossover arc and injects new life and passion into it. The character of John Stewart has never felt more alive, more real, and a story that was beginning to bore me has been giving an injection of love into it’s veins, giving it renewed momentum, new passion and new hope. This was achieved through the collaboration between a writer who knew his characters, knew the story and had something that he wanted to say, and an artist and colourist who were in perfect synch with what he was trying to achieve.

This issue of the Godhead arc is a great success all around. I really enjoyed the book and although they probably will never read this review I just want to put it out there and say a big thank you to writer Van Jensen, artist Bernard Chang and colourist Marcelo Maiolo. I’ve been very negative about mainstream comic books this week, but this one was extremely good, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading every single page of it.

Rating: 9/10

Comic review: Red Lantern #35- Hailing from the shining beacon of democracy and freedom that is Dubai

Godhead arc: Act 1, Part 5

Writer: Charles (Holiday in Dubai) Soule
Artist: J. Calafiore
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 22nd October 2014

This review is sponsored by the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnUgAaea4M


Writer Charles’s Soule takes the baton for this fifth part of the Godhead series, immediately drops it, slowly walks back to pick it up, and then concludes his lap with an embarrassed jog.

It starts badly when the narrative begins in Dubai, portrayed as a paradise of flesh, fun, beer and sun. The reality behind Dubai can be summed up in the following four paragraphs (I’ll leave a link to the article at the end of this review).

Our heroes chilling in Dubai

‘Dubai is finally financially bankrupt – but it has been morally bankrupt all along. The idea that Dubai is an oasis of freedom on the Arabian peninsular is one of the great lies of our time.

Yes, it has Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts and the Gucci styles, but beneath these accoutrements, there is a dictatorship built by slaves.

If you go there with your eyes open – as I did earlier this year – the truth is hidden in plain view. The tour books and the bragging Emiratis will tell you the city was built by Sheikh Mohammed, the country's hereditary ruler.

It is untrue. The people who really built the city can be seen in long chain-gangs by the side of the road, or toiling all day at the top of the tallest buildings in the world, in heat that Westerners are told not to stay in for more than 10 minutes. They were conned into coming, and trapped into staying.’

Like I said before, it’s a bad start. The narrative then goes straight into ‘America F*** Yeah’ World Police inanity, with the superheroes talking about the evil dictatorship of fictional neighbours ‘Qurac’ (sounds a lot like Iraq, doesn’t it?). They of course have no sense of irony that they themselves are currently residing in a country owned and controlled by a self proclaimed, unelected monarch.

Dubai, where money buys an escape from reality

The heroes then proceed to invade Qurac (again, very familiar) to stop the western unfriendly dictator (as it appears they are perfectly happy with the Dubai dictator) but are stopped by the New Gods who are after their rings. The New Gods hang around for five minutes, get a call on their galactic mobiles and then bugger off again to do more important things in the universe. They leave a battered Quracci dictator behind them, whom I presume will be summarily executed by the Green Lantern Kangaroo court, much in line with current US foreign policy.

What the Hell was this?

I’ll tell you what it was. It was a filler book with the usual US World Police absence of reality mindset from writer Charles Soule. All the book achieves is to half-heartedly put the Red Lantern characters into the Godhead arc. That’s it. A stupid book, inconsequential story and a complete waste of my time.

The Green Lantern Godhead arc has been fantastic so far, so one book out of four being absolutely awful isn’t that bad going really. The arc continues in Sinestro #6 next week, and as it’s written by Cullen Bunn, and not the purposefully ignorant and phoning it in Charles Soule I’ll be looking forward to reading it and forgetting that Red Lantern #35 even existed at all.

Rating: 2/10 

Click on link below for the truth about Dubai.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-a-morally-bankrupt-dictatorship-built-by-slave-labour-1828754.html

Green Lantern Corps #35- Godhead Act 1, Part 3: No blame, no shame

Writer: Van Jensen
Artist: Bernard Chang
Publisher: DC Comics
Released: 8th October 2014

I’m thoroughly enjoying this Green Lantern ‘Godhead’ crossover arc, and Part 3 of the story does not disappoint. I’ve read and reviewed a couple of truly depressing books this week, so I was in dire need of something to cheer me up. Green Lantern Corps #35 is an organic, vegan feast in comparison to what can only be described as Punks #1 and Wytches #1 genetically modified McCrap sandwich.

What I’m looking for in my comic books is a strong sense of personal/moral responsibility that is tied in with the no-harm principle and narratives that resonate with the real world of 2014. Green Lantern Corps #35 was a winner in my eyes because it explores what happens when people in positions of power think that they can operate with no regards to the universal principles of moral/natural law. This book demonstrates how real-life villains are the individuals who do terrible things, but take zero responsibility for the consequences of their actions.

Does this sound familiar to you?

John Stewart (of the Green Lantern Corps)- “You willingly destroyed a civilisation! You're murderers....butchers."

Uggha (of The New Gods)- “Watch what you say about the Gods, mortal. It did not work as planned. The flaw lies in your rings, not in us. For we’re Gods”

Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria.

George Bush, Tony Blair, Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, David Cameron.

Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, Bradley Manning.

Do you get my point? The ‘New Gods’ of our age are the political elite’s who order the slaughter of millions of innocent people, yet never take responsibility, and never pay any consequences for what they have done. Instead, they are handsomely rewarded for their butchery. That is the world that we live in. That is the world that we have created for ourselves.

But why do these monsters get away with what we all know they have done?

Because they are Gods, and we mortals must never question the wisdom of the Gods. Expose their crimes and you better pack your suitcase to Russia or to the Ecuadorian embassy, because the Gods will not tolerate mere mortals exposing their crimes to the sleeping, statist God worshipping masses.

That is the truth, like it or not. If you don’t like it, then do something about it. And remember. You cannot break down a wall by joining it.

Green Lanterns Corps #31 has the narrative to back-up its strong moral centre. Things are explained, the story is advanced, a mysterious lady makes an appearance and the elusive White Lantern is built up, and made to look like a huge, exciting deal. This is really good stuff. The villains have been fleshed out, the story has been explained in satisfactory detail and there’s plenty of action for those who just enjoy the fisticuffs.

Act 1, Part 3 of the arc finishes it’s lap with an impressive sprint, baton in hand, ready to hand it over to the next runner.

Green Lantern- New Guardians #35 is out next Wednesday 15th October 2014.

Get it.

If it’s anywhere near as enjoyable as Green Lantern Corps #35 it’s going to be a pretty bloody good book.


Rating: 8.5/10


What is the ‘No harm principle?’ Start here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRgoE5G_OJM

Comic book review: Act 1, Parts 1 & 2 of the Green Lantern ‘Godhead’ crossover arc.

Click link for preview of New Gods-Godhead #1:
http://www.comicbookresources.com:8080/?page=preview&id=23868

Click link for preview of Green Lantern #35
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=23867
















Details of writers and artist involved are included in the previews from Comic book Resources above^^


I found these two books to be a very enjoyable introduction to the new crossover arc featuring all of the characters from the Green Lantern Universe.

New Gods #1

Act 1, Part 1 (in New Gods #1) introduces some characters called the New Gods. It gives their back-story, shows us where they came from, tells us what they are all about, and more importantly, it shows us what they want in the very near future.

What they want involves the Lanterns, and in Act 1, Part 2 (in Green Lantern #35) the Green Lantern himself sees what he’s up against. Hal Jordan is his usual cocky self, and after engaging in an ill-advised battle with the New Gods (it doesn’t go too well for him) he decides that he can’t deal with this new threat without calling for some special back up. This is already intriguing because the person he has to call for help his number one Frenemy, a man that is always guaranteed to stir things up a bit.

The New Gods are far more interesting than your average cartoon evil comic-book villains because they are big picture characters, not just petty criminals with grudges or psychopathic tendencies. What they do effects the whole universe, not just a small section of it like what happens on planet Earth. They have come into conflict with the Lanterns not because they have evil intentions, but because they envision a terrible evil taking over the universe.

The Green Lantern and his Corp buddies don’t know anything about this evil, at least so far, and that’s where the story ends after Part 2. I enjoyed both books very much. I love saying that. It’s so much more fun to like than to hate. This is going to be an epic space adventure story, and I’m definitely up for that.

Green Lantern #35

It’s already very interesting, and there’s no silly mainstream comic book nonsense where they have to pretend that a 2014 America isn’t turning into a banker/corporate autocracy/fascist police surveillance state. This adventure is set in space, so they can talk about big things, big issues that matter, concerns that are seeping into the collective consciousness.

What am I talking about? Here's a quick example of the power of the sci-fi genre:

Have a look back at the ‘Star Wars: Phantom Menace’ movie. Yeah, I know it was awful, but the plot of the movie was actually exposing how political leaders manufacture false flag terrorist events to further their long-term agendas of creating a totalitarian, authoritarian Imperial Empire. How do you get unpopular legislation passed? How do you pass legislation (think NDAA) that gives you more power whilst reducing the freedom of everybody else? Simple, you arrange for something to be blown up, and the people will actually beg you to become an evil Emperor and to construct a totalitarian Police state around them. Hitler did it by arranging for the German parliament building to be blown up. He blamed it on his enemies, passed emergency legislation, and well, we all know what happened next.

That’s the good thing about sci-fi, it can say a lot about the world that we are living in, but gets away with it because it’s set in ‘space.’ This sci-fi story is off to a very good start. I hope that it manages to say a few things about these scary times in which we are living in today, but we’ll see. Jump on board nice and early, this could be a good one.

*The arc continues next week in Green Lantern Corps #35.

Click the link below for a short video on the themes of false flag terrorism in the Star wars movies:
http://vimeo.com/41963839

Rating: New Gods #1- Godhead Act 1, Part 1: 8/10

Rating: Green Lantern #35- Godhead Act 1, Part 2: 8/10