GREEN LANTERN #145

By: Tony Whitt
Date: Thursday, January 03, 2002

Now that Kyle Raynor has discovered the cause behind his increasing power, he must fight off Nero lest the evil ring-slinger takes it all. But there's a choice to be made before Kyle can accept the power that will make him nearly omnipotent, a choice that Hal Jordan was never presented. Either path Kyle chooses, things will be very different from now on.

Anyone who reads my reviews of Judd Winick's writing often enough may suspect I want to have his love child. That's not entirely true-for one thing, I'm not built for it. For another, even a writer of Winick's calibre can sometimes make choices that, while not destroying the integrity of a title, can leave one wondering if they were such a good idea. As much as I'd been looking forward to the resolution of the mystery behind Kyle's increasing power, I found myself hoping that things would work out differently-and I use that word very deliberately. I has hoped events would unfold differently from the way they did a while back. But they haven't. I apologize for being so cryptic, but the revelation at the end of this particular issue is an incredibly startling one, and while I'm not sure I'm personally happy with it, I don't want to ruin it for anyone. No matter how you feel about what happens here, it's still something to be seen. I suppose only the next few issues will show whether this decision was a good one or not, and I have enough trust in Winick's ability to keep reading, even as I question that decision.

Good points about this issue, otherwise? Loads. The battle between Kyle and Nero is a high point of the book, despite the fact that it resolves back in the white nothingness from last issue with Kyle in his white BVDs again. (Honestly. Doesn't anyone go starkers on the astral plane anymore?) There's also a guest appearance by the Qward that may have as many startling implications as the book's resolution. And then there's Hal Jordan, in what may be one of the better and best-justified cameos he's done in a DC title this year. By and large, it's a pretty amazing issue...but oh, that ending...

Dale Eagelsham and Rodney Ramos's artwork keeps pace with Winick's script as beautifully as ever, even in those scenes in the white nothingness and the white BVDs. As much as you may want to rush through the battle sequences to find out what happens next, it's worth your while to linger over them for a while-the detailwork that Eagelsham and Ramos put into Nero and Kyle's ring creations is amazing. Perhaps if you feel good enough about what happens at the end, you can go back and look at them on your second or third read. If you feel uneasy...well, you're not alone. Personally, as much as this new turn unsettles me, I think I'll table that unease for a while. Rarely has a series kept me wanting to read even when I was outright afraid of what was coming next.

GREEN LANTERN

Grade: B

Issue: 145

Author(s): Judd Winick, Dale Eaglesham, Rodney Ramos

Publisher: DC

Price: $2.25