Green Lantern 52 Review

The last Blackest Night bannered issue of Green Lantern was released this week, and there's plenty of Internet buzz about some of Geoff Johns' cosmic revelations.  To be sure, Johns has painted the origins of the universe is some pretty broad strokes that have fans either loving it or labelling it blasphemous.  So what's the hub-bub about?

Like last week's Green Lantern Corps, this issue is somewhat of a placeholder, not advancing the plot so much as revealing the as-yet unrevealed information about the cosmic order of things and providing some action sequences to keep the issue chugging along.  In fact things are pretty much the same at the end of the book as they are on the first page minus a few casualties.  But it's the revelations here that highlight the issue and set the stage for stories yet to come and perhaps motivate us to contemplate on the nature of the universe and how all our various mythologies and religions could be viewed through a pseudo science lens.

The issue starts out with John Stewart and the Green Lantern Corps miles above Coast City still dealing with the throngs of Black Lanterns and Xanshi while Hal looks on as the newly christened White Lantern Sinestro deals out the damage to the Black Lanterns on Earth.  Just a comment on Sinestro's new look - is there a reason that the handle bar mustache and the mask are back?  He hasn't had that look in years and the only thing I can come up with is that, in his subconscious, Sinestro compares his role as a White Lantern to his glory days in the Green Lantern Corps and so his appearance is shaped by his id's desire to be looked upon as what he once was - the greatest of the Green Lanterns.

Sinestro's insights into the white light reveal a lot of information about how the entity settled on Earth, spontaneously spurring the creation of life in the oceans.  A being wills itself to move and sparks its own evolution into Ion - much like I thought it might.  Following suit are the other entities with a bug evolving into Parallax. 

The next part is what has some fans up in arms, even being labeled a "retcon of the bible" on one message board.  We see love bloom and the Predator entity form and then shortly after a snake portrayed as the entity of Avarice, "a creature eats what it does not need."  There's certainly some allusions here to the biblical Adam and Eve and the snake, who Doug Mankhe draws coiled on the branches of an apple tree.  Likewise parallels are drawn between rage inspiring murder between Cain and Able.  Hope is drawn from prayer made during rain storms, perhaps alluding to Noah and "at last, compassion is offered to us all" certainly could be connected to the death of Jesus on the cross. 

While none of these allusions is directly made they are left for the reader to determine what they mean to them.  It is certainly not a stretch for Christian followers to make those connections as you can see, but for those who don't follow religion it is just as easy to see no connections at all if one chooses not to.  Not being a theologian myself I'm not certain there are any biblical events that tie themselves to the origins of Ion or Parallax at all, nor do I know if any of the imagery provided links to other religious or mythological origins of life on Earth.   

What's most interesting to me as someone who is not entirely sure what I believe in is that what Johns' is doing by layering the pseudo scientific concepts of the emotional spectrum on top of creationism and Darwinism is that he kinds of shows how both belief systems complement each other in a way.  I think that makes some people uptight and certainly those who are adamant that their belief system must be the only way will find problems with the heady concepts that Johns is toying with.

Sinestro and the seven emotional entities

The two page spread that follows should be a poster.  Here is Sinestro, surrounded by the emotional entities simply stating, "we live."  The choice of the creatures is fascinating as many of them represent the kinds of creatures that might have been worshipped by various cultures long before Christianity took hold, albeit that Parallax and the Predator don't really look any anything I've ever seen before.   And how a squid like creature represents compassion I don't know, nor is the Predator anything that would ever make you think he represents love.  But they are intriguing to say the least and there certainly is fertile ground established to explore their meanings down the road.

Nekron attacks Sinestro and causes what appears to be a mortal wound, and once again all seems lost.   Xanshi's orbital approach begins to cause massive upheaval around the globe caused by the interference of both planets' gravitational fields clashing with each other.  Xanshi fires a massive energy bolt into the ocean causing a massive tidal wave that crashes down upon Coast City.  Hal manages to contain the wave before it causes too much damage before being overwhelmed by Black Lanterns.

Hal on the brink of certain doom

Xanshi's technicolor destruction

Hal calls on John Stewart to rally the troops to stop Xanshi before it can inflict even more damage.  John once again faces Katma Tui and as Black Hand and the Black Lanterns come ever much closer to killing Jordan, John Stewart's strike force destroys Xanshi from within.  Xanshi explodes in a brilliant explosion of color and nice one page splash.  Xanshi's fate causes pain in Nekron and Black Hand as a whole lot of Black Lantern rings lose their connection and Hal is saved.

As the fractured remains of the destroyed planet rain down on Coast City, every hero works as a unit to shield the city from destruction, all the while Sinestro literally pulls himself back together.  Once whole again, Sinestro proclaims that he is "the true Guardian of the Universe" and our issue fades to black.

There are probably more splash pages here than in any single issue of a comic I think I've ever read.  But putting things into perspective I guess that's fine considering that this is the next to the last issue of a massive event.  The story is epic and so the artwork is as well, with Doug Mahnke really doing a wonderful job. 

I'm not bothered at all by the big picture that Geoff Johns is painting with this story.  I'm very open minded about the subject and I don't find this to be a huge stretch of the imagination, in fact I find a certain logic to it that's appealing to me.  Comics can be modern mythology and I think that Blackest Night is a fine example of how we can continue to probe and examine the greatest of all mysteries without alienating everyone but those who have the most unyielding of beliefs. 

For example, for those who believe in creationism can easily view the white light entity as the divine instrument that God used to forge life on Earth - the method that God used to create everything springing forth from a seed which he planted here.  For those of Darwinism school of thought the white entity could simply the spark which caused life to evolve.  It's all there if you choose to evaluate how literally you take your faith.  Johns certainly isn't saying that is how life evolved here, but he uses his concept of how live evolved in the DCU as a way for us to examine our own belief system.  So I have to give him credit for the ballsy move and appreciate his creativity.

I do however have some criticism about the execution of the issue.  The dialogue is a bit clumsy at times, especially when John Stewart confronts Katma Tui (again) and we get a regurgitation of how John has gotten passed his past.  And apparently "aaaieee!!" is THE sound effect for pain these days.  The New Guardians and their deputies are relegated to the background and the Black Lantern Justice League is no where to be seen at all this issue.  And the covers to both the regular and variant issues would have been much better sans the word balloons.

But perhaps what I'm most disappointed about, not by this single issue though, is a wasted opportunity.  We've seen Kyle confront the death of Alex DeWitt in GLC #46 and Guy Gardner deal with the abuses of his past in GLC #45.   This issue is not the first, but the second time that John Stewart has confronted his Katma Tui and Xanshi demons, with the first being three issues back in GL #49.  But what about Hal Jordan?

Sure Hal forced Parallax to merge with him so that he could take on the Spectre in GL#50, but he didn't fight his own way at all, he only triumphed in his willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good, but he failed to overcome that demon on his own.  An the biggest missed opportunity was the chance we had for Hal to be confronted head on by the death of Martin Jordan and Hal's desire to know his father's last words.  How awesome it would have been for a Black Lantern Martin Jordan to confront Hal, taunting him with the false version of history.  Or a Black Lantern Jessica Jordan scolding Hal for all the things he did that drove them apart.  Just as the other three Earth based lanterns got that moment so should Hal.  Yes, there's still Blackest Night #8 left but I have a feeling that the final issue in the event will be focused solely on wrapping up the story and setting the stage for "Brightest" Day.  And we're pretty much passed the point of adding any more new twists to the story at this stage.

While that doesn't affect my view of this issue, it does color my opinion a bit on Blackest Night as a whole.  But this issue earns a solid four lanterns.

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A Flood of GL Movie News

As expected there's been more casting news related to the Green Lantern film since filming is underway down in New Orleans.  This week's news features the casting of a couple of smaller roles and one major surprise for the upcoming film.

First off, a young actor named Gattlin Griffith has been added to the cast.  According to the Comic Book Movie(CBM) website, Gattlin has been cast as a young boy named "Robert" in the film.  The leaked first draft of the script has no one named Robert in the movie, however he could be playing the role previously called "Nathan" in the original script, Nathan being Hal Jordan's nephew and son of Jim Jordan. 

Another obvious role for Gattlin would be the young Hal Jordan to complement Jenna Craig's Carol Ferris.  However that wouldn't explain the reference to him being called Robert in the film, and since there's no real big secret to there being a young Hal in light of Carol being announced, one would think that Nathan's name must have since been changed.

Or, there could be another role created in subsequent rewrites of the script and he's a new character we haven't heard about.  But I'd place my money on him being Hal's nephew.

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Green Lantern Corps #46 Review

Blackest Night is drawing to a close with only three issues left to wrap up the loose ends and resolve as many of the plot threads as Geoff Johns is planning to.  The end begins with this week's Green Lantern Corps #46 with Peter Tomasi and Pat Gleason wrapping up their involvement with the event and their run heading towards the sunset.

The battle above earth continues between the members of the various corps struggling to contain the threat of the Black Lanterns while the New Guardians confront Nekron in Coast City.   All the members we've come to know so well over the past months get some face time as Guy Gardner tries to establish a leadership role amongst his throng of uneasy allies.  I like Tomasi's writing of Guy and I'm glad that Guy will follow Tomasi to the new Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors title.  Guy still walks that fine line between cool and annoying but Tomasi has turned Gardner into the Bruce Willis of the DC Universe and that's a good thing.

 Guy's plan, if he can get everyone to work with him, is pretty creative and as a Star Trek fan I chuckled at the reference to the "Tholian Web" episode.  I have to shout out the coloring work here by Randy Mayor and Gabe Eltreb who did a great job with making the web look amazing.  The color work throughout this event has had to be a challenge to make the various corps energy look powerful while being able to balance it out.

Guy's creative solution to being severely outnumbered.

Guess Who?!

The web holds for a few minutes but the giant construct gives way to the enormous stress of trying to literally contain and destroy tens of thousands of Black Lanterns.  Once again things begin to get bleaker for our protagonists just as Guy and Kyle are visited by the ghosts of their pasts, with Black Lantern Ice appearing to try to claim Guy and a mysterious refrigerator containing a Black Lantern version of Alex DeWitt pulls a surprised Kyle Rayner into its depths.

As we've seen throughout Blackest Night, one of Geoff Johns' goals for this event was to move our characters forward, to have characters acknowledge and accept events and decisions that have shaped them from their past while moving forward past them to set the stage for the future.  John Stewart had this moment in Green Lantern #49 and now both Guy and Kyle get their moments as they both conquer their demons and refuse to be bound by mistakes and guilt from their past.

Hell hath no fury like an Anti-Monitor scorned.

Which is great because just after they do the Anti-Monitor, trapped in the Black Lantern central power battery since the end of the Sinestro Corp War, burst for from the giant battery and he's not happy about where he's been for the past few years.

Everyone piles on the Anti-Monitor but he is barely affected by their combined efforts because he hasn't fully been converted into a Black Lantern.  The high toll of being a Green Lantern is paid by Vath, who literally sacrifices life and limb to protect Iolande from the eye blasts of the Anti-Monitor.  Vath refuses to simply accept his fate and keeps pushing forward with his own assault despite the critical damage he's been dealt, showing us the grim determination it takes to be a defender of the universe.

Bedovian wins a very large Kewpie doll.

A new scheme is hatched to use Dove as a means of bringing the Anti-Monitor down and Kyle envelopes here in a very large bullet construct.  While the Red Lanterns puke rage on the him to keep him distracted, Bedovian, the Sinestro Corp sniper, takes aim in a very cool visual by Pat Gleason.  The Dove-bullet hits home, striking the Anti-Monitor squarely between the eyes.  

The slumped over form of the behemoth lay stuck between our world and his giant power battery prison.    The combined lanterns struggle to pull the Anti-Monitor free so that Nekron can no longer continue to siphon energy from him.  However they are unsuccessful and the Anti-Monitor is sucked back into the battery to continue to fuel Nekron's plans.  The issue closes with the corps launching themselves headlong towards Nekron and the upcoming final issue of Blackest Night.

I was perhaps a little critical of Pat Gleason's artwork in the beginning, but he's really won me over with his work in the past several issues.  It's unfortunate that he's not continuing with this title when Tomasi leaves, nor is he joining the writer in the new book.  I think he's done a really great job and it'll be a little sad to see him go. 

While there were some cool moments in this issue, I have to say that I felt like this issue didn't seem very important in the grand scheme of the story of Blackest Night, so I'm a little disappointed.  Granted that disappointment only comes from the fact that this is the last issue of the GLC book as a part of the event and it didn't really seem to do much other than offer a few neat moments while keeping the corps at arm's length from the main story.  Had this been two issues ago I'm sure I'd feel differently, but the lack of any real progression to the story really left me feeling like this was just a placeholder issue that's why this issue only gets 3 out of 5 lanterns.

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GL Movie Set Photos and More Casting News

Since filming began this week we've had a flurry of activity including first photos posted of the filming taken by fans who visited the filming location.  Some of the news is very exciting and the photos bring into sharp realization that this movie is actually happening.

Jenna Craig via IMDB

First off, we have some casting news.  While we know that Blake Lively is portraying the grown up Carol Ferris and Ryan Reynolds is Hal Jordan, until now we had no confirmation of who would be playing their younger versions if indeed there would be scenes showing the death of Martin Jordan.  The first draft had those scenes but the casting of eleven year old Jenna Craig as the younger Carol Ferris cements the notion that we will be seeing the event that drives Hal to be who he is.

At first glance there's concern that both Jenna and Blake are blonds, leading us to wonder if Carol would be a blond in the film.  Those fears can be put aside once you see the set photos below!  Nothing yet on who will be the younger version of Hal.

Jay O. Sanders standing on his mark.

Jay O. Sanders was photographed outside the Old Point Bar, the site of the first location shooting that took place yesterday and today.  Sanders has a long resume of television and movie appearances and it is unknown at this point what his role is in the film.  The first draft of the film didn't include any bar scenes at all so who Sanders is supposed to be is a complete mystery.  One hunch is that he could be a character in the film referred to as "Pipe".  Personally, as much as this character was kind of neat to read about in the screenplay, I felt that the character didn't add anything to the film and I think it would be quite hokey to say the least if it's used.  So I hope that he's some other character entirely.  The photo to the right and all the other set photos were posted on the Comic Book Movie website.  I'm not going to reprint every photo they've put up, so please visit their site to see their pictures in their entirety.

John Stewart?

Another person seen in their photos is Nick Jones.  Not much is known about Jones, but he twittered that he was at the "Broome's Bar" location shooting a bar scene.  He later posted the photo on the left on his Twitter feed of Ryan Reynolds and himself. 

Jones says he has a small role in the film as an ex-Marine.  That information and the location leads many people to believe that Jones is going to be a John Stewart Easter Egg.  My hope is that perhaps some of "Emerald Dawn" has been excised and some of the elements of "Secret Origin" have been happily added during the rewriting process.  Hopefully this is a sign of Geoff Johns' influence and a good omen that Johns has been able to excise some of sillier aspects of the first draft.  (Dear God, if you exist, please make sure that someone got rid of that pathetically silly ring recharge in the final act!) 

Another behind the scenes picture that appeared on the Comic Book Movie site is one of Reynolds and Lively outside the bar.  While Lively's back is to the camera, the photographer assured everyone that it is indeed Lively.  So she's either wearing a wig or her hair has been dyed to match Carol's hair coloring and we can breathe a sigh of relief at one little bullet dodged!

It's hard to say from the picture if this was something being filmed at the time or if Reynolds and Lively were just relaxing between takes.  Either way I have to say as a Green Lantern fan of some thirty five years this is just about the most exciting thing I've seen so far because it really solidifies for me that I'm finally going to get to see a Green Lantern movie in my lifetime.

Of course it's only the most exciting thing for a few sentences until you take a close look at the next photo on the left.  Ryan Reynolds is seen here holding a coffee mug, but take a close look at his right hand and you'll see something green on that middle finger!

This makes my day and will probably be the greatest thing until we see pics of Reynolds in the Green Lantern uniform.

Stay tuned as I will continue to scour the net and bring all the news I find about the movie to the Blog of OA.

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Emerald City ComiCon News

Last weekend marked the start of the major comic book convention season with Seattle, Washington.  Between Blackest Night and Brightest Day there was quite a bit of news between the Green Lantern panel and the DC Nation panel.  Here's a summary of the GL information that came out over the weekend.

• Alex DeWitt, Kyle Rayner's girlfriend who was killed and stuff in a refrigerator, will be making an appearance in this weeks Green Lantern Corps #46. 
• Dex-Starr, the red kitty of rage, is from Earth and will have his origin story told in an upcoming issue.  Dex-Starr and Krypto will indeed be going at it like cats and dogs.
• The New Guardians will be settling on Earth post Blackest Night, much to Hal's dismay.  Atrocitus finds the subways of New York to his liking.
• Larfleeze will get a Christmas story in which he discovers Santa Claus and wants to kidnap him for his own.  And Larfleeze's oath will be revealed.
• Expect Cowgirl to return to the forefront in Hal's life.
• Geoff Johns has at least another five years of stories to tell in Green Lantern, including new villains.
• The Green Lantern Corps black ops group will not be seen in the future.
• The previously announced co-feature for Green Lantern Corps has been cancelled.
• While no one confirmed the rumored Bruce Timm animated series, Geoff Johns answered an inquiry about the possibility with a sly grin and the word "...maybe!"
• Mark Waid curiously asked Johns if Hal would be traveling to the future, specifically the 58th century where Hal had adventures back in the 1961 with an alter ego of Pol Manning.  Geoff gave an affirmative response and indicated that Hal might be going there with Barry Allen.
• The deputized Lanterns may still have ties to their respective corps with Atrocitus hitting on Mera.  Expect Wonder Woman and Carol Ferris to have a blossoming friendship.
• Atrocitus vs. Lobo ---- 'nuff said!
• While the JSA will return on Smallville, Green Lantern will not be making an appearance.
• While not Green Lantern related, Johns did take a couple of opportunities to take jabs at Marvel for their recent Deadpool variant trade.

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Green Lantern Filming Begins

Principal photography begins March 15th, with the first shots being filmed at the Old Point Bar in New Orleans.  This news joins some late breaking casting news for the roles of Abin Sur and Tom Kalmaku.

The Old Point Bar in New Orleans

According to the On Location website, the Old Point Bar is located near the water, perfect for a Coast City watering hole.  Unless the scenes they're shooting represent a dinner scene between Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris from the first draft of the script, this would be a scene created during one of the numerous re-writes the screenplay has undergone since the June 8th, 2008 version leaked on the Internet.  My hopes are that this isn't an "Emerald Dawn" inspired DWI scene, but maybe a great bar fight like we saw with a young James Kirk in the "Star Trek" reboot last year.

One of hopefully many easter eggs to come

Further news about the Old Point Bar comes from the Comic Book Movie website where a poster there who hails from New Orleans was able to get a picture of one of the windows before it was covered up.  As you can see, the bar is being renamed "Broome's Bar" for the film, and nod to John Broome, the man who created the Silver Age Green Lantern when it was relaunched back in 1959 in issue 22 of Showcase.  Hopefully this is the first of many easter eggs scattered throughout the movie for comic book fans to discover.

The face of Abin Sur

In other news, the roles of Abin Sur and Tom Kalmaku have been filled, and not a moment too soon, both actors being from New Zealand.  The Hollywood Report Heat Vision blog is reporting that "Star Wars" alum Temeura Morrison, who played Jango Fett, will be portraying Abin Sur in the film.  Heat Vision is also reporting that actor/director Taika Waititi (aka Taika Cohen) will be playing Hal's best friend, Tom Kalmaku. 

No news has been released regarding the casting of Tomar Re, Kilowog or the Guardians, and that, coupled with the start of filming location, leads me to think that the Earth bound sequences are the first on the filming schedule to allow for the casting search to continue.

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Kirby Krackles with "E for Everyone"

I've been around for awhile (I'm 45) and I have been a firm believer that true Rock and Roll died some time ago and I haven't heard anything on the radio worth going out and buying.  In fact, the last time I got excited about a new music release was when Brian Wilson finally released "Smile".  But this year I discovered for myself some great music made just for us, the comics/gaming/sci fi crowd, brought to us by the awesome nerd/geek rock bank Kirby Krackle from Seattle, Washington.

Kirby Krackle's 2nd CD launches this week

March 9th marks the release of their sophomore album, "E for Everyone".  I got my copy this past weekend and I think I've already worn it out!  Since discovering this new genre of music I've been seeking out other like minded bands, but what makes Kirby Krackle stand out for me is their smart lyric writing and the production value behind their music.  And you know that when the CD cover features drumsticks as Wolverine claws and a GL ring created guitar that this CD's going to be a treat.

Kirby Krackle just plain sounds great, and they aren't making fad songs to play off of our interests to sell some cd's at cons - they make music inspired by the things we love because each one of these guys is one of us and they love the same stuff we do. 

"E for Everyone" kicks off with the energetic "Vault 101", an ode to "Fallout 3", one of the greatest video games of the past few years.  I don't know how many hours I spent last year wandering the Wastleland in search of bottle caps and blasting mutants and this first track captures some of that experience we had venturing out from that vault with our trusty PipBoy on our arm.  The song captures the player's need to believe that, despite the world gone to hell in a handbasket landscape, there's hope out there somewhere for a better tomorrow.  As the chorus goes, "And in a world gone mad I've got to believe...there's something better."

The CD's second track is a great "day in the life" look at the world from Wolverine's point of view.  From fighting in the Savage Land, dealing with the Hand and the Wrecking Crew, this song really shows the band's understanding of the character.  And for those people like myself who ordered the CD, the included booklet of lyrics cleverly takes Wolvie's signature claws into account.  The song rocks and the lyrics give us a glimpse into the character and how some of his life experiences may affect him more than what he reveals to world around him.

"Secret Identity" is a fun look at what the life of a superhero inside of all of us and how we'd all like to don costumes and kick ass at the end of the week, after we mow the lawn and trim the hedges of course! This is a great song that could easily be used in a film like "Kick Ass" with a lot of pop flair.

"Roll Over" is a fast paced bombardment of pop culture references shouting out to everything from the Thundercats to the Smurfs to Skrulls.  It's a fun play on the "Roll Over" song I remember singing to with my son when he was little, with some great riffs and a rap interlude that kicks it hard.  I'll admit that I questioned my geek cred when I didn't get all the references in the song!

The fifth track, "Henchman", is a rocking light-hearted look into the interview of an aspiring henchman.  Balancing accomplishments ("I fired lasers from a sub / one year I blew a whole bridge up") to inquiring as to the retirement fund options and health plan our singer's point of view of someone who has risen up the ranks from "peon to goon" mirrors the same type of nervous "need a job" interviews we've all had with a delightful villains' slant.

Best GL song...EVER!

"Ring Capacity" is the song that helped me discover Kirby Krackle.  A single that I missed out on when it was sent out for free last summer, "Ring Capacity" is a hard rocking song that puts you in Hal Jordan's head as he encounters Sinestro in deep space.  The clever chorus counts up and down the charge level of Hal's ring as he deals with his greatest foe.  I've got a small collection of Green Lantern themed songs and "Ring Capacity" easily knocks J-Sin Stars's "Green Lantern: Hal Jordan" track of the top of stack for best Green Lantern inspired song.  I really hope that this track makes its way to the new Rock Band network and it would be amazing if this track somehow found its way into the soundtrack of the upcoming Green Lantern movie.

Check out the band's live performance of the song:

"Can I Watch You?" is a funky look at the Watcher.  How can you beat a lyric like "You love my baby head / And my piercing white eyes / So say if you want to / You can call me Uatu"?  Not even possible!  Pure gold!  And who knew he could make zucchini souffle?

Of all the songs on the disk "Take it from me" was the only song that didn't grab me.  And that's not a knock on the song at all - it's a good rocker.  I just missed the Mega Man bandwagon by a few years so the references are completely lost on me.  Again - that's nothing against the song, it just doesn't resonate for me personally.

"Great Lakes Avengers" demonstrates the band's ability to write a clever lyric about a guy with pretty pathetic powers and his attempts to get into a good super team, but alas he's too lame to be considered by anyone but the GLA.  Turned down by everyone from the Fantastic Four to the Green Lantern Corps to the Justice League and not willing to join the likes of the Doom Patrol, Alpha Flight, the JSA or the Birds of Prey ("you're a dude!") our protagonist finally decides that the GLA might be right for him after all.

Every CD has to have a ballad or two, and "Dusty Cartridges & Long Boxes" is the love song between two geeks sharing their common interests.  The song has kind of a Kenny Loggins / James Taylor vibe to it.  And what girl geek wouldn't swoon at a lyrical line like "CGC say 9.3 but you're a 10 to me..like Bo Derek."  It reminds me personally of years ago before my wife and I were married, two young naive Star Trek geeks spending every moment surrounded by memorabilia and other fans, reveling in our geekness while falling in love.

"E for Everyone" ends with "Going Home" - a song which should become the anthem for everyone making the pilgrimage to a con where you've crammed your vehicle beyond capacity, of course never realizing that you'll be bringing home more stuff that you left with and have to leave stuff behind.  You and your bud's hit the road, Root Beer and Twinkies stuffed in a cooler as you hit the road for mecca.  This song captures the fan experience like no other and deserves a music video to set it off - in fact G4 needs to use this in their Comic Con coverage this year - you hear that Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn!?

"E for Everyone" will be available by various digital download stores, but you can also order the CD directly from the band.  It's worth a couple of extra bucks to get the art and lyric book - and this is a band worthy of our support.  If you find yourself becoming a Kracklehead like I have you'll also want to seek our their first CD that's also filled with great music any geek would want on their MP3 player.

Definitely five out of five lanterns.

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Green Lantern Movie in 3D and more

With the start of principal photography looming on the immediate horizon, there has been surprisingly little new official information released regarding more of the casting for the film.  In fact the only official announcement from Warner Brothers revolves around film format.  

The enormous success of 3D and "Avatar" has led to studios jumping on the 3D bandwagon.  Warner Brothers has officially announced that the Green Lantern film will be released in both 2D and 3D versions.  While I haven't seen any movie in the new 3D format myself, I have to admit that the thought of seeing ring constructs in three dimensions makes more than a little giddy.  Those who've seen 3D films seems to be of the mind that in order for it to look right the movie has to be filmed in 3D for the effect to look right, not rendered in post production.  My hope is that no one starts changing things to create hokey 3D moments - I still haven't recovered from Friday the 13th, Part 3.

Reynolds mentioned Green Lantern going 3D on the red carpet at the 2010 Oscars during a very brief conversation with MTV's Splashpage blog.  The clip is pretty funny since the guys at MTV keep trying to get Reynolds to say the oath on camera and he's not having any part of it.  Happily, Reynolds hair looks very Hal-like in the video they have on their site. Check out their post for written details of their dialogue and a brief video.   

Other news that has made it's way to the 'net regards test footage being filmed near New Orleans with film crews shooting footage of a stunt car near a high bridge.  What makes this interesting is that there really isn't a lot of car action in the first draft of the script other than Green Lantern dealing with some criminals in a car chase or two in what amounts to little more than a montage of GL making an impact around the globe.  So whether this test footage is in preparation for that or not remains to be seen since we there have been several re-writes.  So long as it's not going to be used for an "Emerald Dawn" inspired DWI incident I'm happy.

Bobby Strom, fitness guru to the stars, has the Green Lantern movie listed on his website as one of his current projects.  Strom worked with Ryan Reynolds before on "Blade: Trinity".  Reynolds himself confirmed that he is working with Strom in another red carpet interview, this one with E! Online.  Reynolds also hints a little at the type of costume he'll be wearing, calling it "snug" and proclaiming that it may take him some time to not feel embarrassed by how form fitting it is.

Check back on the Blog of Oa in the coming weeks for more information on the Green Lantern movie as we edge closer and closer to the June 17, 2011 release date.

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