“Some things a man has to do on his own”
While the tone and scale of Uprising spoke to galactic conflict the underlying layers of the story really centered on the stars of both books. Over in Green Lantern Robert Venditti used the story to develop Hal Jordan as a leader and allow him the opportunity to grow. Meanwhile in the pages of Green Lantern Corps Van Jensen used Uprising to push John Stewart down a darker path whose seeds are sown in the pages of this week’s issue.
John is a man on a mission this issue and there’s little that is going to stand in the way of him finding Yrra, but the question that is waiting to be answered by this issue is whether John is going to like what he discovers when he finally finds what is out there, lost among the stars? You definitely get the answer this issue and while I’m not going to spoil it for anyone I will say that anyone who believed they knew John’s future may be questioning themselves by the time they close the issue.
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| Yrra, outnumbered and hunted, would she survive long enough for John to find her? |
Along with John’s journey we see a reunion of sorts between Von Daggle and R’amey Holl while we learn the identity of the partner that the Durlan is looking for, someone named Nayr. While we don’t know where this subplot may lead I do hope that we get to see the resolution and I hope it allows us to spend some time with Daggle and Holl. Another loose end is addressed as well when Hal Jordan give Daggle the job of turning loose Kanjar Ro, Bolphunga, Evil Star and the other criminals who’ve used the conflict to win their freedom.
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| John Stewart, defeated and deflated |
John’s single-minded pursuit is clearly the central focus of the issue and Jensen really uses what could have been a simple filler issue to create an emotional epilogue to Uprising. Bernard Chang and Marcelo Maiolo expertly bring Jensen’s script to live with powerful images that perfectly punctuate every beat in this issue, from awesome visual moments during the action sequences to milking as much emotion from the characters as we learn what really happened to Yrra and the impact it has on her relationship with John – and his response to what he finds when he reaches the planet where the Durlans held her prisoner.
Green Lantern Corps #34 is a wonderfully crafted and executed issue that explores the humanity of the characters while ramping up the dramatic tension. This is not a light issue and there are no yucks here to brighten the mood, nor should there be. Solemn, powerful and visually stunning, this issue is a superb coda to the first year of Jensen’s run on the series. Five out of five lanterns.
Related articles
Green Lantern Corps #33 Review(blogofoa.com)
Interview: Van Jensen Discusses Durlans, B’ox, and GREEN LANTERN CORPS(comicvine.com)
Green Lantern 101 – R’amey Holl(blogofoa.com)