“Blood for Sinestro!”
Sinestro #6 has the challenge of being the last issue for Act One in GodHead, the first major New 52 story focusing on the New Gods and their mission to protect the multiverse from Darkseid. Not only does writer Cullen Bunn need to introduce the event’s story arc as his first full chapter, he has to provide what is essentially the bookend of the first month of the story. Six issues into the new series Bunn is still establishing the tone and cast of the book, and while he’s done a great job so far it seems too early for Sinestro to be taking part in a three month event which sidelines any ongoing narrative he may have been trying to establish.
Bunn does a good job of tying the series into GodHead and provides Sinestro with the opportunity to score the first semi-successful offensive against the New Gods while also further establishing himself as one of the universe’s most cold and calculating leaders. While the cover of the issue shows Orion the actual antagonist for this issue is Bekka, who has led a brigade of soldiers to Nok to take on the Indigo Tribe and the group of Green Lanterns that Indigo-1 teleported there at the end of Green Lantern Corps #35.
We also see a follow up to something I pointed out in Episode 74 of The Podcast of Oa when discussing Green Lantern / New Gods: GodHead #1 regarding Despotellis which helps ties this issue back to the launch of the event and provides a good sense of continuity. Arkillo gets a nice spotlight as the months of serving as a punching bag comes to an end and his fealty to his leader is repaid in a fashion which restores his status within the Sinestro Corps and invigorates the character with a new found energy.
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| Arkillo’s battery gets recharged |
We do see some weakness in Bekka’s followers when the ferocity of the attack from the Sinestro Corps although it is a tactic which doesn’t prove effective for long once the surprise of the attacks have worn off, and as the battle on Nok wages Sinestro and his closest allies coldly observe from a safe distance before Bunn has Sinestro engage in a gambit which no one could have predicted. While ultimately successful in blooding the nose of the New Gods it also comes at a great cost, one which could backfire should greater numbers be needed in the issues ahead. Especially now that Sinestro has Bekka on the ever growing list of people who would like Sinestro dead.
Artistically speaking this issue looks good with Dale Eaglesham and Martin Coccolo providing the pencils this issue. While their styles are different they complement each other pretty well and having one colorist doe the entire issue helps with maintaining consistency from a visual perspective. There’s a lot going on in this issue in terms of the action as we see four different factions in an all out confrontation and the art team does a good job of making it look as powerful as it should.
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| Sinestro proves himself once again to be a ruthless leader |
Writer Cullen Bunn provides us with a surprise tactic which draws the first blood of the New Gods and Dale Eaglesham and Martin Coccolo’s visuals make the issue easy on the eyes. There is, however, a feeling that we’ve seen this formula played out similarly across all the Lantern books this month. Ultimately Sinestro #6 fails to deliver the kind of satisfying punch that one might have expected this issue to provide as the closing chapter of the first act of GodHead. Three out of five lanterns.
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