“We’re saved….I think?”

This weeks Green Lanterns #27 introduces another one of the “First Lanterns” while Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz try to survive wherever (and whenever) their encounter with Volthoom landed them.  With Simon Baz ringless it’s up to Jessica to rise to the occasion and be the bigger hero in the face of a savage land…and a surprising occupant.

The first thing that struck me about the issue was the meandering pace of the plot.  Sure there’s lots of action as Simon and Jessica struggle to find a place where they can catch their breath and regroup without getting attacked by some new creature, but the schtick overstays its welcome in my opinion.  The punchline at the end of the bit is the not so startling revelation that the two Green Lantern have landed on Earth in the distant past, not surprisingly they are on Earth ten billion years ago some time after the “First Lanterns” got their rings.  Now, the first problem with this is that our planet isn’t even that old (four and a half billion give or take a few centuries).  I get that we have to suspend our belief for certain things but how hard is it to Google it when you’re writing your story to make sure you are at least scientifically accurate?  It took me all of about fifteen seconds.

Basic facts notwithstanding there are a couple of notes this issue hits that are positives in my book.  One being the presence of the the Life Entity, seen in its infancy as it’s still evolving.  The other is the introduction of Brill as one of the “First Lanterns”.  Brill comes from Grenda, a planet which should strike a familiar chord with veteran Green Lantern readers.  Grenda is home to sentient machines and the planet where the Green Lantern robot Stel hails from; it’s also the home of Yron, another Green Lantern who appeared briefly in the 1980’s.  I appreciate little nods to history like this and it shows that Sam Humphries does make an attempt to acknowledge Green Lantern history despite his penchant for contradicting it.

Ronan Cliquet provides the pencil work for this installment and Hi-Fi does a nice job supporting Cliquet’s work with his own on coloring duty.  This ancient Earth looks alien enough that I’m sure many readers had no idea that Cruz and Baz were actually on Earth.  There’s also some nice creativity with regard to Jessica’s constructs this issue which made the prolonged fights against all the creatures a bit more entertaining.

Green Lanterns #27 is an okay issue that struggles in the pacing department with too much time spent creating a “Land of the Lost” vibe.  The appearance of a character that I don’t think we’ve seen since “Brightest Day” and the introduction of another “First Lantern” are the issue’s saving graces along with a solid effort from the art team.  Seven out of ten lanterns.