“There are miracles in this universe”

With the news that Sam Humphries is leaving the Green Lanterns title this week’s twenty-eighth issue is one of his last five on the series.  The “Out of Time” arc seems like a fitting one to end his run on considering it’s one of the main plot thread that’s run through the book since its inception.  This week’s issue represents the best and the worst that Green Lanterns has to offer to me as  long time reader of the Lantern mythology and at the end of the day I find myself looking forward to what Tim Seeley might be able to do to get me more on board.

The issue opens with the introduction of the last of the “First Seven Lanterns”, a Kryptonian names Jan-al.  Humphries spends four pages of the issue giving us a little bit of background on Jan-al and how the ring comes to choose her to help Rami fend of Volthoom’s attack back on Maltus.  Like the other mini origin tales this one only gives us a brief snapshot of the character and with her perishing by the issue’s conclusion it’s unfortunate that we don’t get a chance to get emotionally invested in her so that her death has some weight behind it.  All in all the story doesn’t progress enough for me and what comprises the issue could have been handled more efficiently to make space for the plot to at least get a little nudge forward.

My usual criticisms of this series aside the main problem I have with this particular issue is pacing and dialogue.  Once you get past the intro of Jan-al nearly the entire issue revolves around the discord of all the lanterns coming together and in terms of time the sequence spans maybe a fifteen to twenty minute time period and reads way too fast.  And the story in the past, while kind of interesting, isn’t all that compelling knowing that Volthoom is ultimately defeated.  I don’t think dialogue is Sam Humphries’ greatest asset and it shows itself again this issue.  I honestly didn’t think the word “dude” existed ten billion years ago and Simon’s inner monologue reads like it was written by a typical teenager.

Where Humphries does well is in the character department.  Continuity issues aside most of the “First Seven Lanterns” are interesting characters and I do find myself wanting to know more about them.

The best part of this issue is the art.  Eduardo Panseca does a wonderful job in how he portrays all the lanterns and his attention to facial detail helps support the story and add depth to a pretty shallow script.

Green Lanterns #28 is a fast paced read that will leaving you wondering where the pages went.  Slim on plot but heavy on action the story doesn’t get particularly more interesting to read, but it is fun to look at.  Six out of ten lanterns.