“And the horse you rode in on”

Tim Seeley’s “Superhuman Trafficking” arc reaches its finale with Green Lanterns #43 as the Order of the Steed take their final ride.  Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz get all the evidence they need to bust up the Order’s religious rodeo but the issue ends with a disturbing moment that sets the stage for the duo’s next adventure.

To be honest I’ve been pretty bored with this whole arc and the conclusion, while action packed, wasn’t rewarding because there was never any tension built up before we got to this point.  Sure the D list superheroes might die and that’s awful, but other than Night Pilot readers don’t have an emotional investment in their fate.  At the end of the day this arc seemed to be more about pushing the notion that Jessica is growing romantically connected to her partner and building the subplot of the strange behavior exhibited by Jessica’s ring than it did anything else.

What I did like about this story was the evolution of Scrapps.  I found her story to be very compelling and her character more complex and interesting that everyone else, including Simon and Jessica.  I found Scrapp’s struggle to balance her personal sense of justice and her moral compass a very interesting dilemma as it unfolded.  When presented with an opportunity to put down the leader of the Order there was that brief moment where you felt like she’d pull the trigger even though it meant an innocent person would pay the ultimate price.

I’m unsure where Seeley is going with the continual teasing of a romance between Simon and Jessica.  This issue put Jessica through a bit of an emotional roller coaster as she stands by watching Simon and Night Pilot reunite just as she seems to have come to some sort of understanding about her feelings for Baz.  That zigs and zags a couple of times for the rest of the issue before we’re left with the disturbing image of Jessica surrounded by constructs presumably representing the hunters that killed Jessica’s friends.  I really hope that Seeley moves past the romance subplot because I think it’s better for the series that readers she two members of the opposite sex who can like and respect each other without it turning into “Moonlighting”.

V Ken Marion is back for another effort on the title and this time around his work isn’t quite as good as it was last time.  There are some problems with perspective and scale a number of times, most notably one panel on the third page where Simon’s arm seems to be as big around as his head.  There are other moments, when Simon visits Jessica, where the characters look very stiff and unnatural.  There are elements that look fine and the action looks visually exciting but this isn’t quite up to the same standard as we’ve seen from Marion before.

Green Lanterns #43 is a satisfactory ending to a story which I didn’t find very interesting.  Tim Seeley doesn’t seem to have found his footing with this series yet and the art this installment was a bit of a let down.  Six out of ten lanterns.