Review: Green Lantern/Red Lantern #28

The Red Daughter storyline for Supergirl began yesterday in the Green Lantern/Red Lantern #28 flip issue. I will admit that the concept of the flip issue was a fun one for me and I was glad to not have to buy two extra issues to follow Kara’s story.

I stopped buying Green Lantern when Geoff Johns left the book so this was a good way to let me peek in on the emotional spectrum and Hal. And I have bought the last few Red Lanterns in anticipation of Kara joining the book so I would have bought this issue anyways. But to see the two corps react the Supergirl wearing a red ring was very entertaining and revealing.

Robert Venditti writes the Green Lantern half of things; I enjoyed his brief run on Demon Knights so was curious to see him on the cosmic environment of this book. Gratefully, he wrote this issue in a way that someone like me, who hasn’t read GL in several months, could jump in and easily understand. It is clear that Hal is trying his best to run things in the absence of the Oans. Seeing old friends like Kanjar Ro being recruited was strange and intriguing. And  who knew there was a Star Sapphire named Rol-Anj. No relation, of course.

Billy Tan does the art on the GL pages and brings a slick, detailed feel that matches up nicely with the ordered ‘will power’ tone of the book. I especially liked his more idyllic pages on Mogo.

Charles Soule remains the writer on Red Lanterns. I have enjoyed this book much more than SM/WW. The Lanterns here seem like fun-loving but honorable people with nasty streaks, almost libertarian in their viewpoint. They aren’t vomiting, growling psychopaths. There is a streak of black humor throughout the book as well making it a more fun read than anticipated.

Alessandro Vitti does the art on Red Lanterns and is as perfectly suited for RL as Tan is for GL. There is a raw feel to the art, a bit more grungy and rough which works with the raging tone here.

The art on both halves of this book was beautiful.

I don’t think we can necessarily call this the beginning of the Red Daughter arc even if this is the first issue on the shelves.

I say that because we are dropped into the story with Kara already wearing the ring, zipping through space. Hopefully the ‘read Supergirl #28’ blurb at the bottom of the page will bring some new readers to her title.

Now this is a Green Lantern book and a Red Lantern book, not a Supergirl book, so I understand that the focus is going to be on those characters here. Indeed, Kara is mostly a plot point in this book. And since she is a freshly minted Red Lantern she is in the ‘vomiting, growling’ stage of development.

That said, Billy Tan draws her as if she were in agony, fighting the change that has happened to her. The furrowed brow, the unringed hand holding down the ringed hand, the screams. It looks as if this is a painful and not necessarily embraced change. 

It furthers the feeling that Kara is in turmoil, angry yes … but more. Maybe she wants to move past this rage rather than have it fuel her.

How did Supergirl get the ring? Why is she flying crazily in space? I hope the rational part of her is trying to get herself away from populated areas since she is so out of control. Supergirl ends up running into a couple of Green Lanterns and briefly battles with them before passing out, presumably from exhaustion after using her heat vision.

Is it just heat vision? Or is it ‘rage vision’? Who knows how Kryptonian physiology can manipulate a ring’s energy. Maybe Kara will have more than the standard array of ring-slinging capabilities.

But even this panel where she is fallen unconscious is fascinating. She looks completely spent. Is it the vision? Or is it that she is fighting two fronts, an internal battle of wills as she fights the ring and the external battle with the GLs.

Here is the one thing that does irk me a bit … not about the writing or art but about the New 52 universe in general and how they have treated Supergirl as a character.

Hal doesn’t know who Supergirl is … at all. He has to scan her to discover she is a Kryptonian. And even then he doesn’t know who she is as an individual.

And this is the problem of Supergirl in the new 52. She is completely isolated. So isolated that the members of the Justice League don’t know who she is. How can a character this removed from the greater universe thrive?

Even if you assume Supergirl has only been on Earth for a couple of months …

Wouldn’t, in passing, Superman have mentioned his cousin to Hal at some point?

Wouldn’t Hal have heard about a force field covering New York when Supergirl fought the World Killers?

Wouldn’t he have seen news clips of her in the S-shield costume when H’El on Earth was unfolding?

At least we know Flash and Wonder Woman know her … unfortunately it is because they fought her.

Heck, Jeph Loeb knew enough to have Supergirl introduced to the DCU by Superman by the end of her first appearance!

Unconscious, Supergirl is brought to Mogo, new HQ of the GLC. There, she awakens, shatters the green energy cage she is in, and needs to be rerestrained but it takes many Lanterns shackling her with green constructs to subdue her.

While some of the Lanterns want to remove the red ring from Kara's hand, killing her, Hal feels more noble. I was glad to see that his first thought is to 'cure' her of the red energy rather than simply kill or imprison her.

Unfortunately, Blue Lantern Saint Walker isn't using his ring anymore (something about the rings draining the universe) so he can't/won't cure Kara.

Nice sentiment by Hal.

And as I said, the art in this jungle really sparkle.

And more good stuff from Hal.

He thinks of Superman as a friend and an honorable man. And he pleads with Kara to fight the insanity that comes with the red energy. This is different than the bickering Hal in JL who complains that Superman always floats above everyone and spies on them. I like this Hal much more.

And look at Supergirl in this panel. While she seemed in pain before, here she looks forlorn. Part of that might be that she is shackled and gagged. But I wonder if she is sad about this predicament, from accepting the ring. Maybe there is a part of her aware and fighting the rage.

Flipping over to the Red Lantern side of the book, Hal decides the best thing to do with Kara is bring her to Ysmault.

There are a number of reasons to head there. If this is a new ring, Hal needs to know if the Red Corps is growing (there are only a few red rings left). Second, Hal wants to check in on Guy.

But he also wants to bring Kara there.

I love how the take on Superman is different between Guy and Hal. Hal describes Superman as good and honorable, a friend. Guy's first response is almost fear. If Superman gets mad about this Kryptonian 'we're all done'. It is as if Guy anticipates Superman will attack ... and defeat ... both Corps.

Incredible!

Like in the Green Lantern side of things, Kara overwhelms the constructed prison and it takes two corps to hold her down and dunk her in the lake.

So Supergirl really is a snarling animal for parts of this book. I like to think that struggle we saw earlier is present but the rage can be overwhelming.

Anyways, it at least shows just how tough a ring-wearing Kryptonian would be.

One dunk in the lake later and Kara is awake and coherent.

What I take from this panel.

One, she introduces herself as Kara Zor-El. She really doesn't consider herself Supergirl.

Second, I like how she asks 'Please, what's happened to me?' Clearly the ramifications of taking the ring were not explained to her. She might not have accepted if she knew. And she doesn't come out snarling with red eyes. She's almost pleading ... please, what happened.

Although she really is out of control for the most part of this issue, small flourishes like this and the expressive work by Tan make me think there is more to her story than simply embracing rage.

We'll have to see if this internal struggle is part of her narrative.

And if Guy was worried about Superman and his thoughts about any Kryptonian, he has to be much more concerned about what Superman would think of his family becoming a Red Lantern. I guess we'll find out next month.

I think my thoughts about this Red Lantern Supergirl arc are pretty well known. I don’t think it should happen. It would have been better if it didn’t need to happen. The concept of the isolated angry Supergirl doesn’t work.

Now if Tony Bedard and Charles Soule are using this story as a turning point, a way to have her recognize her rage and move beyond it, then I guess it is okay. It is like burning away a tumor. The treatment hurts but it is still a cure.

All those feelings stated, I actually liked this issue.

It is clear that Supergirl isn’t maniacally giggling at her new power, or thriving with it. And even her two lines evoke a person wondering what is happening with her life.

And the personalities of Haland Guy seemed spot on for this sort of encounter.

Plus the art is just spectacular. Hoping now I run into Vitti at some convention.

So if I had to have an opening chapter to Red Daughter (a storyline I don't want to see), this one was as good a start as I could anticipate.

Overall grade: B+