Archive for the ‘Tony Bedard’ Category

Green Lantern: New Guardians #3 Review

Posted: November 26, 2011 in Comic Book Review, DC Comics, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Tony Bedard
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Writer: Tony Bedard
Pencillers:  Tyler Kirkham & Harvey Tolibao
Inker: Batt
Colorist: Nei Ruffino
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Kirkham, Batt, & Ruffino
Editors: Pat McCallum & Sean Mackiewicz

You know what the biggest problem for comic books are?  The fact that each issue is only 20 pages long!  Wait…nope, sorry, I’m wrong, it’s only 20 pages now – even worse!  Even the best arcs in the history of comics have weak chapters due to the length constraints each issue has.  #3 of New Guardians is suffering from this same predicament; exciting happenings with little explanation.

Kyle Rayner opens this issue up showing off his multiple rings, drugged out on power and wailing out against the Guardians.  They are, however, able to overcome Rayner’s onslaught and suddenly become heartless and primeval. #3′s purpose, obviously, is to give a reason for the NEW Guardians (who ever they might be) to make their appearance, kicking the blue mini-me’s “owt tha doe!” The action is great, and the suspense for what’s coming next is even better, but I felt there was very little explanation for why everyone was behaving so poorly.

Rayner’s actions were justified…he was being consumed by the power of all those rings.  And as the Guardians said, no human should be able to wield every ring in the emotional spectrum.  It’s the Guardians actions that seem very out of place to me.  Their actions have always been questionable, and they progressively got worse as time went on, especially during Blackest night and Brightest Day.  However, in this issue they felt especially odd as they were blaming Rayner for something he couldn’t control and felt completely emotionless, which was very uncharacteristic.  If this arc results in the complete destruction of the Guardians, I will be the first to celebrate!  But there’s something uncharacteristic about how the Guardians are behaving…not sure I like it.  But I do hope Ganthet sticks around after the Guardians are gone, he’s the only one that had his head screwed on right.

Everything else was great though; questionable allegiances, power struggles and the constant flooding of bad guys that make everything worse was a flawless flow of awesome!  I was glad to see Larfleez used in a deceptive way and not so much as a comic relief, like the more recent stories involving him have done.  At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the whole “gang” feel of the other different Corps members, but it seems to be working out quite well thus far.

Kirkham and Tolibao are rocking it as the pencillers; the action is non-stop, and  the excitement is at its highest!  Ruffino gives that nice touch of explosive color that makes this book worth every penny.  The opening page is awesome enough to blow up and hang on the wall!  (which I might just do!) One thing that trumps every other title ever since the introduction of the different Lantern Corps is how fantastic the coloring job has been and how every colorist has taken full advantage of the vast aray of color combinations and mixtures.

So far, New Guardians is very enjoyable, definitely the BETTER of the Green Lantern titles thus far, without a doubt.  I just want the Guardians to go already!  Kick them out!  push them out of the window! feed them to the dirt and shove them off this mortal (or immortal) coil!  Lets get on with it!!!

8 out of 10 stars

Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 Review

Posted: October 4, 2011 in Comic Book Review, DC Comics, Green Lantern, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkman
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Written By: Tony Bedard
Penciled By: Tyler Kirkman
Inked By: Batt
Colors By: Nei Ruffino
Letters By: Dave Sharpe
Cover By: Kirkman, Batt & Rod Reis

Time To Retell The Story…
SO with the announcement of DC wiping the slate clean, and forgetting about all of the crisis’ in DC’s history, it makes the current situation of the Green Lantern mythos even more confusing than already.  Is Blackest night considered a crisis, and if so, was it wiped out with Identity, Infinite, and Final?  Regardless, Tony Bedard is taking up the challenge of writing one of the most ungratifying first issues in the DC reboot.

Basically, Kyle Rayner’s origin story is being retold, resembling snippets of the Emerald Twilight saga back from 1994.  The issue starts off with Oa in shambles, Green Lanterns sprawled out everywhere, and the Guardians dog piled on top of each other.  Ganthet recovers, however, and goes on a search for a new Green Lantern.  Kyle Rayner, still the artist and still in his own world, is found and given the green ring.  However, off in different parts of the universe, one Lantern from each corps is decommissioned, and their rings fly off and find Kyle as well, dubbing him the most worthy.  With single members of each corps determined to retrieve the rings of their deceased comrades, Kyle is in for a bit of a tussle.

The recent Green Lantern film gives us Hal Jordan’s origin story as well as introducing many of the popular characters we’ve come to love for years.  New readers will come into this first issue certain in their knowledge of the film’s story, but uncertain of who Kyle Rayner is, as well as the multiple Corps’.  The New Guardians #1’s purpose is to help reestablish everything Geoff Johns did prior to the reboot for the sake of the new readers.  Which means only one thing for us “older” readers…relearning everything.  This issue is undoubtedly NOT meant for us geezers.  So in part, it’s hard for someone like me, an older reader, to get super excited about a title showing me things I already know.

It was interesting to see Tony Bedard and Tyler Kirkman basically start the New Guardians #1 at the alley way he was in back in 1994’s Emerald Twilight saga.  This issue gave me a huge feeling of nostalgia as I remembered him receiving that ring in an alley outside of a club.  Things definitely turned out differently in New Guardians, but it was nice to see that Bedard went back to the roots of Kyle’s origin…in that back alley.

Oh, and in case you were all wondering how I got the name Heretical Jargon as the title of my blog, (formerly known as the Heretic’s Blog) just go back to Green Lantern #50 (published 1994) and look closely as to where it all started…

Just look at the door way to the left, and you'll see the beginnings of my blog title. From Green Lantern #50, 1994. Click to enlarge.

For me, this was fun read, but after I finished I simply shrugged my shoulders, as if to say…”eh.”  The Green Lantern mythos is certainly taking a risk at being the only section of the section of the DC universe that really hasn’t changed. (Well, I guess Batman should be included too)  But even more importantly, if DC is trying to lure in new readers, but not changing anything with the Green Lantern mythos, some retelling of certain things is necessary in order to help things make sense.

Of course, as time goes on, this title will become more and more neutral as some very interesting questions have been left unanswered.  For new readers, their questions will be based around the “newness” of everything that they’re seeing with every page turn.  But for us older readers, It’ll be interesting to see how different this first arc of the series is in comparison to 1994’s Emerald Twilight.  How much involvement will Hal Jordan have in this mysterious first paged opener of post destruction and debris of Oa? Who attacked Oa? And why is Rayner so attractive to all these flying rings?  I’ll be tapping my foot anxiously for the end of the retelling mythos story and the beginning of the “NEW” stuff.

So, there’s nothing really wrong with this issue, it’s just not modeled for me.  The end of a world kind of story which turns into Kyle’s Green Lantern birth has already been told, so let’s get through all that stuff and get to the juicy NEW stuff.  But for the sake of the newer readers, I’ll force my way through it and hope for the best!

8 out of 10 stars

War Of The Green Lanterns Aftermath #1 (of 2) Review

Posted: July 22, 2011 in Comic Book Review, DC Comics, Green Lantern, Tony Bedard
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Writer: Tony Bedard

Artist: Miguel Sepulveda & Tyler Kirkman

Inker: Sepulveda & Batt

Colorist: Rain Beredo

Letterer: Rob Leigh

Cover Art: Dave Johnson

The Plot

The Corps is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder…so their illogical anger is putting every single member at risk.  But the guardians aren’t taking this lightly and looking into every angle of this most recent, and horrific event, drawing most their attention to the newly inducted Green Lantern…Sinestro.  To top it all off, most of the Corps takes every available opportunity to take a swing at John Stewart for blowing up Green Lantern planet Mogo.

While the Corps is on the verge of collapsing, a small band of Lanterns plot against one of their most hated enemies, Sinestro, who is, as already stated, a chosen member of the GL Corps.  With the entire Corps fallen victim to so much stress, this is not surprising…but how will Lantern Natu respond when she is asked to partake in the murder of her father?

Before I Begin….

It does get a bit cumbersome after a while when you have you go to your local comic book shop and discover DC has created another “aftermath” series to a major comic book event.  The War of the Green Lanterns ended fantastically, leaving a lot of room for awesome things to happen for Green Lantern #1 come September.  An aftermath series just didn’t seem like a good idea to me.

I decided to give it a shot anyway.  If I’m too follow the new series, and knowing Johns doesn’t plan on changing much, it might be a good idea to stay up to date with all the GL happenings.  Among the four comics that I picked up Wednesday, I saved this first issue of two for last knowing I’d probably be disappointed.  However, I was pleasantly surprised and, to be honest, found it the most enjoyable of the four.

Elsewhere…

This series is most definitely hurling fans into the new direction Green Lantern will be taking, one that has truly taken me by surprise.  In turn, this leaves multiple questions in my head…Is Hal Jordan done?  Is Sinestro permanently taken over as head hero for the revamped GL title?  Is the Corps doomed to fail?  How will the Green Lantern mythos be altered by this whole ordeal?

As I sat in my bed pondering on these questions, I then thought you myself… “This is exactly what Geoff Johns, Tony Bedard, and DC want.”  And, currently, there is no title I’m more excited for in the rebooted DCU than Green Lantern.

Unlike the other titles, Green Lantern has been doing an excellent job at preparing us for the fall of the old, and the rise of the new.  The best chapter in a story is when everything goes to Hell right?  Right now, the Corps is enduring nothing but Hell with Hal kicked out of the Corps, Sinestro being looked upon as its savior, the guardians becoming even more assholish than normal, and each member of the Corps ready to rip out each other’s throats.  It’s a fantastic tale of hardships and how people truly deal with one another when the entire world around seems to be crumbling at the base.  This is not a happy book, but it’s a book that will keep your attention from start to finish.

With all of those positives, it pains me to say that I was drastically unimpressed with the artistic endeavors by Miguel Sepulveda and Tyler Kirkman.  Characters felt too wooden and visually uninteresting.  And was it just me or did it seem like, during the confrontation between Kyle Rayner and John Stewart, the three pissed off Lanterns looked strikingly like other characters of the DCU?  I wonder what Oliver Queen would have to say about his likeness being portrayed as a Lantern?  (He’d probably eat it up.)

Drawing and inking aside, Rain Beredo (I like the name rain) shoves the unimpressive sketches aside to make room for a stunning display of color and light.  Nothing is overdone and everything is delightful.

So now Krona is dead, and the plot couldn’t be thicker.  Next month is just around the corner and a new beginning is excitedly pumping my comic book needs to an all-time high.  Tony Bedard, thanks so much for making this a great ending to a fantastic series.  Let’s just hope issue #2 delivers an equally exciting storyline.  Fingers crossed.

7 our of 10 stars