| Title | : | Green Lantern Corps, Volume 7: Revolt of the Alpha-Lanterns |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 140123139X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781401231392 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 176 |
| Publication | : | First published May 31, 2011 |
Collecting: Green Lantern Corps 21-22, 48-52
Green Lantern Corps, Volume 7: Revolt of the Alpha-Lanterns Reviews
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This was good, but I have never been all that interested in the Alpha Lanterns, so I was probably less overwhelmed than some. However, I was thoroughly entertained the entire time I was reading, and that counts for a lot in my book.
I'm also jacking up my rating a little bit, because I would consider this a must-read for any GL fan. -
5 🌟
The Green Lanterns fight the Alpha Lanterns. -
After the lukewarm effect and occasional and varied Geek peak of emotion that I got recently from watching the Green Lantern flick with Ryan Reynolds, I wanted something more substantial and a real green fix to lay a hold on me.
Luckily I spotted the recent compilation of Green Lantern Corps at my local bookstore. It is the Brightest Day tie-up and entitled Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns. Now for most of those familiar, the Lantern Universe was rocked to the core most recently with, Blackest Night and altered further with the events of Brightest Day. But for this compilation, the Lantern Corps are fighting something not bound by prophecy but one that came from their ranks.
What I speak of are the altered Green Lanterns, cosmetically and physically made to become part Green Lanterns and part Manhunter machines. Literally they are more machine now than human and have embedded in their chest their very own Lantern that needs not to be charged and provides them with unlimited source of will. Should you prove a threat, they can also drain the energy of your ring by lifting their face plate like that of a Manhunter. It is the police force that polices Lanterns themselves and carries out further the will of the Guardians.
This compilation comes in the wake of Blackest Night with most of Oa still recovering from the assault of Black Lanterns. The Guardian Ganthet who headed his own Blue Lantern Corps after having been booted off the “Council” for showing emotion has now officially resigned from being a Guardian and wills himself to become a fellow Green Lantern guarding Sector 0, which is Oa, and with him toiling in the foundry to make his own power ring. This he does just after going to Ysmault with Lantern Guy Gardner to meet up with Atrocitus, head of the Red Lantern Corps whose primary ruling emotion, is nothing but Rage. Something Guy understands completely after having been affected and succumbing to his own anger. Ganthet proceeds to make a proposal to Atrocitus but one that requires sacrifice and for the reader a little bit of secrecy. We are not aluded as to what the conversation was but whatever new and veiled threat Ganthet has uncovered it has prodded Guy to agree as well as Ganthet to make a sacrifice and resign from his post. The sacrifice for us readers on the other hand to make, is to be more patient, and follow the beat of the plot as the story arc is played out.
Back on OA, some of the Lanterns, as well as the recuperating ones after the battle, are starting to go missing. As per monitoring, they are still active and their rings have not sought out a replacement but are not on duty and cannot be reached. Alpha Lantern Boodika together with John Stewart, Earth’s other Green Lantern are asked to go to the Planet Grenda, home planet of Lantern Stel, the latest to go Awol, and a machine who has proven worthy to be part of the Corps.
This hardcover compilation also includes the 2 part Curse of the Alpha Lantern which gives us the life of Boodika before joining the Corps, during the Corps when Hal Jordan went rogue and cut her hand off till her assignment that brings her to her homeworld of Bellatrix after becoming an Alpha Lantern.
If you want non-stop action then the Corps is the way to go. Add into the mix the return of our favorite nasty Cyborg Superman and the appearance of a mysterious benefactor, this compilation not only bridges the events following the cataclysmic events of Blackest night but also plants the seeds for the next GL event, which is War of the Green Lanterns. Bring It On. -
Really enjoying my time in the Green lantern universe. There's some misses but for the most part, it ranges from good to great. This isn't on the highest level but it's still pretty dang fun.
So this is about the Alpha Lanterns. They were created to be super charged, super strong, emotionless fighter. However, when they begin to take over regular lanterns, things get pretty fucked up for our crew. However, we find out someone mysterious is behind it all! You may have guessed it as he's been a thorn in the Corps side for a long time. That's right, Cyborg Superman has returned and he wants something new this time.
Good: The art remains very positive. Colorful and bright with some excellent fighting panels here. I also thought Kyle and Natu relationship seems real and very well done. The putting the pieces back together and trying to fix the broken theme is really good here too. I liked even John here, who I usually find boring.
Bad: The twist and turns are predictable. It plays it safe, never trying something to big. I also think the pacing can go really fast and fun to really slow and heavy exposition. Which is just a problem with most green lantern stories it seems.
Overall, pretty solid fun adventure. I liked the story here, the themes, but nothing blew me away. Still worth reading if you are a fan of the Lanterns though! A 3 out of 5. -
Like most Green Lantern titles, it starts out intriguing and ends up ri-freaking-diculous. It's all brawn and plot, no brain or character. Why do these space cops all end up talking and acting like WildC.A.T.S.?
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In the wake of
Blackest Night former Green Lantern editor and Geoff Johns collaborator Peter Tomasi moved on from Green Lantern Corps to write Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors (at the moment of this writing on my to-read list) which appears to "star" Guy Gardner, who up until this moment had been one of the main characters along with Kyle Rayner of this book. (I'm getting this from the fact that a scene that features Ganthet, Guy and Atrocitus appears both in this volume and
Green Lantern: Brightest Day--I'm assuming we'll see it again in Emerald Warriors.) This aside, I was always disappointed with Tomasi's run on Green Lantern Corps since it seemed that he was always holding Johns' water, with the major revelations and plot twists happening in the Green Lantern title with little more than some fleshing out of those points in the Corps title. Perhaps with the ending of Blackest Night perhaps the creative teams would have the opportunity to explore their own plots, but when these issues were published, Johns was still the one writing Green Lantern and Blackest Night lead into Brightest Day, another Johns driven project. This is the landscape that Tony Bedard found himself thrust into when he took over Green Lantern Corps.
Now just because someone else is driving the main narrative doesn't mean that a creative team can't try to find their own path with one of the side stories and the premise of Revolt of the Alpha-Lanterns is good in that it addresses a villain from
The Sinestro Corps War that didn't appear in Blackest Night that I had been wondering about (which amused me slightly, as I had never really cared for this character.) I will let readers discover who I am talking about, but if you've read all of Johns' run on Green Lantern (and the associated titles) to this point, it's pretty obvious who I am talking about. Because this is taking place in the aftermath of Blackest Night and Hal Jordan is off running around with his band of multi-colored ring bearers, Bedard has a new cast of characters. Kyle Rayner is no longer sharing the stage with Guy Gardner, but instead John Stewart and Ganthet, along with his new girlfriend Soranik Natu. Their adversary figures out a way to co-opt the technology of the Alpha-Lanterns--essentially Green Lantern/Manhunter hybrids who were created in the lead up to Blackest Night--in order to force Ganthet, who is now a Green Lantern himself, to resolve the adversary's own unique condition.
Of course the issue with all of this is execution and again, this might be due to the fact that Johns was saving the juiciest bits for the main Green Lantern title. I am not hopeful for Emerald Warriors as a result--it was difficult enough to enjoy Green Lantern Corps when it was the "other" Green Lantern based title. How is it going to work with two of them? I could be wrong, but this collection is just more of your average super-hero comic fare--nothing earth shattering, but still a fun read, especially if you are a fan. -
In the aftermath of the
Blackest Night Omnibus, Ganthet becomes a Green Lantern, he and Guy Gardner make a mysterious pact with Atrocitus, and Kyle, John, and Soranik Natu go on a mission to investigate the corruption of the Alpha Lanterns by an unknown power! This series has been consistent entertainment and it hasn’t lost a step during the transition of the writing duties from Tomasi over to Tony Bedard. As usual the book is a refreshing time away from the Hal Jordan superhero antics in the main book while still existing as an essential part of the overall mythos. This volume keeps this up with its likeable characters and space action! And it’s a major chapter in the lead-up to the
War of the Green Lanterns!
The two issues at the end of this volume focusing on Alpha Lantern Boodika and her past are weirdly placed as knowledge of them really informs the character in this book and should be read much earlier in the Green Lantern series when they were originally released, right after the Sinestro Corps War. -
Another decent collection of superhero books that gets a little undone by DC editors' refusal to understand basic narrative flow. The first five issues are a solid, if not great story about how the Alpha Lanterns are going to evolve in the post-Blackest Night universe. It didn't rock my face off, but it had some good storybeats, and I think it will impact the overall universe in a fun way.
Then, for no good reason, there are two issues about one of the Alpha Lanterns becoming an Alpha Lantern before Blackest Night. It's a dull story that we know will be undone because we just read the story where it was made irrelevant. I guess they're trying to lead in with the better story? But then why include the other two issues at all? It flashes us back over a year in continuity to tell a boring story that, if you were reading the story in issues, were told in chronological order.
I'm always amazed at how long the editors at the DC comics graphic novel department manage to keep their jobs, despite not having the slightest idea how story structures work, or how to engage their readers. -
This was an absolute page turner. Readers will start this volume and by the time you look up at the clock when you're done you'll realized you've had no concept of the passing of time. Finally we get some much needed closure about the Alpha Lanterns after the events of the Blackest Night. Their story has only gotten more and more cryptic, as well as downright concerning. After their introduction, not a single Lantern in the Corps trusted them any further than they could throw them. When they started executing prisoners, that was icing on the cake. Now it seems they're trying to multiply - and without the guardians' orders. Among other sub-plots in the background of this story, Oa is slowly being repaired, and it's nice to see John Stewart be in charge of the restoration. Kyle and Soranik's relationship continues to develop (for better or worse). And a certain fan favorite character takes a BIG demotion, and even though it should have been expected by this point, it is nonetheless a marvelous twist. There is no slow beat in this volume of the consistently excellent Green Lantern Corps series. Let's hope Mr. Rayner can stop saying other girls names in bed with Soranik in the next volume.
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The Alpha Lanterns are sadly still a thing and here shows another reason they don't make sense especially after everything that went down during Blackest Night. The flashback to Boodikka's past is interesting but she's not as an Alpha. In the Green Lantern Corps book, I'm always hoping for stories involving lesser known Lanterns and we get that here but John and Kyle are still center stage. The villain is great and perfect for the storyline but it seemed very "by the numbers". Seeing the changes in Ganthet is great but still hard to get used to. The art was very good. Overall, a good book that could have used more creativity.
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The main story was very good, nice art by the racist. Shame he couldn't keep his mouth shut.
Anyway, I enjoy how this era made Sinestro, Mongul, cyborg Superman and Superboy Prime into big threats.
The second storyline from after Sinestro corps War had a good plot but poorly executed. The art was fine. Not sure I'd it does work better here or where originally published. -
Not as good as Tomasi's run. Not as unique/memorable; is missing those personal character moments; and the story doesn't flow as well between issues.
Not to say this is bad by any means. Still a pretty good sci-fi action comic with a heartwarming and satisfying ending. -
I really wanted to love this book for its choice of villain and tie in to the greater narrative. But it just kind of ends up being a decent buy mostly forgettable adventure that happens to have a few key moments.
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Fun story, nice to see Kyle Rayner front and center. We also get some cool history about the origins of Sinestro’s ring. Barely connected to the Brightest Day arc but still enjoyable.
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Fuckin’ Cyborg Superman. What a bastard.
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It was okay. I was not happy about having to reread two issues though. I kind of miss Guy, but John's pretty cool. The villain was fine, so was the plot. Can't wait to finish Brightest Day!
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Muy bueno, ojala dejen de salir los alpha lantern por que me dan mucho miedo
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Fairly standard tale that is more than the sum of it's parts because of the emotional core of the story.
Boodikka is one of the more interesting Lanterns in the Corps and this story which is a final full circle for her arc made it special for me.
World: The art is good, the power of the rings is very apparent with the art. The force and the movement is strong and this is an action movie from top to bottom. The colors are also nice with the green everywhere but not overpowering. The world building here is good, it not only starts paving the way for Weaponer but also has a lot of call backs to the past and the pieces that have been around since GL Recharge is made use here. It's not only good world building it's good usage of the pieces that have already come before it.
Story: It is a fairly standard villain tale, althought Hank is always interesting. However, what sets this arc apart is the fact that 1) We are dealing with the Alpha Lanterns which everyone hates and rightly so and 2) This is the end of the Boodikka story, which is great. The action is brisk, the pacing is what you expect from a Corps book, but the best part of the tale is the final issue with Boodikka. Entertaining.
Characters: There are a lot of good character moments here, with Guy talking about his bar, Kyle about his mural, and John talking with Boodikka. It's these little tiny moments in this very fast paced story that makes it a good book and makes the story something more than just a standard action book. You care about the characters, and not just the main ones, you care about Stel, Boodikka and even the fish guy and his partner that dies. Oh and the Vath scene is just classic. You care about them making this book fun. It's space cops and you know a lot of the side characters in the precinct because over the series time has been spent on building them.
This was a very fun read, it's coming at the end of the run and this is already a well oiled machine, you know what you are getting and you are getting the tightest and well paced version of it.
Onward to the next book! -
It doesn't surprise me that this Green Lantern Corps. volume flat lined like the rest of the crossover series is was tied into. Brightest Day was a monstrous low-point in the DCU, and "Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns" is no better. It starts off with some promise, intrigue, mystery as to why Alpha Lanterns are abducting and converting Green lanterns into Alphas, but soon, it is obvious that the writer is only interested in forwarding plot points, so the story has no exposition, no character development, no tone or atmosphere. It was so ridiculous by the time that Cyborg-Superman (seriously, why bring him back and build another lame back story around him? He is insignificant!) joins the story line, that I just pushed through in hopes that some small, new piece of GL mythos would be revealed.... but no luck with that either. Completely unimportant in the grand story-arc, this could be one of the worst GLC story lines ever committed to page. Painfully, painfully average artwork, and substandard writing. 2/5
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The Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns starts with John Stewart and Boodikka going to investigate a machine planet were Stel disappeared. John soon discovers that the Alpha Lanterns are under someone else's control. Shocking. It is up to Kyle Rayner, Soranik Natu, and Ganthet to stop them. This story was just really lame and predictable. I could see every twist coming a mile away. The villain's motivations have always been and are still dumb. Also, this story did not change the status quo that much. It just seemed like pointless filler.
The second story which comes before the revolt is about Alpha Lantern Boodikka which was okay. It revealed her back story as a bounty hunter and came full circle with her having to confront them again. Unfortunately I still don't like the Alpha Lanterns storyline and this did nothing to change my mind. -
As a comic book writer Tony Bedard used to have a good grasp of how to mix space opera with a little superheroics. I could wonder if the problem here is changes ordered by the editor, but I think Bedard's writing has slipping for awhile now, and I've just not wanted to acknowledge it.
Either 1) give me a story that I enjoy and care about or 2) characters I can become interested in. This volume fails to do either. I usually like John Stewart, but not here, because he is just "here". This does appear to an end to the alpha lantern concept, for the most part, in the Green lantern titles, but even that was big, "so what?' -
Perhaps it's fitting that a much less hyped and overblown storyline comes off so much better than the cross-over heavy Blackest Night or Brightest Day. I'm not a huge fan of the Alpha Lanterns, and what develops in the "Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns" crystallizes all the reasons for them being a huge mistake. The supporting "Curse of the Alpha Lantern" storyline actually makes Alpha Lantern Boodikka less of a machine, which was a helpful piece of characterization for someone familiar with her before she became a man-hunting, Internal Affairs robot devoid of emotion. I'm still not a fan of the idea of the Alpha Lanterns, but both of these stories are solid.
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This was an ok Corps story, but what I'm waiting for is the next one story arc, when the Weaponers of Qward come back with a vengence. Anyways, this story is about the creation of some new "Alpha Lanterns" who are the Guardians attempt at meshing the new Green Lanterns with the old Manhunters by literally combining some of the top lanterns with machine and trying to remove their emotion. Doesn't go over to well, but isn't a reversible procedure. Good read, but like I said: the next book is where it's at!
Collects GL Corps #21-22 & 48-52. -
The primary story was pretty good. I'm not that interested in the Alpha-Lanterns, but I actually enjoyed the Cyborg-Superman stuff. The back up story, "Curse of the Alpha-Lanterns," was an odd inclusion. I didn't enjoy that at all.
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Nice. I like the design of the Alpha Corps, even if the concept seems to be so obviously flawed the Guardians should have known better. Cyborg-Superman had a great role in this. It was also cool seeing Ganthet become a Green Lantern. Liking it.
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The "Curse" story is a nice look at Boodikka and at the Alpha Lanterns, though I would have preferred to see it in its proper context [7/10]. The "Revolt" story is an excellent bookend to the creation of the Alpha Lanterns, and a really nice bit of continuity too [8/10].
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Grade: B
The switch in creative team makes the storytelling in this volume of GLC a little less layered, but it’s fun nonetheless and the art is really good. I could use less pages of expository backstory and history though. -
A fun one. The first story, Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns, works far better than the latter, Curse of the Alpha Lanterns.
