Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *

Whilst American graphic novel giants D.C. were working near miracles with their New 52 series, miracles that saw the complete re-grafting and overhaul of titles such as Aquaman and Wonder Woman into near titans of the class, the same unfortunately doesn’t seem to have happened in some of the more obscure, less handily placed titles, including the underwhelming and distinctly average Green Lantern Corps. Not everything can be perfect in life and certainly not for the comic book or Graphic Novel buyer but some titles just don’t readily make themselves an attractive proposition.

Whilst the occasional teething problem can be expected with a new team, a new perspective on an old favourite able to cause ripples and leave the prospect of the title finding its way over the coming issues, there seems to be a lack of hope in Green Lantern Corps: Volume 1 Fearsome, a lack of hope that stalks the pages of the graphic novel and one only relieved by the superb inks that adorn the pages.

If it is the inks that save the Novel from falling down too far down a chute that leads to somewhere just off the first circle described so eloquently by Dante, then the rest of the book sits uncomfortably next to Scrooge as he reflects upon his misdeeds and tries to pick the lock of his enormous chain. It is this chain that binds Fearsome to a place of the unnatural; a closet in which some comic books should never be allowed to escape until such a time that life is ready for them. It is the same closet that once held Aquaman fast until his renewal as a true and composed character and if there is anything to be taken from this it is that surely the Green Lantern Corps can also break free of the shackles and become the worthy title that D.C. envisaged.

Until then, the well placed inks are at least eye-catching, but like the man who goes out in the most expensive suit and carries money round as if it is confetti, the lack of I.Q and bad social manners that accompany him is soon found out when he refuses to shake your hand. Green Lantern Corps is hardly befitting its place at the top table, a shame but not everything in the world can be perfect.

Green Lantern Corps: Volume 1 Fearsome is available to purchase from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.

Ian D. Hall