Green Lantern #16
DC Comics
$2.99, color, 20 pgs.
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen, Mark Irwin
Thank you, Geoff Johns and DC Comics.
Thank you for a new Green Lantern who isn't a jerk. See: Guy Gardner and John Stewart's 1970s "angry black man" origin, which made them both instantly unlikeable, and consequently, I've never liked them. (Long-time comics fans, by definition, have long memories.)
Thank you for a new Green Lantern whose learning curve isn't so exaggerated that he appears to be brain-damaged. See: Kyle Rayner, who appeared to be as dumb as a bag of hammers long after he was no longer a newbie.
Thank you for a new Green Lantern who isn't white, but whose whole raison d'etre isn't "look, he isn't white!" See: John Stewart, who doesn't seem to have any personality at all any more, and often appears to be little more than a token.
Thank you for a new character whose origin doesn't take six years to unfold -- an irritating commonplace post-Wolverine. We learned enough about Simon Baz in this issue that I feel I know him -- well, I know him well enough that in subsequent appearances I won't have to struggle to remember whatever few and contradictory hints and clues the writers have given me to work with. That's what I mean by "irritating."
There are some other good bits in this issue aside from establishing the newest Green Lantern. The Green Lantern who succeeded Ch'p has a star turn, for example, and Baz's origin story in no way hinders the forward thrust of the overall "Guardians go nuts" story. Also, a cop apologizes to Baz for suspecting him of terrorism, and when was the last time you saw the Lt. Girard/Inspector Javert type of cop -- which is pretty much all of them in comics these days -- have a change of heart and act like a human being? Astounding! Also, an old (dead) friend makes a very surprising appearance.
I've characterized Johns' Green Lantern as a horror book, and there are some horrific elements in this story. But they're not in as much evidence as in previous issues, and instead, what this book shows is a lot of is heart. Or rather, that's what Simon Baz demonstrates, and it is surely welcome.
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