Future State: Green Lantern #2: No Evil…

I feel like I should lead off in saying that the anthology format should be the way of the future for the Green Lantern franchise. In the past, as fans became more excited about various properties, multiple launched titles was the standard solution but the rapid expansion of the Lantern mythos in the past two decades almost necessitates a new format for publishing and in this two month experiment, in which readers were treated five separate stories featuring multiple Greenies, seems to be the way forward.

The stories themselves all seemed centered on a single, possible-future event in which the Green light goes out and the central battery is drained. The lead-in story written by Thorne and drawn by Raney focuses on the remainder of the Corps coping with reclaiming a Sector without the use of their rings. The lead focuses on the moral and spiritual strength and leadership of John Stewart, placing the emphasis on the personality traits that have kept him a fan favorite for decades. In that sense, the story does a great job of highlighting John but the central narrative was somewhat messy for my tastes. I understand the notion of setting up possible future stories but I didn’t feel the execution of this central one, if it were in isolation, would have gotten me excited for what is to come but rather would leave me dreading the future of the franchise.

In stark contrast, however, the two “back-up” stories provided far more thought-provoking response, in this reader, at least. As with the previous issue, the back-up stories shine as we feel heartbreak and pain for poor, young, lost, alone Teen Lantern who finds a way to overcome great fear and secure her place in the Lantern Legacy. Campbell packs the story with unimaginable depth of emotion in such a short story while Andie Tong creates a heavy sense of dread in the lush rainforests of Mogo when the lights go out. Similarly, Venditti and Soy, capture the arrogance and the will of Hal Jordan beautifully (as per usual) as Hal catapults accross the universe with the last of his light only to encounter a devestated Oa and an exciting guest-star that promises to help shape all Lantern stories for years to come.