Green Lantern Corps #22: The Guardians’ Latest Sin

First Light part 2 brings almost all the Lantern characters together in the nexus of emotions. Guy Gardner and everyone he leads is ready for a big fight. But instead of a confrontation with Krona, they make a discovery in Green Lantern Corps #22 that could shake the various Lanterns corps to the core.

Hampton subverts expectations to an extent in Green Lantern Corps #22. There is a brief fight against Manhunters, but there is never a fight against Krona whose mysterious nature since his return has set the character up for an antagonist role. In fact, Krona leads the Lanterns to a status chamber. At this point the mysterious Book of Oa becomes downright talkative, revealing yet another hidden part of the Guardians’ past.

The Book of Oa reveals that in order to develop their control over the emotional spectrum, they seemingly sacrificed an emotionally powerful child. Guy tells the story as the Book of Oa shows it to everyone present. It’s at this point that the story makes clear that Guy is speaking to the sacrificed child. Is it alive? Guy’s monologue suggests that in some way it is.

Discovering new and unflattering backstories for the Lantern Guardians isn’t a new storytelling device. Writers have frequently used this device to pit Guardians against Lanterns and Guardians against each other. There are no Guardians in Green Lantern Corps #22, but Hampton sets up a story where a legacy of the Guardians could set the newly unified Lanterns against each other.

Black Lantern corruption continues in this episode. Though the appearance is brief, Hampton ties it into the larger storyline with just a few words.

Art duties are shared in Green Lantern Corps #22. Ryp and Pasarín’s art (with Albert’s inks on the latter) are similar enough in style in this issue that there aren’t jarring transitions. The place where the difference in artists shows up the most is in character depiction, especially facial features and their overall expressiveness. There is a difference in how much line work is used to build up facial features, especially when it comes to the characters in masks. That said, all the artists deliver visually compelling characters.

Prianto’s overall coloring scheme is a soft one. There is a decent amount of contrast, especially during an action sequence in the flashback to the Guardians’ activities. This contrast makes the softer color scheme work without needing to use extremely bright elements. With the high shade of contrast in background versus foreground and characters against each other, there is a richness and dimension. Prianto’s work is also a good match for Pasarín and Ryp’s art styles.

Sharpe does a good job differentiating key characters (and objects that seem like characters). Krona’s dialogue bubbles are uneven with a yellow fill and black letters. The Black Lantern characters use the classic white bordered, black fill, white lettered dialogue bubbles. The narration provided by the Book of Oa is depicted as an almost script style font in caption boxes that are shaped like an open book.