Green Lantern: War Journal #4: Desires of the Mind

Green Lantern: War Journal #4 picks up with John Stewart suffering from effects of the Radiant Dead while Lantern Shepard attempts to help him fight the infection from within his brain. Unlike the previous issues, Green Lantern: War Journal #4 goes all in as a more traditional Green Lantern war story rather than the semi family drama that has been told throughout the beginning of the series. While it’s a shame to see the series step away from one of the aspects that made it so endearing, seeing the action and plot ramp up is definitely exciting.

Philip Kennedy Johnson does a great job in using the known lore behind the Green Lanterns to explore more aspects behind what can be possible. The idea behind John crafting and reforging a ring makes perfect sense both as a retcon and as new lore for the character. It’s pretty clear that Johnson wants to bring John back to his roots, and make him work for this new characterization. This ties back well to the beginning of this series, especially since John has fought so hard to give up this lifestyle in order to take care of his mom. Seeing him have to give up everything in order to take on his role as a Green Lantern once again makes the coming conflict in this limited series all the more hard to wait for.

Another aspect of this series that makes the final battle hard to wait for is the way Montos draws John finally becoming a Green Lantern once again. The issue is a great mix of horror, action, and science, with the final pages exploding in green as John reforms a new ring and shows off his new, yet classic feeling costume. Montos also does a great job in drawing the dream sequences that make up large sections of the issue. These sections feel imaginative and indicative of the kind of mindscape that would exist inside of a Green Lantern’s mind. All of this creates a beautiful book that is a joy to look at on every page.

The villain’s black and purple aesthetic is a perfect foil to the bright green that comes from John’s Green Lantern powers. Colorist Alex Guimaraes makes the green pop off the page as if it is colored with a highlighter. This vibrant imagery makes this book feel unlike any other Green Lantern book that’s come out in the last couple of years, and also makes it pair well with the ongoing Green Lantern series. These two books are able to coexist with vastly different tones, partly due to the way that Guimaraes makes this book look so distinguishable. 

Green Lantern: War Journal #4 is full of a fair amount of double page spreads which help explore the depths of John’s mind. These pages are full of dialogue and exposition which help look into John’s inner thoughts, which is made all the better by Dave Sharpe’s lettering. Sharpe makes a lot of exposition feel like less of a chore to read, allowing the book to flow in a logical and consistent manner.