Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps #42 Review
Robert Venditti, along with legendary Green Lantern artist Ethan Van Sciver, set to bring about the return of The Controllers and The Darkstars after years of absence, in what will be Venditti’s final arc on the title. Green Lantern Corps has somewhat suffered from lack of direction, seeming to jump from one storyline to the next without a visible goal, more often than not leaving the reader enjoying the journey more than the actual destination. Conversely, The Darkstars have been seeded throughout the last few arcs of the title, bringing about what hopes to be an epic finale to Venditti's run which began back in 2013.
This issue finally takes the time to deal with older plot threads that had been left hanging, a problem the title had been suffering from. While the majority of the issue takes place on Mogo, this is juxtaposed by the Controller storyline as both playout. Albeit accomplishing very little plot-wise, the issue manages to set up the return of The Controllers and Darkstars while also tying them together with another previous plot thread regarding Tomar-Tu.
Unfortunately this issue really suffers from what seems to be rushed pencils on Ethan's part. From the use of smaller panels which leave a larger amount blank space on the page borders, the use of larger images to cover more of the page, the lack of detail on backgrounds and use of shadows to abscond from detail all hurt this issue. What should have been a big reveal of Darkstar One’s arrival was undercut by Hal Jordan’s silhouette taking up the majority of the page as it's covered in shadow while Darkstar One is relegated off to the side. As always, EVS does an amazing job with his character detail, bringing the signature look to each Lantern he is known for, but it is his lack of detail in the backgrounds and corner cutting that hurt this issue in a more profound way. Many of what should be grandiose scenes are undercut by Van Sciver’s excessive use of shadows and all around lack of detail. Many scenes have the characters just floating around in an ominous haze while panels prior will display a more detailed scene. The Green Lantern mythos is nothing new to Van Sciver, which makes his misinterpreted look of the Sciencells that much more egregious, having drawn them in volumes prior.
Venditti presents a great opening to the new and final arc of his run, albeit undercut by the art at times. With bi-weekly schedule and the rotating artists on board, the story still has hopes of finding it's artist stride.
