Review: Green Lantern Corps Volume 1 - Fearsome

After news of a rash of attacks on members of the Green Lantern Corps reaches Oa, John Stewart and Guy Gardner appoint themselves leaders in the investigation. They soon discover that it is part of an elaborate plan hatched by the mysterious beings known as the Keepers to bring down the Corps as retribution for the sins of the Guardians.

Green Lantern Corps Volume 1: Fearsome collects Green Lantern Corps issues 1-7, written by Peter J. Tomasi and illustrated by Fernando Pasarin.

As far as Green Lantern stories go, Green Lantern Corps Volume 1: Fearsome is a satisfying and compelling read. Writer Peter J. Tomasi smartly builds the book around John Stewart and Guy Gardner, who both act as the grounding force and emotional focal points for the narrative. It begins with John and Guy coming to terms with how inept they are at maintaining a sense of normalcy on Earth, thus taking off into space in search of something to do as Lanterns. They wheedle their way into an investigation of a series of attacks on members of the Green Lantern Corps. They soon stumble upon a secret buried by the Guardians, which now threatens to destroy the Corps itself.

Though John and Guy are our guides throughout this story, it is the latter that stands out the most. His rebelliousness and willingness to do whatever it takes to save the day makes him an unpredictably fascinating character to observe. Of course, Guy’s prominence is also due to the fact that – spoiler alert – John is captured for a good chunk of this collection. Even still, there’s something very dynamic about Guy when compared to the very stuffy John Stewart.

As far as the narrative goes, it’s quite engrossing. Tomasi develops the story as if it were a mystery, only giving readers the bare essentials of what they need until he makes the big reveal towards the arc’s climax regarding who the bad guys really are. Much like Geoff Johns on Green Lantern, Tomasi is clearly interested in building on the mythology of the Corps and adding additional layers to their history. The concept behind the Keepers is really interesting and gives readers yet another reason to distrust and despise the Guardians.

While this collection is enjoyable to read, it does have its share of problems. For a comic titled Green Lantern Corps, the book does very little to actually highlight or flesh out the various members of said organization. Tomasi features a whole slew of them, but none seem to be anything more than one-dimensional archetypes. Sure, Guy and John (to a lesser extent) have tremendous depth – but they’re not the only characters here. This also means that there’s a distinct lack of active female representation in the title. Prior to the New 52, Green Lantern Corps developed Arisia and Soranik Natu into multi-dimensional heroines. In these seven issues, we see Brik and Sheriff as mere accessories to the story. The solution would have been for Tomasi to not cram so many characters into the narrative and to instead focus on a core group of five or six characters with whom the readers could have invested in.

For fans of the world of the Green Lantern Corps, this book should be a fun read. It’s suspenseful, action-packed and kind of gruesome. Tomasi writes an incredible Guy Gardner, while Pasarin’s art is dynamic in its expressiveness. As a whole the cast can be a bit bland, but the themes and story building make up for it.

RATING: B