Hello again GEN readers! It’s Jill a.k.a. The Nerdy Bird back with this week’s installment of DoubleDCoverage. I interrupt GEN’s regularly scheduled (and awe-inspiring) Eisner Awards feature to bring you your regularly scheduled dose of DC Comic reviews. What is the Green Lantern Corps without it’s greatest symbol and what is the Justice League without it’s emerald-shaded members? Reviews for Green Lantern Corps #38 and Justice League: Cry for Justice #1 are ahead, also, check out my star ratings for my other pulls from last Wednesday!

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #38

Oa stands exposed for the entire universe to see. It’s power battery shell was destroyed by the rogue Guardian Scar and her clandestine operations deep within the planet. A powerful symbol is gone and it doesn’t bode well for those who will see the shattered pieces in their night sky, not to mention morale within the Corps itself.

Upon returning from their field trip to Vega, the Guardians are greeted to quite a sight. Fires are being put out, wounded Lanterns are being transported to emergency rooms, the fugitives from the Sciencells have been rounded up by the Alpha Lanterns and the Sinestro Corps rings are contained for the time being. Kyle and Guy race off when they suspect the Alpha Lanterns of some very non-Corps like activity. The Alphas have lined up the prisoners for a firing squad at the request of the Guardians. Several are executed point-blank before Kyle and Guy can intervene. They made a promise of fair treatment to prisoners Bolphunga and Kanjar-Ro when they helped fight against the Sinestro Corps and they aren’t about to let them be snuffed out without a trial.

The Guardians are serious about their latest decree however and stand firm against Kyle and Guy in front of the rest of the Corps. Their two prisoners will be spared for the time being but the rest are forfeit. Fed up, they decide to head back to Earth but are sent packing, scolded by the Guardians, before they can leave by their own accord. Meanwhile, Soranik is attempting to remove the tracking tattoo imprinted on her face by her recently revealed father, Sinestro. Of course it’s not henna and refuses to come off. All the newly created super powered inhabitants of Daxam have Mongul running off with his tail between his legs. That didn’t take long.

The situation is bleak for the Green Lantern Corps right now. There’s a slew of newly formed Corps running around the universe now and Oa is practically falling apart at the seams. This latest issue didn’t wow me but it definitely sets the stage for “Blackest Night” and how ill-prepared the GLC is going to be once those Black power rings reach their intended recipients. Patrick Gleason’s action spreads are always enjoyable but it’s his subtleties that really impress me. The spectrum on the last page was especially striking. I’m so happy “Blackest Night” can finally start!

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #1 (OF 7)

Just like there’s a fine line between love and hate, there’s a fine line between justice and revenge. There’s also a fine line between buddies and bromance but I’ll get to that in a minute. Hal Jordan is fed up with his friends and teammates dying at the hands of villains and the Justice League not doing enough to prevent it from happening in the first place. Hence him “crying for justice.” And I do mean crying.

Ok so Hal may not be sobbing but he is sort of crying like a bitch in this first issue. He’s taking his toys (Green Arrow) and leaving the Justice League clubhouse to form his own. Apparently he’s not the only one ready for a new regime. The two Atom’s, Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi fight alongside each other to gather information on a friends murder. Ray opts for the way of pain and inserts himself in Killer Moth’s brain and starts growing. Hey Ray, remember when your wife did that and MURDERED Sue Dibney? Must have slipped your mind.

Blue-skinned Starman Mikaal (a favorite of mine) also has his own ideas about justice after his boyfriend Tony is killed during a villains attack on S.T.A.R. labs in New York. Another hero I’m far less familiar with, Congorilla/Congo Bill/Bill, isn’t having the greatest of days either. His human body, fellow primates and Freedom Beast have all been slaughtered by unknown assailants, leaving him resigned to live his life fully as the great Golden Gorilla forever. At least this one literally cried for justice.

I’m not sure exactly what to say about this issue. I do, however, feel obligated to point out that there were some very interesting bits of dialogue from James Robinson along the way. We all know Hal and Ollie have been friends for a long while but when Ollie said, “No, baby, I’m with you. You and me. Old times, new times, all the time,” I felt like a big hug was on the way. Dinah doesn’t stand a chance getting in between those two. Then of course you have Ray Palmer saying things like this, “He’s a hero. I’m Ray Palmer. Welcome to pain.” Welcome to pain? What is this, the WWE? All the parties looking for justice this issue are separate at the moment and I’m not quite sure how they’ll come together but a diverse cast is set to appear throughout the mini-series that I’m interested to see. Mauro Cascioli’s previous fully painted work on the Trials of Shazam was nothing short of stunning and it’s the same here. It’s a good thing the planning for this series started long ago so he’d have enough lead-time to sustain his level of excellence. If this was just going to be a stand-alone series I might consider passing or at least waiting for the trade but Robinson is now set as the new writer for Justice League of America so I feel the need to stay informed.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 – Damian is only 10?! Seriously, think about a 10 year old you know beating the crap out of you. I think I’m beginning to like him.

SECRET SIX #11 – A prison for every felon in the entire world…actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea. 

My pull list for next week:

BATMAN #688
BOOSTER GOLD #22
GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #22
GREEN LANTERN #43
RED ROBIN #2
SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #5 (OF 12)
WEDNESDAY COMICS #1

Which two should I review for DoubleDCoverage #16?

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