Broken Frontier

In the battle between the upgraded Manhunters, the Cyborg Superman, Hal Jordan and the revived Green Lanterns, there are secrets that could shake the Corps to the core!

After a long delay, Green Lantern #13 arrives in stores and regrettably, it is something of a let down. Writer Geoff Johns is well known for intricate, interlocking plotting that builds over time. This style of writing suffers when issues are delayed though and as a result, what could have been a strong finish to a story arc instead limps home.

This issue opens with Hal Jordan between a lot of rocks and a number of hard places. There is an army of Manhunters, the planet killing High Masters, Hank Henshaw (A.K.A. the Cyborg Superman) and the restored Green Lanterns who still are not sure if they want to kill Hal or not. The Cyborg taunts Hal with secrets the Guardians of Oa are hiding as well as the true reason Hal was restored to the Corps. Henshaw’s words are not going to stop Hal, though; not when Henshaw is holding the one Green Lantern Hal is willing to risk anything and everything to save.

Johns’ work on this title started off a little slow and uneven but recent fare showed signs of really picking up the pace and excitement levels. The delays in release, however, have hurt that precious forward momentum. One almost needed to go back and re-read this arc from the beginning in order to remember and care what was happening and why.

As it stands, the issue did have its moments; many of them as a matter of fact. There were explosive action moments, moments of dramatic revelation, and even sweet moments and each one works within the context of the plot. The problem is that the issue ends up feeling as though it were merely made up of these "moments" rather than a flowing, dramatic story. There, is, however, a bright spot in the characterization of the Green Lantern Arisia. Johns gives her a sweet spiritedness that is not always easy to find in female comic book characters. There is also a nice touchback to Infinite Crisis and the beginning hints of connections between that series to 52, and beyond.

The biggest saving grace of the issue is Ivan Reis’s art. He is rapidly proving himself superstar material as he blends dynamism and an intense level of detail. This is particularly noticeable in his battle scenes, where the action starts at the front and goes all the way back into the backgrounds.

The team of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis has a lot of potential to consistently make Green Lantern one of the most action packed comic books in the market but the key to that success is going to be consistency. While this issue suffers from a number of problems, there are still shining moments of what it can be. Hopefully, they can get this title back on track and make it a must-read for any fan of fun, adventure stories.