By Cat Wyatt

Issue #35 more or less picks up right where 36 left off; our four Green Lantern Corpsmen (John, Guy, Hal, and Kyle) have found the asteroid (in Sector 3001, for those that are curious) that the Controllers are holding Ganthet and Sayd. They’re still running under the assumption that the Guardians are alive (and obviously we know that to be the case, thank goodness for perspective shifts!). Based on the decision made in the last issue, these four lanterns are the entirety of the rescue team. I still have my doubts about how good of an idea that is, and clearly some of the other guys are having second thoughts too. Minus Guy of course…his logic for it only being the four of them is interesting, to say the least.

A quick aside to talk about Guy; I’ve always felt like he’s one of those easily underestimated characters. Sure, he isn’t the brightest bulb in the bunch, but he’s stubborn and loyal as hell. While I’m happy he isn’t the leader of the Green Lantern Corps (back to that not being super bright bit…) I do think he makes a great addition to the corps. He also makes for really hilarious points, such as comparing the rescue team to a set of table legs and using that as a valid reason for them not calling in for backup. I just love seeing the way he thinks (sometimes).

Meanwhile things aren’t going so well for Ganthet. He’s just watched the Controllers absorb the energy (and thus murder) of his brother (Yekop), as well as Natos and Gurion. For those that don’t remember from last issue (though I’m not sure how you could forget a detail like this), Kellic is using the Guardian energy/DNA base to recreate more Controllers. So along with seeing three people he cared very much about die, he had to see three naked controllers pop out of their goo-tank (they made the mistake of not naming their birthing chamber, so I did it for them).

I’m still trying to get a feel for Kellic. I get that he’s clearly not a good person – he’s basically gone and murdered all of the Guardians, as well as possibly leading to the destruction of their home planet (that may not have been him directly, but he’s clearly not willing to accept any of the blame, which is almost as bad?). I feel like I should be more intimidated than I am, but perhaps that will change shortly.

Speak of the devil; Kellic is trying to cement himself in super villain history by going after one of my favorite Green Lantern characters, Sayd. He’s also monologuing, though I think he needs some practice in order to hit the super hero levels of mastery. Apparently he’s going to save absorbing/killing Ganthet for last, so he can watch it all happen. I’m not really sure why he hates Ganthet the most, but I’m sure he has a perfectly valid reason for it (please note my sarcasm here). So naturally that means his next target will be…Sayd. I’m hoping the Green Lanterns manage to get here just in time to save her, and that this anxiety they’re putting me through is carefully calculated. I will be very cross if Sayd dies.

At this point in the comic the other four are very busy dealing with the security forces protecting the Controllers. Now, I’m pretty sure they mentioned in the last issue that they’ve gone and hired mercenaries for this gig, so I was a bit surprised by the cohesive looks to these guys. They must have hired a whole squad or something. Still, they’re putting up one heck of a fight. Hopefully the fight doesn’t end up taking too long, because they have to arrive in the nick of time to save Sayd. Everything will hopefully be revealed in the next issue; The Uncontrollable (I feel like the name alone implies a plot conclusion).

I’m curious about where this plot is leading; I know that the Controllers plot is likely coming to an end, but other than a massive fight that’s bound to occur in the next issue, I’m not really sure how things are going to go. I’m not terribly familiar with the Controllers, and thus don’t know what they have for natural countermeasures to the Green Lanterns. Obviously they have access to some pretty amazing tech, but they also appear to require preparation for their movements; so I’m thinking the surprise attack by the Green Lanterns is going to go poorly for our villains. At least I hope so.

The cover for this issue is probably one of my favorites, at least out of the last few batches. I loved the dramatic poses and expressions, not just on the cover, but in general. Though I think Guy wins the angry face contest – Kellic’s angry face was just too over the top (seriously, look at it! I half expected spittle to come flying off the page). I love the honeycomb shielding that’s being used – I know it isn’t a terribly original concept for a shield, but it really looks fantastic, especially with the chosen color palette.

Score: 4/5

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #35
DC Comics