Review Time

Green Lantern #12 - Let's get this out of the way, this was a fantastic issue. Art, story, dialouge, pacing, it had it all. Now I can get down to the flaw in this issue: the whitewashing of Hal Jordan's history. I know that the decision to turn Hal from beloved Green Lantern to the murderous Parallax was one of the most reviled in the history of funny books. But it happened. It wasn't retconned away. Superboy Prime didn't punch a wall and make it evaporate into the ether. So why is Geoff Johns, a writer I usually think the world of, trying to paint over the bad things Hal Jordan did? The revelation that Parallax was a separate entity that 'possessed' Hal was a little hokey but it still worked. Now we discover that most, if not all, of the Lanterns he killed during the Emerald Dawn storyline are somehow alive, albeit comatose and under Manhunter control outside of known space. Why? So Hal's guilt can be assuaged? "Well, he really didn't kill anybody, so no harm, no foul." Not only is this a 'cheat', it damages the character. Post-Spectre Hal Jordan puts on the ring not just to save people and get an adrenaline fix, but to atone for his actions. Parallax may have influenced his actions, but much like an alcoholic is held accountable for his actions while drunk (another acpect of Hal's past that was Punched out of existence) he is still culpable for what was done. Now, since nobody really died, his murderous rampage gets downgraded to a temper tantrum. The hardcore Hal fans may be pleased, but I see it as a misguided whitewash of the character's (recent) history.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #31 - Part 2 of Frightful, Mark Millar's final story on UFF, is so chock full of over the top evil that I couldn't stop snickering (I'm way too macho to giggle, but I came close). What do we have? The Frightful Four finally, after a year of bragging, break out of their cage and proceed to treat the Baxter Building staff like it's all you can eat day at the barbecue cook-off. And Doom, looking more and more like the traditional Doom, makes Reed an offer he can't refuse. I like Greg Land's art in a pin-up/fan service sort of way; he draws undeniably beautiful women, but seems bored to tears drawing everybody else.

Fables #51 - A one-and-done story featuring Cinderella trying to finalize a treaty with the Cloud Kingdoms. Unfortunately Cindy is much more used to the cloak and dagger side of life and is feeling very frustrated in her role as a diplomat, especially since the giants that inhabit the Cloud Kingdoms are none too bright. Mayhem insues involving size changing, shape changing, anthropomorphisim, aural surgery and a witch's price. Good fun stuff, as always.