100 Issues Ago October 2013

While a large part of the DCU was off dealing with the results of FOREVER EVIL as mentioned last month, the Green Lantern family of titles started Lights Out, a multi-part story that told the arrival of Relic and his determination to stop all the Lantern Corps, not just the Green, from draining the well of the emotional spectrum. Here Relic arrives on Oa having already kicked the collective behinds of White Lantern Kyle Rayner, Star Sapphire Carol Ferris, and the Templar Guardians. Despite the Corps attempts, and Hal Jordan stepping up and actually acting like a leader, it’s not long before the Central Power Battery is drained by Relic and the Corps left powerless.

My recollection of Venditti’s run on GREEN LANTERN is mostly positive, and the Lights Out storyline was one of the stand outs, I think.

Elsewhere in DC, FOREVER EVIL smears itself across multiple titles; Power Girl copes with a loss of powers in WORLDS’ FINEST; Jim Starlin continues ignoring everything that’s ever happened in STORMWATCH and writes his own stories, paying no attention to the DCU; SWAMP THING‘s villain Seeder is revealed to be an old adversary; and it’s the last issue of EARTH-2 written by James Robinson who was (if I recall correctly) rather unceremoniously dropped from the title.

Outside of DC, Dark Horse continues it’s adaptation of George Lucas’ original draft of THE STAR WARS, while Oni Press launches LETTER 44 by Charles Soule which I picked up as I was impressed by his writing in SWAMP THING.

Untold Tales #503 The X-Men vs Darth Vader

Can the mighty mutants prevail against the Dark Lord of the Sith?

Untold Tales #502 Hellboy vs The Spectre

We last saw Hellboy facing off against Conan in #472 – looks like he’s not having much luck again.

Random Retrospective #5 – Green Lantern: Edge of Oblivion #6

The final issue of a mini-series that bridged (I think) the New 52 and the Rebirth versions of the Green Lantern Corps, EDGE OF OBLIVION was a tale of the GLC getting back to their home universe after being stranded in some other/earlier universe following the events of GREEN LANTERN: THE LOST ARMY.

Finding a single planet with one remaining city, the GLC are then suckered by some tall, good looking gods who claim to want to save the city and its planet. The GLC led by John Stewart and Guy Gardner realise too late that the gods are monsters looking to find a way into our universe and begin feasting – because what else do these sort of creatures do?

Multiple Green Lanterns are killed but as we’ve never met these ones before, their loss is used to illustrate the scale of the issue rather than to elicit an emotional response, plus as they die, their rings head off to find replacements and Simon Baz realises they must be sensing the GLC’s home universe. He tracks them to a rip in reality and follows them through.

The Corps move the city to Mogo and then push the aliens back to the planet which, like Mogo, is sentient.

With the planet trapping the monsters, the GLC (including Mogo and its new city) are able to reach the tear in reality and head through, disappearing into the unknown.

EDGE OF OBLIVION wasn’t a bad series – I remember enjoying it more than THE LOST ARMY that came before it – but am not sure it was ever mentioned again; I certainly don’t think the saved city on Mogo was ever revisited, though feel free to tell me I’m wrong.

It was nice, though, to see members of the GLC like Two Six, Iolande, and Graf Toren that haven’t been around much lately.