Get Ready for an Intergalactic Version of The Fugitive In Green Lanterns #48

When we last left Jessica Cruz, she had escaped from a prison of her own memories thanks to her partner, Simon Baz, and her sentient ring. This has drawn the attention of the Guardians as it’s a major red flag. Hal Jordan has been sent to retrieve the ring since he was the one that gave it to Jessica in the first place. Meanwhile, Jessica wakes up in a pile of bodies on the planet Ozrad with no memory of how this happened. She’s forced to go on the run to prove her innocence before the Green Lanterns arrest her.

Although Green Lanterns #48 puts Jessica in a difficult position with a lot to figure out, she handles it very well. This comes through in her confidence, quick thinking, and elaborate ring constructs. It wasn’t that long ago that she couldn’t even make a simple construct and now she’s fooling other Green Lanterns with her work.
Artist Ronan Cliquet showcases the range of emotions that Jessica goes through during this trying experience. There’s confusion, desperation, sly confidence and more, all the while looking the part of a strong Green Lantern. Cliquet strikes this perfect balance between close personal moments and awesome space age super heroics.

I’m very curious if Jessica’s recent troubles have to do with her ring, or the strange criminal she recently apprehended. It would make more sense for it to be the bad guy’s fault, especially since the ring has only ever worked to protect Jessica. Putting her directly in harm’s way both from local police and the Green Lantern Corps seems out of character. Yes, I realize that I just said “out of character” for a talking piece of jewelry.
We don’t get any clues from the flashback scenes of the battle. Jessica seems in control and lashes out at her pursuers. Colorist Hi-Fi gives these pages a lighter shade and the borders have a green hue as Jessica’s ring is replaying these events from her. It’s like we’re watching an old film reel.

Also, can we take a moment to realize how silly it could be for Hal Jordan to hunt down a potential rogue Lantern? If anyone should give someone the benefit of the doubt, it’s him. Remember Parallax?  Maybe give Jessica an opportunity to explain herself. Couldn’t they have reached out to her through the ring?  Those things have better reception than the best smart phones out there and they communicate well.
Anyway, Green Lanterns #48 plays out like an intergalactic version of The Fugitive. Jessica manages to stay a few steps ahead of her pursuers as she works to piece together what happened.  This makes for an interesting mystery from writer Aaron Gillespie. There’s a lot to figure out, but more than enough to pique your interest. Plus, Gillespie builds on the recent relationships Jessica has built from Tim Seeley’s run on the title by pulling in some of the characters introduced back then.  This gives her journey a larger scope as Jessica looks for help to clear her name by calling in favors.

This was a Jessica-centric issue, which I’m totally OK with. Simon will have his part to play in this arc soon enough. It will be interesting to see which side he falls on. He’s stood by his partner’s side on more than one occasion so you’d think he’d be in the position to help her out. It will certainly be a test of their friendship.
Green Lanterns #48 is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.