Simon Jumps To Help Jessica Clear Her Name In Green Lanterns #49
by James Ferguson
Jessica Cruz is on the run from the Green Lanterns after she allegedly killed a whole bunch of cops. Her partner, Simon Baz has come to her aid. Unsurprisingly, he wants to hear her out as they’ve worked together for some time and can trust one another. Funny how talking could help solve a problem instead of rushing in guns blazing, which is literally how the last issue ended. In any case, their investigation leads to some major local corruption that could exonerate Jessica, but will it be enough to call off Hal Jordan?
It’s been made abundantly clear throughout Green Lanterns that Jessica and Simon work better together. They make a great team and are stronger when standing at each other’s side as partners. While Jessica got pretty far in her search on her own, when Simon joins in, the two are able to get the rest of the pieces to figure this out.
Although Jessica tossed her ring to get the Green Lanterns off her trail, she’s still ready and willing to get into the thick of battle. She fights alongside Simon with her fists and feet, pointing out that these thugs don’t know what they’ve just gotten themselves into. Don’t they know she punched out Guy Gardner? This is the kind of dialogue that has helped make Jessica my favorite ring-slinger and writer Aaron Gillespie totally nails it.
Speaking of the thugs, Artist Roge Antonio designs a wide variety of them in this issue. They may all be wearing the same uniform, but no two look alike. They come from all different alien species. This extends to the individual planets, too, as we go from a seedy hideout to a beautiful pleasure planet.
I’m still a little frustrated with Hal Jordan in this arc. As mentioned in my review for Green Lanterns #48, if anyone should cut a Lantern some slack if they’ve allegedly gone bad, it’s Hal Jordan. You’d think he’d recognize the shades of grey in something like this and not just look at it as black and white. He seems very close-minded about the whole thing.
Fortunately, Jessica calls him out on this. I was very happy to see this as she verbally smacks some sense into him. It delays an eventual confrontation with the Guardians, so I’m curious as to where this goes next. There’s still an anomaly in Jessica’s ring that is causing them some concern.
One thing that can definitely be said about Hal is when he arrives on the scene, he makes his presence known. No one makes an entrance quite like Hal Jordan. He shows up on a full-page spread with all the might and power of a Green Lantern, let alone the greatest of them all. It’s like everyone gets quiet for a second as they realize what they’re seeing.
Colorist Hi-Fi makes Hal and Simon glow with that unique green energy. I’m not even sure what shade of green that is, as it feels alive in how it shines. It always pierces through the darkness, which works well in the early scenes of this issue, however it looks just as powerful in the bright setting of the finale.
This extends to the lettering as well. Dave Sharpe puts the Green Lantern communications from their rings in these special green word balloons. Where Sharpe really excels in this issue is with the sound effects. They are every bit the sci-fi fun you’d expect from a book like this, ranging from the hum of a space ship landing in a small area to the zap of a laser beam hitting its target.
Adriano Lucas‘ cover for Green Lanterns #49 harkens back to classic covers from DC Comics. It is a little more tense than what is in the book itself, showing a barrage of Lanterns that don’t even show up in the interior pages, searching for Simon and Jessica as they hide in the foreground.
This issue concludes the brief two-issue arc with Jessica on the run. Things are wrapped up pretty quickly so this feels like a filler story. Newcomer Gillespie handled the characters well, so I’m hoping to see more of his work in the near future. For now, there are pancakes ahead for Jessica and Simon before their next adventure begins.
Green Lanterns #49 from DC Comics is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.
