John Stewart Fights For His Life In Green Lanterns #50

There’s something strange going on with the Green Lanterns, specifically with their rings. They’re acting up. When one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy starts misbehaving, that’s pretty dangerous stuff. Such is the case for John Stewart, who finds himself outnumbered and outgunned after a routine mission leads him into a battlefield. Meanwhile, a natural disaster is brewing on Mogo, the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps, and it’s set to wreak havoc on everyone and everything in the area.

Green Lanterns #50 shifts gears a bit to focus more on the Corps and less on Jessica and Simon. They still play primary roles, but they’re part of an ensemble cast now instead of the main players. Writer Dan Jurgens gives each Lantern some time in the spotlight, including Guy Gardner, Kilowog, and Kyle Rayner. This very quickly becomes an all hands on deck situation.
John Stewart most definitely steals the show in Green Lanterns #50. The commander of the Green Lantern Corps faces down a fleet of destroyer class starships. He doesn’t turn tail and run when they start firing. Instead, he stands his ground and fights. Some may say that’s foolish, but others may respect his bravery. You may re-evaluate your stance after a mysterious foe appears and starts beating the snot out of the guy.

Artist Mike Perkins displays a variety of awesome constructs in John’s attacks. My personal favorite is the suit of armor John creates when he needs some extra power to punch out his enemy. I like how it comes to be too, as it doesn’t just appear. Instead, it morphs from a ball-like shield into the armor, coating John’s body over a few panels.
The Green Lanterns comic can live or die based on the color green. Fortunately, colorists Andy Troy & Pete Pantazis nail the right shade of otherworldly light in constructs big and small. There’s an unmistakable energy that permeates from a power battery, reinforcing the strength of the Green Lantern rings and the Corps itself.

Stewart’s finicky ring is only shown through its speech. Letterer Dave Sharpe delivers some solid word balloons here, however the perfect one comes in a single word. John’s ring refuses an order and all we see is a solitary green-hued balloon with the word “No” in it. It’s absolutely chilling to see since it comes at a truly dire moment for John.
While Perkins excels at the action scenes in Green Lanterns #50, some of the regular character work leaves something to be desired. The people often look awkward with strange facial expressions. This is especially true for Guy Gardner, who’s face seems to stretch and contort in odd ways. Granted, it could just be how Guy acts as he’s kind of a jerk, however it comes up for other characters too. It’s like they’re all over-expressive which makes them look unnatural.

This new arc in Green Lanterns feels somewhat reminiscent of the War of the Green Lanterns storyline from 2011. Although the Lanterns haven’t come to blows yet, there’s clearly something infecting their rings. The key will be figuring out what’s wrong in time to stop it. Otherwise, they could be stranded in space. Knowing how much the Lanterns rely on their rings not only to do their jobs and protect the galaxy, but to simply breathe and move in space, this is a pretty big deal.
Green Lanterns #50 from DC Comics is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.