Green Lantern #9

Hee hee! Geoff Johns finally lays it all out there, and we see the “secret” origin of the Indigo Tribe. Hal Jordan may not have figured it out, but most readers have been waiting to see the real Indigos for years. Not the passive, compassionate beings we’ve heard, but the horrific monsters that Doug Mahnke and other artists spent so long designing.

I love how Hal just tools around the planet Nok on random cars. He really is a doofus, making race cars, ATV’s, hang gliders. He’s a jock’s super-hero, and I’m still amazed that Johns has made this book so interesting for so many years with a lead that comes off as the worst kind of “bro.”

This issue introduces Natromo, a funny little Yoda-like man who helped start the Indigo Tribe. He doesn’t play any games or put Hal through any sort of tests, he just straight out explains the history of the Indigo Tribe. (At least he stops to call Hal stupid a few times.) It’s pretty funny to see Natromo’s reaction when he hears of Abin Sur’s fate. That guy doesn’t seem like too much of a fighter. I’m not complaining though, cause that final splash page seems to be promising good stuff to come.

I will say this; Abin Sur lived one full life. That guy is responsible for so much of the current Green Lantern mythos it isn’t even funny.

Doug Mahnke’s art is still just gorgeous. His work on the Sinestro flashback sequence alternates between touching and horrifying with ease. I also love the designs of Hal’s aforementioned vehicles. I have complained about the use of unnecessary splash pages in DC’s current books, but I’m not making that complaint here. Every splash has resonance and meaning, Mahnke plays the art form like a pro.

Good