Laura McCarthy reviews Green Lantern: New Guardians #32…
There’s a new terror in the universe as the body-snatching Psions are introduced to The New 52! In space you can – and will – hear a New Guardian scream!
Out of every DC mythos, the Green Lanterns have always been my absolute favorite – and out of all seven to grace the planet Earth (yes, I count Alan and Jennie in that list), Kyle Rayner will always top the list for me. I could go on for hours about how much I love Kyle, but unfortunately this isn’t the place for that. But, it does help emphasize the point that out of all the Green Lantern books in the New 52, New Guardians is the one book I will always make a point to follow…y’know, unless they do something really, really bad to Kyle. Then you know we’ll have a problem that needs to be dealt with in person, too bad DC is moving away from NYC.
Anyway, onto the book itself. Spoiler, Kyle doesn’t show up until the very last page. Instead, issue #32 focuses on Carol Ferris, the Templar Guardians, and the conflicts of interest between the two of them. Carol is concerned over Kyle’s disappearance (which took place in the book’s second annual back in April) and believes he might be in great danger. The Templar Guardians are focused on the disappearance of their brother, Quaros, and want to focus their attention on finding him before worrying about Kyle. The story follows this argument as they all fly towards a large spacecraft that the Guardians have tracked Quaros to – not realizing that it’s a trap.
While the story itself feels a little dull, it definitely makes a point in showing how different these new Guardians (ha!) are compared to their predecessors – well, at least how they acted during Johns’ run. These Guardians are much more emotional and have a few more flaws, but they’re also learning and growing from previous mistakes.
It feels like more of a set up for #33 rather than a story in and of itself, which might play off better when this story is collected in TPB rather than as a single issue. But, that’s what you sign up for when you don’t wait for trades, so I can’t make a big fuss about that.
On a more artistic note, I do want to express my disappointment about how different the cover is in person compared to how it looks online. Look at that rainbow! How come I don’t get that rainbow and I just get a white light instead? It’s Pride month dammit, give me my rainbow. Other than that, I can’t say much about the artwork. I enjoy what Brad Walker and Andrew Hennessey do, and I love how this book is always filled with color even in the dark recesses of space.
This story is only just getting started, so hopefully it’ll be pretty interesting as it finally kicks up speed (unless it gets halted by Future’s End, an event I personally couldn’t even be bothered to care about). I’m looking forward to seeing how the Psions are portrayed in the New 52 as well as any possible fallout from Kyle’s fight with Oblivion.
Laura McCarthy spends more time crying about fictional characters than being a productive member of society. Follow her on Twitter and Tumblr.
Originally published June 20, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
