Tony Black reviews Green Lanterns #7…
“THE GUN”! How can Jessica Cruz trust Simon Baz, when he doesn’t even trust the Green Lantern ring they both wear? The partners finally discuss the gun Simon carries and why!
Having spent six issues with desperately fighting demonic space creatures to save the Earth, Green Lanterns scales back down with ‘Family Matters’ part one for a character piece revolving around Simon Baz and his family, and the place of Jessica Cruz within that attempting to help him reconcile his past. Sam Humphries spent more of the opening arc focusing on exploring Jessica’s crippling anxiety and how it affects her role as a Lantern, but this story allows him to get more under Simon’s skin and reveal a man who is afraid and desperate to be the son his Mom always wanted him to be, a good Muslim boy. It’s all about Simon trying to overcome his own different anxieties.
You have Jessica herself attempting to control her social anxiety as Simon invites her around for a traditional Lebanese dinner at his sister Sira’s house, and Humphries does some nice work with Jessica trying to cope with that, but we discover here how Simon views himself as a son, with some nice flashback panels from Ronan Cliquet which help flesh out Simon’s relationship with his family nicely; it’s simply good character drama, with a good message at the core, and it helps further strengthen Simon & Jessica’s growing partnership along the way. Developing arc elements are ticking away in the background too – Simon’s young nephew Farid is being mischevious around medicating Rami, one of the Guardians who created the Lanterns, and by the end we have a portent of the new threat on approach around the corner.
A solid issue of Green Lanterns which isn’t afraid to pause for breath and zero in on character after the towering narrative of ‘Rage Planet’, and further develops Simon Baz in particular in impressive degrees. Looks like we won’t have to wait too long, however, before the Lanterns are thrown back in the fray.
Rating: 7/10
Tony Black
Originally published October 4, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
