Filial Devotion

Well, I had a very nice weekend. Sweet Sixteen birthday party for my daughter, and had family and friends over for hamburgers and bratwurst and stuff in the gazebo. Played croquet and had a bonfire in the firepit, the weather was lovely and a delightful time was had by all. So what set this particular weekend apart in my mind?

My Father, who is an incorrigable tag-sale/garage sale devotee, found a guy selling comic books down the street, for a quarter a book. Although he doesn't read comic books, he knows that I do, so, being my good sweet ol' Dad, he wandered over and picked up a nice bunch of them for me and brought them to the picnic.

A 90's Ironman, a Superman, a couple of Wolverines, and a bunch of Green Lantern Corps from the 80's which was VERY nice. Not very good shape, but who cares...they were a quarter! As for the Green Lantern Corp books, I had most of them, but a couple of them I did not, and so I was very glad to acquire them.

BUT...nestled within the little pile was a true gem. The Annual #2, of Tales of the Green Lantern Corps from 1986! I had never read this before, and it is a dandy!

It opens with a bunch of spaaaaaaace criminals in their Sciencells, being annoyed by Sinestro who is ALSO imprisoned. He keeps talking to what appears to be an empty cell, and it is driving the other inmates nuts. Sinestro after telling the rest of them that they are losers and don't appreciate his genius, then tells them that the cell is ACTUALLY occupied by T:D:H:D! A God-like creature who beCAME Sector 3600...the Ultimate Sector! This creature completely consumed his own sector and was spilling over into the neighboring sectors, causing a great deal of chaos. The Guardians dispatched their greatest Lanterns to oppose it, but they were killed. Finally, the Guardians themselves went and confronted Sector 3600, and after a great deal of effort, managed to containt the entity in a matrix made from pure willpower. It is this entity, that Sinestro has been talking to, and apparently telling stories to.

Naturally, the other inmates think that Sinestro is off his rocker. They scoff at him for telling the creature "bed-time" stories. Au contraire, says Sinestro! He's actually telling him Wake-Up stories...if he can convince the God that if only for an instant that his imprisonment is all in his own mind...then he can be free!

Oh Sinestro, you never cease to amaze me.

So Sinestro then proceeds to tell three more stories to the God, INCLUDING the Alan Moore tale with Abin Sur, Ysmault, the prophecy, Ranx and all that good stuff that is being so heavily referenced right now in the Sinestro Corp books! Woohoo!

Seriously, amazing stuff. The Guardians are STILL acting stupidly.

Finally, it all works, and the God loses his concentration for a second, just long enough for Sinestro to escape from his Sciencell! The other inmates are amazed and thrilled...until Sinestro with an evil smile on his face, slams the doors closed again. The rest of them didn't believe him, so they don't deserve to be free. Sinestro struts off, free to wreak both havok and vengeance on Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps. The final panel shows the other inmates desperately trying to come up with stories to regale the once again comatose God-Creature in the cell.

And the lesson learned is that there is some darned good stuff lurking out there! And that I just love my Dad.