Green Lantern #22...Finally!

Oh Baby! This just keeps getting better and better. Things are really starting to pick up in the latest episode of the Sinestro Corps. The Guardians are starting to panic, Green Lanterns are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, Guy and John are missing, and Hal is face to face with Parallax, aka Kyle Rayner on Qward.

"Running Scared" is the title, and it is an appropriate one. Let me also pause and state that the art of Ivan Reis is utterly magnificent, and Moose's colors just glow. AND there are butt shots. Lots and lots of butt shots. Heaven!

Er...anyway...Kylellax is having just a lovely time taunting Hal. Hal is fixated on trying to find John and Guy in addition to defeating Parallax of course. Geoff Johns even throws in a little tidbit about the color spectrum, having Kylellax state that ..."the green is only the balance in the center of the spectrum. The yellow tips the scales." Remember this kids, I'm sure that it will become important later on.

Hal is pretty much getting his lovely ass handed to him by Kylellax and a host of other members of the Sinestro Corps, including Amon Sur, who just can't wait to get his licks in. Hal is actually in a dilly of a pickle, when who should show up, but the Lost Lanterns, in a fabulous two-page spread. Ke'haan may not like Hal much, but by God, he's still a Lantern, and Lanterns don't abandon their own.

In the middle of all this glorious action, we take a quiet moment to see Superbaby Prime sitting quietly on the moon contemplating Earth. He does have this rather disturbing smirk on his face as he he says..."Heh. Stupid Earth"

Well, crap in a hat.

Then we end up on Warworld, the new Manhunter homeworld which has apparently replaced Biot after Hal and Guy blew it up a while back. Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman is requesting a small boon from the Anti-Monitor. When this whole kerfuffle is over, he wants to be able to die, so that the can be with his wife at last. The Anti-Monitor solemnly promises to kill him, and a tear of gratitude spills onto Henshaw's cheek. This is a lovely moment, full of intrique and pathos...and I don't believe it for a minute. I DO believe that Henshaw wants to die, but I don't believe that the Anti-Monitor is going to put him out of his misery. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, Hal and the Lanterns are busy whuppin' on the bad guys. Boodika and Jack T. Chance are still cranky, while Graf Toren, bless his heart is the voice of reason and forgiveness. The Lanterns have been sent to bring back Ion, and it is at this point that they begin to realize that Kyle and Ion are separate entities, because obviously Kyle is right in front of them, while Laira detects Ion 1,000 feet beneath them. Needless to say, this confuses everyone just a bit, which gives Kylellax his chance to really go to town.

Just as he did with Kyle and Hal, he starts hammering at the Lost Lanterns, working on their fears, and messing with their heads. It just bounces off of Hannu and he just pisses off Boodika, but for some reason, Chance is having trouble, and begins to listen to Kylellax's sneers and insinuations. Kylellax calls Chance a frightened little boy, the troublemaker, trying to "out-GUY Guy Gardner" It causes just enough doubt in Chance that he sucumbs to the yellow and is murdered by Parallax. Then as his ring starts to fly away, it is caught and crushed by Parallax in a rather disturbing display of power. Boodika is REALLY mad at this point and tries to kill Kyle, but the ring won't let her, and Hal keeps trying to point out that it ISN'T Kyle, it's Parallax doing this. Parallax just laughs and agrees, saying that he can feel Kyle trying to escape and crying about a painting.

I assume that this is the painting that Kyle was talking about in the Sinestro Corp issue, when they were all sitting around talking just before he was kidnapped. If Geoff Johns keeps bringing this point up, I'm sure that it is going to turn into an important plot point later on.

At this point, they all decide to get the hell out of Dodge, and Hannu busts a tunnel in the rock for them to escape. Hal grabs Boodika who is still momentarily without power, while Graf tells her to lighten up so that she can become worthy of the ring again. They end up in the tunnels beneath Qward. Graf reads the hieroglyphs on the walls, which basically just say "Fear Infects" over and over again. They end up splitting up the group, with Hal, Graf Toren and Tomar Tu going after John and Guy, and the rest going after Ion. Tomar Tu has decided to forgive Hal too, which is a nice step forward for him as well.

So the three of them head down the tunnels only to be confronted by some very familiar figures.

Hey, that's John and Guy hanging up there on that nice pillar! And somehow, Hal has managed to find himself another hot babe.

I have to admit that having Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps every two weeks makes the month-long wait between issues a lot easier to handle, and keeps the level of excitement flowing feverishly. This was pretty much non-stop action the whole way through, and I imagine that things are going to be just as hectic over in Green Lantern Corps when Kilowog and Mogo go up against Ranx and company. Just top-notch story telling by Johns,and superb art by Reis.