Green Lantern Corps #40

Well! Arisia...(you all remember Arisia?) has decided to shake the bigoted dust of Daxam from her feet forever. She's also sorry about what happened to Sodam Yat, but doesn't think that she can do anything about it right now. So, looking for a little bit of peace and quiet, she wends her way back to Oa.

Well golly, but is SHE in for a heck of a surprise! The protective shell is shattered, the Guardians are missing in action, and the Black Rings have invaded and are wreaking untold havoc. Not exactly the peace and quiet that she's looking for. To add to her troubles, her dead family decides to show up and needless to say, poor Arisia is a bit on the freaked side.

She's not the only one, as Jade hauls Kyle up to the upper atmosphere, the better to woo him. For a dead girl, Jade is actually looking pretty good, and I fear for poor stupid Kyle. Especially since the Black Ring is viewing his aura, showing "love", "will" and "compassion". Hmmmm...first time that compassion has shown up.

Speaking of compassion, our adorable little Star Sapphire Miri, is hot on the trail of Kryb, who is searching for her children. Surprisingly, Miri agrees to help her, and the unlikely pair are off on their own quest.

Back on Oa, Salaak, Vath and Isamot have stumbled upon the black gooey apparent remains of the Guardians. Vath is smart enough to notice that there are only eight blotches, and by the way...weren't there NINE Guardians? Just then, the Alpha Lanterns show up, puffing up their chests and declaring that They Are In Charge of Oa. Salaak, bless his vinegar little heart, calmly shoots THAT theory down. He whistles up a hologram created by the Guardians, setting the rules and line of succession. The commznd of the Corps falls first to the Clarissi and then the Illustres...namely Salaak, and then Guy and Kyle as Honor Guard. The Alpha Lanterns are quite noticeably NOT mentioned in the chain of command.

This does not make them happy.

However, Salaak has a reply for that as well.



Heh heh. Guy really does have a way of growing on people.

And talking about growing, Jade is all over Kyle like a fungus. Fortunately, Kyle is NOT as stupid as I had feared, since he has Jade's number pretty well, and Blows Her Up. She's not too happy about this turn of events and breaks out the big guns, mainly all of his OTHER dead girlfriends and loved ones. That's a low blow, Jade.

Over at the burial site of all the executed prisoners, the Black Rings have also shown up in force, and now we see the true machinations of Scar, as all those dead nasties, come back to even nastier sentience, adn start ripping the hearts out of befuddled Lanterns. However, as per Salaak's wise instructions, no rings are flying off to chose more Green cannon fodder.

Some of our favorite dead Lanterns make their appearance, notably Katma Tui, who one poor fool thinks is going to save him, but she actually grabs his heart. Oops. Bzzd pops up and is making short work of some other Lanterns, when he's caught by some green construct chop-sticks. Smooth move, Guy! Guy is actually trying to reason with the little fellow, but not getting anyway unfortunately. Bzzd tries to fly right through him, the way that he did Mongul, but is squished by Guy instead, which makes Guy regretful, but not for too long, since Ke'haan shows up and impales his thigh on one of his horns. THAT'S gonna hurt in the morning1

Finally, Black Lanterns have shown up at the infirmary on Oa, ready to feast on the mostly helpless wounded. However you know that's not going to happen without a struggle, as Soranik and Iolande show up in a lovely lovely cliff hanger. Kyle! You Idiot! She's TONS better than Jade! Even when Jade was alive!

Pat Gleason does his usual exemplary job on the artwork, and Peter Tomasi does his usual magnificent job with the story and dialogue. Although I can't imagine not reading all of Blackest Night, it is perfectly feasible to just read the Green Lantern books and have a clear idea of what is going on.

Good. Oh, so good.