Green Lantern #26

This...was an interesting issue.  There weren't any huge fights involving the entire fate of the Universe, or the Corps, although this being a Comic Book, there WAS some violence.  Sweet sweet violence.  But for a change,  Van Jensen, took a bit of time to establish some characterization to all of the mayhem that has been going on for so long. 

The Guardians are gone, the New New Guardians are out hanging around with Kyle, whom most people think is dead, Oa is destroyed, Guy has become a Red Lantern, The Corps has moved to Mogo, and Hal is drunk with power.  Or something.

John, who being the SMART one, saved his little group that had stayed behind to save the rest of the Corp, and being the smart one, managed to have it not be a replay of so many Last Stands.  So, he's quite happy to find that most everyone is safe and sound, and is reunited with Yrra again, which is nice for John.  It's about time he gets a decent love life! 

There is a lot of dissension in the ranks however.  Not everyone is particularly enamoured of Hal's style of leadership.  Which basically...is everyone.  Hal is a good guy, he's brave and dedicated and the perfect person to show up at the last minute to save the day.  But when it comes to being a Leader and Administrator...he's in over his pretty little head. 

Meanwhile, things are brewing on Oranx, that warrior planet that Jruk comes from.  The Durlans have infiltrated, and are busy having a fine old time spreading rumors and trying to take over secretly.  Jruk and Arisia and Feska, who has a tiny crush on Jruk fly off to see what is going on. Arisia is trying to tell him about something called "diplomacy" which is of course a totally foreign concept. 

As all of this is going down, John decides it is time to have a little "chat" with Hal. And boy does he ever!  He wants to know just who put Hal in charge, and what does he think he is doing, calling out the entire Corps to save his beautiful ass from Nol-Anj, sending Guy off to spy on the Red Lanterns, and declaring that nobody but the Green Lanterns can use their rings, and quite a number of other complaints.  Hal bloviates a bit, and basically just says that he'll "figure something out".  It is just about at this moment that John finally realizes that Batman may have been right about Hal all along.  He does everything by the seat of his pants.

So he punches him in the face. 

It is a lovely moment.  Hal hasn't been punched in the face since Guy did it a couple of issues ago.  But then Hal does point out that the New New Guardians DID just happen to put him in charge and that he's doing the best that he can.  John simmers down, and agrees that something has to be done, even though he was all set to go back to Earth and settle down with Yrra and be just an architect again.  So he goes to Mogo, and  between them, they build...a new home for the Corps, that is rather cool really.  That Mogo!  He/She can do just about anything! 

But the Durlans are still plotting in the background, and things aren't going particularly well for Jruk's planet, although the three of them do manage to get out with their skins intact. 

So, I liked this issue.  It explained some things that had been bothering me, and it set up some other perils for the future, and sometimes, you just have to slow down for a month and take a breath.  Plus John Punched Hal.

So lovely.