Red Lanterns: Peter Milligan, Miguel Sepulveda, Rain Beredo, Carlos M. Mangual

My wish has been granted. A competent artist who knows how to handle alien creatures has come to draw Atrocitus to look ferocious and, you know, ALIEN. I’m so excited.

This issue was really, really fun. A lot of great action, but set to a serious story. I feel like Red Lanterns, when I was reading it, was more silly or meant to be taken lightheartedly. Here, it feels like a legitimate threat is coming. Atrocitus means business, and that’s all I’ve wanted from this title the whole time. I can’t say how the book’s been since issue #6, but here we go.

The very first thing you notice when you open this book is WOW ART!!!! WOW WOW!! And you go on like that in the style of Christopher Walken. Miguel Sepulveda is a master and he makes the Red Lantern Corps shine like no one else.

Atrocitus, seeking Abysmus - his first, failed Red Lantern - traces a familiar energy signature to the Eye of the Storm, headquarters for Stormwatch. Remember in Stormwatch #9 when they captured Skallox? Yeah, guess what’s gonna come bite them in the ass right now. Atrocitus uses his napalm blood barf to tear a hole in space and enter the Eye. Also…NO ONE draws the Eye of the Storm like Sepulveda. It was nice to see the team back in his style too.

Stormwatch engages Atrocitus and it’s an AWESOME all-out battle. Unfortunately no one really knows what to do with Manhunter still, and he spends most of the conflict just kind of watching and commenting. But the BEST part is when Midnight faces off with Dex-Starr. I laughed SO hard. I even showed my wife, told her to read that page, and she doesn’t read comics ever. And SHE laughed really hard. Nicely done, Milligan. This was hysterical.

It was also cool seeing Rankorr in action. Sure, it involved more in-fighting (which I despise), but it was still a cool moment when a new Lantern came into his own. It’s so funny. For a couple moments, when the issue focuses on the Red Lanterns, I wonder why. Why is Stormwatch focusing so much on the Red Lanterns and not the title team? Then I remember that this IS Red Lanterns, and Sepulveda’s guest drawing. 

I’m liking this issue…a LOT actually. I like the story. I LOVE the art. It had a good story, and the involvement with Stormwatch was really well-done and it made sense, which is most important in a “team-up” issue. Let’s see more of this great stuff.

Red Lanterns #10, the verdict: This is a gigantic improvement over how the book was when I was reading it before. I can’t say if this quality is consistent with the issues surrounding this one because, well, I’m not reading it. I don’t think this one issue is enough to get me back on board either. I just don’t think it’s a good concept for a DC comic. It’s not something I’m interested in. But Sepulveda’s art and the very well-written involvement of Stormwatch is definitely a good sign of improvement. And that’s something, right? It at least got me to buy another issue.

(Photo Source: iFanboy)

Stormwatch: Peter Milligan, Miguel Sepulveda, Alex Sinclair, Dave Sharpe

The Red Lanterns guest-star in this issue, and Red Lanterns series writer Peter Milligan takes the helm here. Thankfully, we still have Sepulveda’s gorgeous artwork to compliment, instead of Benes’ hit-or-miss stuff we see over in that title. Though, to be fair, Midnighter’s pose in that first panel is…weird. Let’s just say Eddy Barrows is still the KING of acrobatic poses.

So Midnighter and Apollo go to England to intercept an incoming Red Lantern while Manhunter, Hawksmoor, and Jenny Quantum head to Italy to stop a man with telekinetic powers who thinks he’s a part of Stormwatch…which is supposed to be a completely secret team organization. Weird, right? So…I’m hooked already. The gay couple of a man who can kill anything and a man who’s basically a conduit of the sun taking on a rage-fueled alien monster with a power-ring; and a super powerful Martian, a child who can conduct any kind of science that does/could exist in all of the 21st century, and a man who communicates with cities…apprehending a psychic loony. LET’S DO THIS.

Now when we first see Skallox, the Red Lantern, here…he looks weird. Like, disproportionate almost. Definitely not like he looks in Red Lanterns. But I kind of like that. Remember how I don’t like Atrocitus’ look in that title because he’s too humanized. I think Skallox here is even less humanized than he could have been in his home-title. And he looks much more alien, and threatening. Also, on the cover as well as interiors, he’s a heck of a lot more imposing…he’s huge! Look at how much larger Skallox is! I like that.

What follows is an epic battle that truly shows off some of Sepulveda’s incredibly detailed artwork. I love watching him destroy things on the page. So masterful. What’s best is how the story holds true that a Red Lantern basically “dies” when his ring is removed, because it stops the heart from beating. I would hope it remembers that much…what with the Red Lanterns writer scripting this issue. Stormwatch brings Skallox in as well.

I think things are going to get interesting while Skallox is kept aboard the Eye, especially if the other Lanterns start coming to look for him. The issue teases us a whole bunch, though, at the end, with Skallox’s power-ring zipping around from person to person. I would like to see some of Stormwatch’s members try on the ring, though, just to see what they would LOOK like, you know? And then the last page has a pretty awesome tease that I would actually like to see in a future issue some day. Hear that, guys? Get on this epic meeting of martial artists!

Stormwatch #9, the verdict: A pretty exciting issue. It’s definitely better than the Gravity Miners thing that was going on previously. I like the whole massive, Earth-shattering alien threats thing…but when it’s done too often, and Stormwatch succeeds, and is able to cover everything up so easily at the end…it gets boring. Now reading this issue, I see the value of one-on-one encounters, more personal battles that the characters fight. Though I do have a request…can we please give Manhunter more to do? He’s my favorite one on the team, I love the character, but it’s like no one really knows what to do with him, or how to unleash all his strength in the book. He’s too one-trick-pony, and that’s definitely not Manhunter.

(Photo Source: Comic Vine)

Red Lanterns: Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, Diego Bernard, Rob Hunter, Rebecca Buchmann, Nathan Eyring, Carlos M. Mangual

And we’ve now reached the pinnacle of mediocrity. This book has reached the point where it doesn’t feel like it’s trying very hard. We’re six issues in, and - thank goodness - we’re finally getting the development on the Earthling Red Lantern, Rankorr. This issue almost exclusively focuses on him and him trying to understand what’s just happened to him. We last left off with John Moore crying over the body of his recently murdered brother…and obtaining a red ring of Rage. But there is a point where we go back to Ysmault, the Red Lantern homeworld, to find that Atrocitus and Bleez (oh please) are GOING AT IT AGAIN. Waitaminute! That’s what they did in issue #5! In fact, they stopped! At the end of issue #5, when we last see Atrocitus and the Red Lanterns, they’re standing together…ready to face the universe and spread their hateful vengeance! They were united! The Corps MOTTO was said! If that’s EVER an indication of unity, then something happened that we the readers are totally unaware of. Believe it or not, DC, but the Red Lanterns fighting among themselves is NOT what’s attractive about this book. It’s old. It’s tired. It’s cliche. Atrocitus has forever been a figure of immense power and command. He BUILT the Red Lantern Corps - as he mentions in this issue - from nothing! Out of the sorrow and unending grief he felt for the deaths of his family, and his entire homeworld of Ryut, Atrocitus harnessed the power of Rage and used it against the Guardians and their Green Lanterns. The Guardians, who were responsible for the Manhunter robots that wiped the planet surface clean of all inhabitants. Later we discover it was Krona, an outcast Guardian, who introduced the flaw in the Manhunters…and that gave Atrocitus direction and purpose. Now that Krona’s dead (or is he? see last issue), Milligan here is saying that Atrocitus is purposeless…and Bleez is trying to take over the Corps due to Atrocitus’s weakness. The Corps seemed to be stable, though, at the end of issue #5…but now we’re BACK TO THE FIGHTING! Why? What’s happening? Why not tell us what started the fighting again, if that’s what happened? I just don’t understand. There was only one other point in this book where something didn’t make any sense…and, ironically, it’s where Rankorr is saying that everything “makes sense” to him now. The fury, the rage, the ring…and everything that’s just happened to him (something about peanut butter)…all makes sense. But as he attempts to crush someone with the headstone of his recently deceased grandfather, he never actually tells us WHAT makes sense. Or WHY. This, along with the whole stuff happening on Ysmault, made this issue incredibly frustrating. I’m convinced that there’s seriously no planned direction for this title. It’s just going issue to issue with no over-arcing outline already set aside. The one place where this book EXCEEDS all boundaries is with Benes’s art, and the team of artists on this staff. It has the perfect blend of realism and the fantastic…a true comic book style, in my opinion. I look at that splash page with Rankorr…in fact, ALL of the splash pages with Rankorr (and there are a lot), and they’re just fantastic. He looks great. One of the best-looking Red Lanterns of the bunch. I love the blood-fire hair. I will say, though…Atrocitus still looks like ass. It makes me yearn for pre-relaunch Atrocitus’s face (a scary thought, indeed). And there’s a lot of red in this book. Hard to believe, huh? But I mean it. Really look through this issue and notice all the occurrences of the color red. They say red is the one color we get annoyed with the quickest when it’s overused (maybe that explains my grumpiness with this title), but I have to say that I never once notice while reading this “OMG SO MUCH RED!” But I think it helps that there’s such a juxtaposition of colors on Earth, with Rankorr. On Earth, Rankorr is just about the ONLY red we see! Look at all the people he comes into direct contact with, and you’ll find virtually no red. Even in the world around him, nothing is red. Very smart.

Red Lanterns #6, the verdict: So it’s unfortunate that such fantastic art must lie beneath the weight of such a pointless story. I feel like, no matter how far we get into the arc or the stories, we will never be rid of the ridiculous fighting among the Red Lanterns on Ysmault. Even when they’ve seemingly resolved things, they still go right back to fighting. I’m honestly done with it. It’s about made me drop this title. Rankorr took FOREVER to appear, and that was basically one of the only things I was looking forward to (and many other readers, I’m sure). We’re on issue #6 now, SIX, and we still haven’t seen any hint of the end of the first arc. And, lord, I hope there’s an arc planned. Even if it takes 12 issues. Because if there’s no arc (like DC had planned for the relaunch), then these issues so far have felt like a huge waste of time. The story’s lolligagged back and forth between Atrocitus’s pouting and visiting other worlds, Bleez (oh please) and her honestly stupid aspirations to take over the Corps, the other main Red Lanterns’ origins, and John Moore here on Earth. All of those issues could easily be addressed in a little over half the amount of issues we’ve gone through already. And what’s even more frustrating? The one main thing that can get the plot moving for Atrocitus - Krona’s missing body? It gets barely one panel of a mention in this issue. If I had the option, I’d pay half price for this title, because that’s how much effort I feel goes into it. I mean, how lazy is it to list Rob Hunter in the credits on the cover, but not on the title page inside? Is he or is he not working on this book?

(Photo Source: The Critical Failure)

Red Lanterns: Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, Diego Bernard, Rob Hunter, Nathan Eyring, Dave Sharpe
This was easily the best issue yet. I’ve been so upset at this damn series for dragging ass this whole time…I’ve been waiting for certain things to happen. I’ve been wanting to see certain things resolve. And I’ve waited. And waited. Always expecting something to happen with every issue I buy. But all I’ve received is in-fighting, disjointed visions, unrelated action, and more teases. I’ve felt, to be honest, strung along. Couple that with how I feel like this whole “spirit of vengeance” role the Red Lanterns are taking on is a complete crock, and we get a very unattractive series for me. I felt like I was wasting my money. However, it’s with this issue that things start to turn around and get interesting. The Red Lanterns are finally united and ready to fight. Atrocitus is ready and focused on a clear goal, instead of cowering at the thought of his corps rising up against him. And we finally see the Red Lantern I’ve been waiting for since issue #1. We still never see the “origin” story for Zilius, and I’m wondering if that was just forgotten or something. But we do get to see the rest of the story for Skallox and Ratchet. I have to say that I really sympathize with Ratchet, the poor guy. He makes a good point, too, which helps with the whole “vengeance” mission. It cannot be based on morals. They cannot choose to punish only the “evil,” which is something Atrocitus has already shown in past issues. There is no good and evil, they cannot see sides like that. I liked that…and it made the pill easier to swallow. I’m really confused about this whole Krona thing…and my panties would get all up in a bunch if it turns out Krona really is alive. Atrocitus himself states that it’s just about impossible…but he does consider that the being is a Guardian, and that they have lots of power that could possibly have saved him. So…does this mean that Hal never killed Krona? Will he be accepted back into the Green Lantern Corps? So I’m both happy and unhappy with this series now. Though, I feel cheated because I feel like we could have reached this point quicker…and without wasting all that time and my money. Am I bitter? I guess…. Maybe I’m really just not interested in this series anymore.
Red Lanterns #5, the verdict: I’m glad that we’re finally seeing the Red Lantern I’ve been wanting to see from the start, but we had to wait so long it doesn’t even feel worth it anymore. Though, I will say, that scene was very moving and quite emotional. I have nothing against Milligan - there’s no vendetta here, I know he can write a fantastic story - I’m just not happy with the product. Also, Atrocitus has never looked less like himself than in this issue right here. I’m super upset with how they changed his face. He looked much more imposing and badass pre-relaunch. I’m only recommending this book for die-hard Red Lantern/Lantern Corps fans and fans of Milligan or the creative team. Other than that, if you’re just curious, I can’t see why you would enjoy it, given knowledge of the mythos and canon of the content.

Red Lanterns: Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, Diego Bernard, Rob Hunter, Nathan Eyring, Carlos M. Mangual

OKAY NOW WE’RE TALKING. Sorry, but this is, by far, the BEST of the Red Lanterns issues yet! Urgh, I was so incredibly frustrated with all of the last issues…but now we’re getting into the good stuff. We’re finally starting to see where exactly these other Red Lanterns came from, what their story is, and why they’re so filled with rage. We knew about Bleez (oh, please) from the Untold Tales from the “Blackest Night” run, so the whole “retelling” we got in this title was a nice refresher…and it let us know about some other new parts of it we weren’t told before. But Skallox, Ratchet, and Zilius were never explained. We still don’t see Zilius’s origin here, but the other two are finally explained. I rather like this, too. The stories felt genuine, and were truly unique enough to feel like they haven’t been rehashed or anything. I especially like the idea behind Ratchet and how their species endures complete solitude and no physical contact, yet there are these underground people who want to come out and make contact. That yearning for a close relationship like that is definitely relatable, and so I felt most sorry for Ratchet. We learn that the other Red Lanterns were seemingly plotting against Atrocitus, what with words like “we must,” and “kill,” and “Atrocitus.” Sounds fishy, right? I honestly think they’re planning his birthday party, and it should go, “We must get that durlan and kill it to use as a piñata for Atrocitus.” What I do like in this issue is how Atrocitus is taking charge and he’s stopping whining like a little bitch. He’s had enough and he’s using his slapping arm to toss his Red Lanterns (who can fly, hello) into the blood sea so they start remembering who they are and regaining sentience. This doesn’t exactly jive with the Lantern mythos, though, as Red and Violet are at the complete opposites of the emotional spectrum, and therefore supposed to be the most extreme and unreachable. Rage and Love. Always made sense to me, but here we go with throwing that concept out the window and allowing these Red Lanterns to have moments of lucidity and clarity, where they can form logical thoughts. Rage isn’t logical. So I guess I’m not totally on board with that yet. In fact, it’s Atrocitus, the one Red Lantern who’s always had that logic thought process, in order to lead his Corps, who is giving in to the thoughtlessness and jumping to conclusions and giving in to rage. Strange. Maybe that’s the whole deal. I still think that the story about the British brothers is still the most compelling story in this book right now, and I’m shocked that we still have to wait longer to see that actually turn into something. I was hoping that would happen a lot sooner. But the dissent that’s building within the Corps might make an interesting platform for the first human Red Lantern to come into. We humans are always depicted as tenacious and hungry, eager to make themselves known in the bigger universe, so he may be able to take a powerful position within the Corps. Also…Krona? I thought we were done with him. Because I seriously don’t want to see yet another War of the Green Lanterns. I bet Bleez (oh, please) did it.

Red Lanterns #4, the verdict: While I’m still not 100% with this book, and I think the whole “spirit of vengeance” approach is weak and doesn’t fit with the Red Lantern mantra, this is definitely the best book of the series so far. I loved reading about the other Lanterns, and I can’t wait to see Zilius’s story. Part of me also wants to see Atrocitus actively building his ranks so he can actually, finally, exact that sweet revenge on the Guardians. That doesn’t seem to quite motivate him as much anymore. Sure, he got the death of Krona and all…the Guardian actually responsible for the Ryut slaughter, but he seemed to still want to kill all the Guardians of Oa. We’ll see how things go. My hope in this book is rekindled, but I’m still on the fence because of that vengeance thing Atrocitus has going on. It doesn’t make sense to me. I like Peter Milligan, and I trust him, and he’s a great writer, but this still doesn’t feel right.

Red Lanterns: Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, Rob Hunter, Nathan Eyring, Carlos M. Mangual

I mentioned in my thoughts on Green Lantern: New Guardians #2 that I’m kind of over Bleez. There’s always some secondary character from the comic events (“Blackest Night” in this case) that suddenly becomes super popular because they have a really cool design or somewhat interesting backstory. I’m not always on board. Batwing turned out to be one of those for me, and I’m glad he has his own title now. But with Bleez…I don’t know, I’m not completely sold yet. I think there are more interesting-looking Red Lanterns for Atrocitus to choose. However…I understand the decision. It’s the same reason the art design for Atrocitus has changed - because she’s relatable. She looks most human, next to Atrocitus. She’s marketable. What I felt was most interesting about this issue was the revisitation to Bleez’s past…the yellow lantern that took her as his love slave and cut off her wings. And, apparently, the Havanian officials responsible for her capture by the lantern. I liked seeing her go back and exact her revenge. That’s what Red Lanterns should be about…to have a red ring is to be consumed by rage and wanting to fulfill that emptiness where their heartbeat used to be with the quick-lived satisfaction of vengeance. The problem with Atrocitus’s plan to seek out the injustices of the galaxy and violently correct them is that the revenges the Red Lanterns orchestrate need to be personal. Much like Bleez’s is here. I’m also supremely interested in John and Raymond, the British brothers who lost their grandfather. Their story is so much more interesting than anything going on with the existing Red Lanterns. It’s a shame that we’ll have to wait until issue #5 or 6 to see the brothers story give us a brand new lantern. I don’t think I can wait that long - or at least keep buying these issues for that long.

Red Lanterns #3, the verdict: I’ll be reading along with the next issues, because I want to see if the story improves or changes in any way. The first two issues felt like Atrocitus was looking for more to add to his numbers, recruiting, but none of that happened at all. It’s issue #3 and we still haven’t seen any recruiting. We keep teasing barely any full pages to others in the universe who are experiencing rage…but Atrocitus isn’t doing anything about it. Sure, he’s biding his time and trying to create a lieutenant out of Bleez…but Atrocitus has acted mostly on his own thus far, working with the likes of the other Lantern Corps and defending Earth against the threat of “Blackest Night” as well as the loose Corps entities Krona was swallowing up. So far he hasn’t needed the help of his other Lanterns as much as he says he needs now. So what’s going on? Anyway, I’m still not completely convinced about this series. It doesn’t feel like the same Red Lantern Corps that we met during the “Blackest Night”, in which Atrocitus had complete control over his lanterns.

Red Lanterns: Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, Rob Hunter, Nathan Eyring

Now for something completely different. Alright, so the first issue we did see a good variety of things: we saw stuff on Earth, stuff in space, stuff on Ysmault. Now we’re getting stuff mainly on another planet entirely. Now that Atrocitus has decided to avenge those being wronged, we find another planet under siege, and a little girl finds herself very rageful. A visit from Atrocitus doesn’t really fix much. I find myself disappointed in each issue. In issue #1, I wanted more to happen with the English brothers…but nothing. In issue #2, I wanted more to happen with this little alien girl…but nothing. What’s next? It seems like this book is doing nothing but teasing us with what could and should happen, and then those characters are mysteriously absent from the next issue. And this whole decision thing Atrocitus has to make is taking forever too. So, I see books in the New 52 now that are rushing through many different storylines, and books that are taking forever with many. I understand that it’s only issue #2, but even this feels like it could move faster. And it doesn’t even feel like a purposeful delay either…it’s more like a distraction. Before, I mentioned how I thought Atrocitus’s decision to start avenging the victimized seemed forced and contrived, and this issue didn’t help that at all. It’s not vindictive, which I always saw the Red Lanterns to be in the past. It’s not vengeful because it’s not a personal injury. He’s just being Batman. That’s not the kind of book I got excited about when a Red Lanterns book was announced. Milligan’s other book, Justice League Dark, is great! So I’m wondering what the deal is with this one. Why is it not completely enthralling and outstandingly dark?

Red Lanterns #2, the verdict: I wanted so much more out of this book, and it just feels so empty without the promise I expected. I’ve already read #3 at the time of writing this, and, after that, I won’t be buying this book anymore. Atrocitus looks too human. The story inexplicably jumps from place to place without following through. I’m just not enjoying it as much as I thought.

Red Lanterns: Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, Rob Hunter
I’m still on the fence with this one. It doesn’t seem…believable. Sincere. I understand Atrocitus’s feeling of purposelessness since the death of Krona at the end of the War of the Green Lanterns, but that he turns to this - makes the decision he makes - doesn’t feel genuine. It feels forced. To make him “cooler”, or to profit off of his popularity during “Blackest Night” and the issues leading up to that. I was excited to hear about the Red Lantern Corps getting their own title, and was hoping for some fresh violence to be gleefully distributed by Atrocitus and his rageful corps members. That’s, unfortunately, not what I found. Instead, I found a whining red alien turning desperately to one of possibly many solutions to his emptiness. And the problem is it’s a solution that shouldn’t come naturally to him, being so full of rage. He correctly suspects his corps will lose faith in him and turn against him. So we’ll see what happens here. Second to his plot…is something involving two English brothers who see their father die, and become at odds with one another. I do hope that this turns into something good (it better, what with the focus they were giving it away from Atrocitus), like one - or both - of them becoming a Red Lantern. That would be worth reading, I feel. Imagine Atrocitus’s hesitation or reservations with a human being in his corps. The art is good. It feels like Atrocitus as he was drawn since we first saw him (except maybe in a couple books here and there). The only thing is…is…wait, does Atrocitus look…less alien? Yeah…he looks…more human. Okay, before, Atrocitus’s face was full of ridges and holes and all that, making him look positively otherworldly and demonic. Now it’s toned down. He looks less that way now. It’s infuriating, honestly. It makes me think DC is, again, simply trying to cash in on Atrocitus’s marketability. And, of course, he’s more marketable when he looks more relatable. Y’know, human. I’m not necessarily blaming Ed Benes here…even though it’s likely he did have a hand in the character design for the relaunch. But I don’t know. Beyond that, the art was good.
Red Lanterns, the verdict: I still don’t know. I really don’t. There are a lot of decisions that were made about this book that I’m not completely agreeable with. I want to like this book, I really do…but it’s tough. I do like Atrocitus…and I have since meeting him in the Green Lantern series when Johns took over to retell the origin to prepare for “Blackest Night”. But this definitely feels like a different Atrocitus. Like they didn’t know what to do with him, so they turned him into Ghost Rider. If you’re okay with that, check this book out. If not, or are hesitant, I recommend staying away.