Happy National Coming Out Day

The whole world just recently celebrated #NationalComingOutDay, on October 11, 2018.

Whether you knew about this, in support of this or just plain indifferent to the whole thing, we all have to understand that the coming out process is not for everyone and that it all depends on the individual concerned and who they come out to.

And it’s because of this, I did a little re-read on this graphic novel that was released in December 28, 2016 and it’s called, “Love is Love”.

This is a comic book anthology compiled for the benefit of the survivors of the Orlando shooting on June 12, 2016. On that fateful night, a 29 year-old security guard named Omar Mateen, killed 49 people and left 53 wounded in a terrorist attack at a gay nightclub called Pulse. He was shot and killed after a 3-hour standoff.

There are indeed no words for that act.

But many artists, writers, inkers, directors and fellow Creatives had a lot to say about how this tragedy affected us all and how Love is truly Love, no matter how you look at it. No matter from whatever corner of the world we live in.

Director Patty Jenkins provided the Introduction and the entire anthology was the brainchild of Marc Andreyko and featured the works and words of who's who like actor Matt Bomer; Green Lantern artist, Ivan Reis; my favorite Buffy writer, Christopher Golden; X-men and current Justice League artist, Jim Lee; Marvel and Image Comics writer, Mark Millar; Wonder Woman writer, Gail Simone; Thriller novelist, Brad Meltzer and more.

With Wonder Woman herself on the cover and holding up the rainbow flag, the entries ranged from single paged stories to two-paged reflections on how the tragedy has affected everyone. One page showed Batman telling Nightwing how the victims were heroes and that they were not so different from the two of them, as some had to create identities to protect who they are and that those who hid their true selves actually found strength in what they had to conceal. It was simple but effectively written by Golden Globe and People’s Choice Award winning actor, Matt Bomer.

Marc Guggenheim (ARROW, LEGENDS of TOMORROW, GREEN LANTERN, PERCY JACKSON) also had a single page entry showing Batman at the scene of the crime and how the cops deduced that if the World’s Greatest Detective could not solve how the crime came about, then no one can.

Ivan Reis’ panel was a single paged black and white sketch depicting the Earth members of the Green Lantern Corps standing proud and showing solidarity with the colors of the rainbow shining outward from behind them. Batwoman, who will be the major focus of this fall’s CW crossover between Flash, Arrow and Supergirl was also in a panel comforting a kid who lost his mother in the shooting. She told him that the best thing she did as a costumed hero was to be true to herself. She acknowledged the grieving kid’s pain and that his own mother was equally brave to live her life in truth. She added that because of that, she was a hero herself and that her bravery will live in him.

These are the kinds of stories you will be reading in this 144-paged anthology, the proceeds of which will go to the victims, survivors and families of the affected tragedy through an organization called Equality Florida.

Say what you want about being gay, about being in the closet, about how hard or easy it is to find that one person to connect with and eventually share you life with. You would soon come to realize that the process is the same for everyone. We all want the same thing. We want the same feeling of joy. We want the same thrill of being in love and free from the pain of heartbreak when we fall out of love.

We all want the same things. We just want different ways to package it.

My love is not dependent on your approval. And yours doesn't require my vote either. All our journeys are different. We all just to accept that and allow everyone to live and accept their own reality.

We all may not be engineers, physicists, teachers, Olympic athletes  or coaches but we all can at least agree on one thing when we see it.

And that is, Love Is Love.

Period!

Let’s make it so!

Batman: Damned

The road to darkness has been mapped and it is currently being engaged…

That may be the feel of late for the DCEU or the Worlds of DC as they would prefer to be called, but the tone of the different titles of the comics have kind of reflected that same grim theme in the films; from their current crisis, Heroes in Crisis, to the upcoming Witching Hour as a 5-part crossover between Wonder Woman and the current incarnation of Justice League Dark, and to the latest offering of the new label called, DC Black Label.

The Black Label, as it certainly purports to everything less than cheery or Pollyanna-ish, is DC’s new publishing imprint that is dedicated to stories that are separate from the DC continuity and aimed at mature readers and those who are most open to the challenge of reading new stories that aim to deviate from the norm. One such title is the first offering called, Batman: Damned.

It is just one of the stories being planned and this salvo of a title is written by Brian Azzarello, a veteran of Vertigo comics, another previous “mature” DC imprint and Lee Bermejo, who was responsible for drawing the popular title, Batman: Noel in 2011. As of this writing, this limited series of which three are planned, is a sequel of sorts to Bermejo’s own graphic novel of the Joker in 2008.

The story opens, bleakly, as it is in most Batman storylines, with our caped crusader in a daze, bloodied and wounded and escaping from an ambulance that is bringing him to a hospital. He collapses in the alley and  is shocked to find out two things as he awakes in a hotel room, that his rescuer is none other than the supernatural con-man himself, John Constantine, and that the Joker is dead! Yes, finally Dead!

For the longest time, readers have always known and accepted that the Joker will always be the foil to the Bat, and no matter how cruel, twisted and maniacal the Joker’s schemes are, Batman will never resort to killing him. If this is his need for validation as the hero that Gotham needs, then keeping the Joker alive, no matter the toll is, fuels and cements that very same validation. For how can one be a hero, if there is no one who will serve to oppose that very same sense of heroism and thus perpetuate that same validation? Validation is validation whether it comes from the self or from others.

Finding out the truth in this mystery is top priority. But if Batman’s head is clouded and is beset by visions of his childhood wherein the Enchantress, a evil and powerful sorceress who is known more for her association with the Suicide Squad, has appeared to him more than once, then can his own mental faculties even be counted on to solve the crime of a lifetime? Could he have done it and not remember? Or could a higher and more potent supernatural force have tricked him into performing the one act that will literally damn Bruce Wayne for the rest of his life?

The issue brilliantly uses Constantine as a narrator and observer of the proceedings. It is his vantage point on things and of the supernatural that makes him the best person to drive the story forward and clue in the reader as to what Batman himself has been possibly missing. Batman, or as R’as Al Ghul calls him, The Detective, seems to always have had that “inhuman” quality of always being one step ahead of others, even against members of the Justice League. But what happens if his skills fail him because the supernatural is one mystery that he himself cannot prepare for and cannot comprehend? Just like Dante, he therefore would need his “Virgil”, his guide, into the gothic and paranormal underworld of Gotham City. Take this as the beginning of a journey, one that would both test the mettle of Bruce Wayne, both as the Caped Crusader and as a man dealing with his own past and re-examining his reasons for doing what he is doing and has done. 

The artwork by Lee is as real it gets. Gritty with vein-popping realism. The key to appreciating horror or at least understanding it, is to look at it head on, and not to turn away. And the art and penciling, not to mention the inking gives you more reasons to stay on the page, rather than away from it. Yes, dark reads! FTW!

The maiden issue also has drawn flack for showing Batman undressing in his Batcave and not just showing his rear side, but a glimpse of his  manhood, flaccid and dangling. Honestly, there is more to the story than just getting incensed about Batman’s “Dark Knight”. The label is for mature readers. And if people can’t look at a male organ without blowing up the internet, then DC should just pack it up and go and admit that this new imprint is a sham and not worth your time. But alas the comic titan has succumbed to pressure and DC has openly acknowledged the backlash and has promised to censor future reprints of the issue. So while, there are still maiden issues being sold, it is advised to quickly grab hold of one or settle for the scaled down version in future reprints. The issue itself has also increased it’s retail price in the US and is being sold at $60!!! You do the math!

As the Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step,” then what more for a man who is in doubt and at the risk of being damned. One step may not all be what is required of him. He is to rise above his doubt, his mortality and learn to accept the horrors of his past and the true horrors that happen alongside reality and live just outside the fringes, looking from the outside, hoping to find a way in.

Issue #2 of Batman: Damned is expected to drop on 11.21.18

Heroes in Crisis

Growing up we always felt that our childhood superheroes were extraordinary and perfect. All they needed to do was suit up, answer a call for help or fight injustice and go back to heroes headquarters after their work is done.

Who cares about their private lives? They don't need one.

In fact, we all thought that they never deserved one. Because they were heroes...our heroes who could fly, see through walls, punch a big hole in that same wall and perform feats that perpetuated our fantasy. That our heroes were gods and they were perfect.

But as time wore on, we found out that they were far from the shining beacon of hope that we pegged them to be. In truth, they were just like us. Human. Able to feel pain and would need some consolation and “Me-time”, when circumstances dictated it to be necessary.

That was the goal of Sanctuary; a place of healing and recovery for all heroes in the DC Universe. Created by the Trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman, it was the one place where our heroes can have their personal quality time to recuperate and recharge.

                                                                               

                                                     * S  P  O  I  L  E  R  S  *

That is until Superman arrives to find all of them dead!!! From Hot Spot to Blue Jay to Arsenal and even to the Flash (Wally West), all murdered in cold blood!!!

Meanwhile in another part of Nebraska, at a diner we see Booster Gold having a moment with Harley Quinn before we see them duking it out after Harley stabs him with a steak knife. He claims that she killed the heroes in Sanctuary. But Harley maintains that it was he who is off his rocker and that it was, He, Booster Gold, the superhero from the future, who killed them all. Granted that Harley Quinn herself was a former paramour of the Joker no less, she may be off her rocker herself.

And thus the mystery begins.

Written by Tom King, who is an ex-CIA counter terrorism officer and who wrote storylines that centered on violence and war for different titles like THE OMEGA MAN, THE SHERIFF of BABYLON, MISTER MIRACLE, VISION and GRAYSON and Clay Mann who has both worked for both DC and MARVEL, this is the kind of a first issue that shows a lot and yet does not. The kind of issue that urges readers to ask more questions than they are given answers. But that's the whole point of this former 6-issue but now turned 9-issue mystery of a mini-series. We don't know much about the history of Sanctuary. We don't know who were the other heroes that were treated and primarily who went berzerk and decided to dispose of their comrade-in-arms as summarily as he, she, or they did. What was the motive?

Compared to IDENTITY CRISIS by Brad Meltzer this first issue certainly angered fans who felt that some heroes needed to stay alive. But in a war for sanity and order, where casualties are bound to pile up and where post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) looms in every corner for every hero, every breakdown and case is a crisis in itself. And if our Heroes did not have someone else to turn to deal with their own issues, to a point where their inner demons take over their heroic persona, then we indeed have a crisis right here.

Issue #1 of HEROES in CRISIS now available in all local comic book stores. 

Issue #2 which features Harley on the cover using the Lasso of Truth on Batman will be available on October 24.

Goodbye Georgie. :(

Can't believe you left us too soon, #GeorgeMichael. You were one of my earliest musical heroes and will continue to be one We will miss you. Go find the #Freedom that you deserve and although this was your #LastChristmas, your songs will forever be with us, never a #CarelessWhisper uttered in the night while most of us are #PrayingForTime. You have touched many for #YouHaveBeenLoved. Your music may have been #TooFunky for some but just right for those in search of the real thing or even just #Fastlove. You've paved the way for a lot of artists so much so that the road for aspiring singers have become an #EasierAffair. And while you spoke to those who were on the #Outside looking in, you brought us into your world as you were #SpinningTheWheel and proved to us how music was therapy and yours, George was simply #Flawless and #Amazing! We will forever keep the #Faith. You are our mentor, brother, #FatherFigure, inspiration and more. Keep making good music from the ethers and we will keep on playing, #As we all live our lives from #ADifferentCorner and hope for the best in everything. 

RIP George Michael!

Inferno - Another brilliant tome from Dan

Just like the Da Vinci Code, the book is a fast paced read and replete with historical and factual data that makes it for me an alternative to sitting in history class. Like always Brown's prose delivers as much as his book nemesis does.

For this installment, the situation that is being called for and tackled head on is not a hidden conspiracy involving another secret organization but the issue of over population, a situation when if you think about it, is certainly dire and immediate. This condition, while certainly an issue in third world countries, has certainly become a fact that the entire world must consider looking into. From drastic measures to curb the problem to learning about transhumanism, Brown once more has successfully blended the art of the thriller while making a statement about the world we live in. So far this installment is his most direct approach to pointing a finger at an issue that even world leaders have not come to a solution at. While certainly a solution to accommodate a problem of this magnitude covers a wide range of affected individuals, it certainly begins with the self.

Self discipline. Self awareness and knowledge that each and every action we do, big or small, has ramifications, equally proportional, on the entire world. My hopes for this book is that it reminds people and those in power about the need to conserve our resources in the light of more people being born and coming into the world. If we can't apportion or use our resources properly to maximize the most number of people, then its our need to have bigger families these days that must be put into question. Issues of birth control and family planning certainly comes into play with this thought. And if we don't start thinking about it, our children or even grandchildren and future generations to come, may not have an adequate world to live in.

And that is the most frightening thought that dawned on me this morning as I finished my coffee.

The Year of Magic. Time for Injustice Year 3- Vol 1

 I’ve always been attracted to magic; in all its forms and incarnations. Imagine my delight when its finally given the chance to stretch its muscle into the DC Injustice storyline.

Fresh from the onslaught of the sentient Green Lantern planet named Mogo and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps (Year 2, Vol 2), casualties are abounding and humanity is left to deal with the damage. Be they humans, metas or magical folk, someone has lost someone in the aftermath of the war against Superman, as waged by Batman who recognizes that the Man of Steel has become the opposite of what he stood for; a dictator who is willing to pay the price just to impose and enforce his "kind" of peace. Since the previous issue, a lot of things have happened. Superman broke Batman's back. Oliver Queen, aka. The Green Arrow has died as well as Black Canary; but not before filming her own demise and Superman's magical confession and broadcasting it out into the world for all to see. Along with that, Superman has received a Yellow Ring from the master of Fear, Sinestro, who has taken sides with Superman. I take it that he is living vicariously thru Kal-El as the events remind him of his own reign as sole ruler of his home planet of Korugar. Add to this list of changes, Wonder Woman is also out of commission due to some magical maneuvering on the part of one man who orchestrated the battle at this stage of the game. 

One such person is John Constantine. Yes the radical Mage whose unorthodox methods border on the Machiavellian. He comes to aid Batman in his crusade to stop Superman while uncovering answers on his own. And since Superman has a weakness to magic, this was the perfect element to bring to the battle to ensure victory. And to do that certain things must come into play. First, Raven, needs to be taken out. Second, other magical users like Dr. Fate, Zatanna, Klarion, Jason Blood, Phantom Stranger needed also to be brought into the fold so that magic can have their day in the battle and tip the scales in Batmans favor. Third, Superman needs to be disabled with the use of magic.

Like in previous issues Tom Taylor has once again given us a fun and action filled read that collects the first 7 issues of Year 3. Constantine is his ever manipulative self and would go head to head with Batman as to who is calling the shots. (Yes, can’t have two manipulative folk in the same room) And a con man, pretty much like a leopard, never changes its spots so our charming but selfish mage, wields and deceives until he has quenched his thirst for revenge against Superman for brining the war to Earth, which claimed the life of Constantine’s wife.

  Wait, what? John’s married?

Okay, I give you permission to scratch your head. And he has a kid named Rose, who may or may not have some magical gifts herself. I sincerely hope that they explore this further. For now, I’m just gonna leave it here and because Constantine orchestrated this whole magical element into the fray, expect some twists and turns and no easy way to the the end goal. And any goal that is worth fighting for, is worth gunning for. Like this collected volume, its worth reading. Better yet, its worth keeping. I did.

Anne Rice and Westeros

My fave author, Anne Rice, referenced Game of Thrones in the recent LA talks with her son Christopher, during the promotion of her latest book in the Vampire Chronicles, Prince Lestat. In the talk, she replied to Christopher's question that generally books like Harry Potter, Vampire Chronicles, the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larssen, tap into some general struggle or journey and that without it, there is not much "meat" for the story to latch on to and thus not make it engaging for readers. Anne said that generally that is true but Game of Thrones broke the mold for having a singular hero undergoing a journey. She said that because the hero whom we thought to be in Book 1/Season 1 was apparently not. I wonder though, if Ned Stark, is George RR Martin's statement on idealism? That it's risky to be seeing life through rose colored glasses in this cynical and practical and at times, user-friendly world that we live in.

Truly Ned for all his faults as a king, was honorable and perhaps even faultless in the eyes of his supporters. And that whatever information he withheld or altered to suit the need for secrecy concerning Jon Snow's true lineage is definitely something he needed to do. I wonder too if in this day and age, Idealism is dead. Has everyone started to become jaded about everything and everyone else. And anyone who holds that kind of thinking or viewpoint will ultimately be sacrificed and thrown into the fire, because for the sole reason that what the majority wants and deems right and proper, matter. That the majority always would rule. And anyone who is not conforming to that should be silenced or learn to keep their views to themselves. Anything else is fodder.

What do you think?

Sharing the video clip of that talk too here. Enjoy and keep writing.

Catching up on Fury's Big Week - Avenger's Prelude

I usually stay away from prequel stories leading into the cinematic versions but given that this copy was on sale, I figured why the heck not. Plus this is all about Fury and all the background scenario that happens from Iron Man 2 up to the beginning of the Avengers.

All this is told from Fury's point of view, from monitoring the progress of Tony Stark following his offer about the Avengers Initiative at the end of Iron Man to Stark's drunken fit from his condo in Iron Man 2 to the recruitment of Clint Barton, aka. Hawkeye in Thor as well as Natasha Romanov's confrontation of Dr. Samuel Sterns in his lab in Hulk 2 after Banner storms thru the streets of New York battling the abomination General Ross has created.

As not everything can be told or divulged in the movie versions or even in the bonus scenes, the comics are the best medium to provide additional material that will complement and enhance once's knowledge of the Marvel cinematic Universe and equally provide a little more character insight into our favorite heroes.

Fury has got his hands full with keeping the peace in different situations that stem from one Marvel movie to another and he doesn't need a man like General Ross on his hands either who remarked the best line of this graphic novel for me.

Ross - "The World needs people like us Fury. I'm out on the battlefield killing our enemies and you're safe behind a wall protecting all the secrets that everyday citizens can't handle. You're the SHIELD and I'm the SWORD."

Fury - "You're not sharp enough to be a SWORD, General."

This may be an Avengers Prequel graphic novel but most of the solo films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are a way of building up to the Avengers itself and so its only natural that the flow of 4-issue graphic novel be of the same vein.

So is there Continuity in this graphic novel? YES

Is there a fair amount of exposition for our characters? YES

Do other secondary but equally important characters like Coulson, Sitwell, Selvig and others make an apperance? YES

Should you at least borrow or get a copy?...........(in full FURY mode) ....Hell YEAH!

Winter Soldier 4: The Electric Ghost

What a fortuitous event to have found this at Book Sale yesterday after coming out of the cinema following my first day viewing of Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier.

While the movie deserves more than a two thumbs up and certainly ups the ante for Marvel in terms of their Cinematic Universe, reading this volume as a part of a bigger and collective work pertaining to the ever unfolding events of the Winter Soldier himself, make me regard the book as something that is best read in its entirety along with the other volumes. This being Volume 4, after all and collects Issues 15-19. This then had me for a mad scramble to look for the first 3 volumes.

Hope other Book Sale branches would have them. Wish me luck.

This 4th volume marks the departure of Ed Brubaker from the creative team and has Jason Latour at the helm. Reading this certainly makes me even more curious for the other compilations and henceforth with this volume, I will certainly be on the lookout for more. Winter Soldier, or he who I will not name (don't want to spoil Muggles), has gone thru a lot and I wait for more compilations to turn up to further enhance my history of this tragic and broken character.

Redemption is indeed possible. That is is if one is aware on how to tread the road for it and if one is brave enough to get on it.

And while you are at it, go catch the Winter Soldier currently playing in local theaters now. Let's see if this whets your appetite for curiosity. :)



If you're happy with that, here's the official first 4 minute preview. Then we talk. :)

Welcome to the Diabolical

Another brilliant addition to my TRESE collection from the master, Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. Filipino urban fantasy, dark noir at its best.

If you have not read any volumes of TRESE, this could be a good way to start as the original prequel of a story, "One Last Drink at the Diabolical" is included. But if you already are familiar and love TRESE, the Kambal and those back stories what we never gotten around to read about, then this first compilation is for you; or rather for us.

My fave story in this Volume is "The Usual Spot". The senti and hopeless romantic in me is so touched by this story and makes me wonder if Master Budjette foresees a love angle for our beloved heroine in the near future? And since this is the first collection, I am hoping for more back stories involving TRESE and her sidekicks, the Kambal as supernatural protector of the city.

But for now, you gotta get this and add to your TRESE collection. Or better yet. Read them all again. :)

ARROW- Year One

Although I'm not a fan of the art but definitely great writing by Andy Diggle. I wonder if the Diggle character in the series Arrow is purposely named to pay homage to this writer, but nonetheless a little different from the origin story we've seen played out over the CW.

Oliver Queen still is the same spoiled rich kid who finds himself betrayed and left for dead after being thrown overboard his own ship. He washes up on an island and it is here where his mettle is tested and is faced with the hard truth about life, survival and friendship. If you have not watched the tv series, I suggest you do ASAP after reading this or let the series supplement what you would discover about Ollie upon reading this reworked origin story.

He may be not my favorite DC character, but ya gotta admit, it does have heart. And that matters much when you wanna be pulled into reading something of value and substance.

Blood Oath - Here's Nathaniel Cade; the President's Vampire

First of all, anyone and everyone who knows me know that when it comes to Vampires, I just gravitate towards them like a moth to a flame. It started with Anne Rice and went on further than that.

Now seeing a book like this with the by-line and touted as the Vampire thriller that Dan Brown would have written, if in case he ever did, was enough to make me take notice. Although at first, I dismissed it quickly thinking of whatever angles would they think of next when it comes to our fanged brethren, as it it seemed like a desperate idea to forcefully graft an iconic creature such as this in our present world. Others have done so and have done wonders with it. While others, although lambasted for their efforts, were still met with the same form of success and scorn. While other throwaway Vampire novels, feel like they have not been well thought out.

But a well thought out novel is what this book really is a product of.

Enter Nathaniel Cade. He is a Vampire that has no time to deal with your crap and gets the job done when needed. Of course he should, for he is bound by duty to do whatever the US President asks of him. Unlike the brooding Vampires of late, he is decisive, quick, and very much the epitome of an efficient secret agent, except daylight can still incapacitate him to a degree.

Enter Zack Barrows, a young whiny man that gets the promotion of a lifetime. But in this case, working for the White House under covert and unconventional terms.

Put these two together and enmesh it with a new villain whom I won't be surprised if he surfaces again in future Cade titles, as well as a thought out streamlined plot, then you have for yourself a wonderful good read that is both light, fast-paced and hard to let go.

The only reason that it is one star short of 5, is because I felt the author could have given us more of Cade as well as the surprise allegiances and twists that Dan Brown himself has seemingly made a trademark of his own writing with. But nonetheless, it is still a good read and a breakthrough effort of a debut novel.

With that said, I sooo need to find my 2nd book, underneath the tons of books in my very own Book Box. :)


ps. The Author responds to my tweets on Twitter...consider me star strucked. Wouldn't you be? :)

Green Lantern Corps- New 52

All is new (to some degree) but not well in the GL Universe as this New 52 collection opens with the murder of two Lanterns in their own Sector House in Sector 3599 by seemingly invisible intruders that are immune to the Green Power Ring. With that the mystery is set and we move on to find our heroes, Lantern Gardner and John Stewart having issues with having to find a real day job as a coach and (with some red tape) an architect, respectively. It seems they are coming to accept and realize that they can do more good being a Lantern than having to balance a real and normal life in the process, as according to Gardner, “it’s not all that’s cracked up to be.”

 Returning to Oa, they respond to a crisis on Sector 3599; the water planet Nerro, only to find it drained completely of water with the inhabitants of the planet all piled up with the exception of the bodies of two Green Lanterns skewered for all to see, sending the message to our Corps that this new baddie means business. The planet’s water, as revealed in the succeeding panels, has somehow been transported, or in this case, teleported to an unknown location ruled by a cloaked figure that has “missed the sound of the sea”. He responds to a report of a problem on the planet Xabas. And the problem is really more of Gardner and rest of the Corps trying to prevent the teleporting of another natural resource, this time the trees and forests. They are soon met by a force coming out of the warp hole dressed in black but wielding green energy blades that proves troublesome for our heroes as they are immune to the power of the Lantern ring.

                                                              *spoiler begins....*

Luckily for them, Lantern Porter from Oa with the capability of teleporting fellow Lanterns arrives just in the nick of time and proves to be the much needed reinforcement. But in spite of his best efforts, not all Lanterns were brought safely back to Oa. As it is, Lantern Vandor and Stewart were just some of the GL’s left behind for Lantern Porter was unable to teleport them all back. But in spite of the defeat, Gardner was able to capture one of the new baddies for interrogation and when they couldn’t make any progress, Jonn Jonz aka. Martian Manhunter came in and with his empathic abilities extracted the much needed intel and revealing these new baddies to be called The Keepers. And that they are called such for they are the ones tending to all of the batteries of each and every Green Lantern!

 If you’d recall, the Lanterns safekeep their personal batteries in an undisclosed pocket universe for easy and effortless access. Now it seems these Keepers want more and are after the Central Power Battery in OA. Their existence was only known to the Guardians after the “Smurfs” discovered the existence of the planet called Urak. Its atmospheric core allowed an instantaneous conduit that allowed unlimited retrieval of a battery for every Green Lantern. The inhabitants of the planet were thus provided for in perpetuity, in exchange for “keeping” the batteries safe. But it was only a short time ago that the Guardians, without warning whatsoever, came in and removed each and every battery from the Keeper’s custody and thus severing the connection that has already formed between all the Lantern batteries and the planet as it served as a “crop” and sustained the planet and its people and infused their DNA with an already potent resource of “Will”. Without the Lanterns, the planet began to die.

 This explains why the Keepers pillaged different planets for their different resources in order to stay alive. Meanwhile back on Urak, Lantern Stewart, Vandor and Kirrt are being interrogated, or should I say, tortured by the leader of the Keepers in disclosing to them the Vibrational Matrix signature that will allow them to breach Oa’s orbital force field without alerting the Guardians to their “stargate”. The interrogation which consisted of electrocution on top of three days without food and water proved to be too much even for a stalwart Lantern. And at the last minute when Lantern Kirrt was about to disclose the code and give way, John Stewart does what we say is the unthinkable, which is dispose of a fellow Lantern by twisting his neck and hereby leaving his ring to look for a new recruit. That served as the much needed distraction Stewart needed to break free temporarily from the Keepers and fly out onto the barren field while running on reserved energy.

 And just when it’s back to square one for my favorite Lantern Stewart, Guy Gardner, armed with military weapons, along with the Mean Machine; a group of bad-ass Lanterns camping out below Gardner’s own bar called Warriors underneath Oa, comes to the rescue and engages the Keepers head on. And of course you could count on Gardner to think of a crazy idea and follow thru. He deduced that the only way to fight someone with that much willpower is to not engage it with the same element that fuels it but give it what it lacks, which is the element of FEAR. So he drops a “Fear Bomb” on the Keepers by way of two Sinestro Corps War prisoners kept in one of the science cells. The cells detonate on contact and imbue the Keepers with Fear and had them begging for mercy; which is pretty much the antithesis of how they were moments before.

The situation is soon resolved and decided upon by the Guardians (of course) that the Keepers dig a grave of each and every one of their victims, which according to Gardner is a lifelong sentence. The compilation ends with Lantern John Stewart bringing Lantern Kirrt’s body to his home planet of Lorror on Sector 2451, where not only was Kirrt regarded a hero by his family and also the recipient of a tombstone befitting a Lantern. All in all Peter Tomasi again has done a whirlwind of a good ride with this First volume of the New 52 for Green Lantern Corps that collects Issues 1-7. While I was expecting a cliffhanger of an ending, it was rather an emotional one with John Stewart accepting his guilt at having to kill Kirrt in order to protect the Corps and leaving it out from his report. Lantern Vandorr doesn’t condemn what Stewart had to do but also reminds John that at times the Corps needs someone to act as their conscience and that he is it.

 Stewart for his most part may be racking up his list of high profile body counts by adding Kirrt to this list, as well as the decimation of the Planet Xanshi and most recently of Lantern Mogo, during the War of the Green Lanterns, who if in case you didn’t know was also a planet. But John Stewart, when you think about it, is the best person to handle radical life and death situations like these, for not only has he made difficult decisions and lived through them, his military background also allows him to focus on the task at hand, prevent his emotions from getting the best of him just to get the job done. Now does that make him the perfect emotionless Lantern that some may label him to be?

 On the contrary, he is the Lantern that has a lot of emotion and heart to go around, and is good at having to distill what amount of it needs to be shown, needs to be channelled in order to continue to be good at his job. That’s why it was no surprise that prior to the New 52 and during the Brightest Day crisis, he was offered to become an Alpha Lantern; to which his quick thinking prevailed and allowed him to deny the post and think clearly at the consequences of being one. All in all it was good, for should that have happened, we probably would have one more emotionless sentry going about their duty and only seeing a situation in absolutes; the black or the white. But lucky for us, John still remains human and is willing to navigate the gray areas of being a Lantern. And that I think is a key ingredient why he has survived thus far and why the Universe is all the more better for it.

Can't wait for the next volume that pits our beloved Corps with a nemesis closer to home and more of the ramifications of John Stewart's decision to kill off a fellow Lantern.

Thank you, Peter Tomasi. :)