For months there was all this hype about the Sinestro Corps, which sounded a bit retarded on the surface. But, after having read it, this is easily one of the best Green Lantern issues I’ve ever read. It had a bit of everything: history, retconning, a great plot, and a lot of action. Saying that this issue is “good” or “great” or anything less than “fucking perfect” is a sin. Geoff Johns has managed to make the series which was starting to sort of flag lately great again. All it took was one issue. ONE ISSUE!

Why should you care? Here are 5 reasons:

1. Superboy-Prime is free. Why does this matter? It took the entire Teen Titans and half of the JSA/JLA to just subdue Superboy-Prime in Infinite Crisis. Him simply being released wiped out a ton of Green Lanterns.

   

   Look at the expression on Hal Jordan’s face!

2. Ion is actually a sentient being like Parallax.

   

   On the surface this might seem like an unpopular idea. A lot of people hated that Parallax was a personification of fear, but I was one of the few people that liked that idea. It made more sense than Hal Jordan just being grief stricken and going on a rampage. I’m hoping for a fight between Parallax and Ion in their energy states.

3. Kyle Rayner is possessed by Parallax.

   

   Even though I get the feeling that DC is gearing up to kill Kyle Rayner off, it is still a great transition for the character. He has been through some tough shit lately, and allying him with the group that killed off his mother is great on so many levels. Even though I’m sure it will turn into Hal Jordan talking Kyle out of doing something horrible because he can relate to being possessed with Parallax… at least Kyle has an actual internal struggle now. It used to be that he bitched, moaned, and pissed about for issues upon issues. Not so much anymore. He is the Green Lantern Corp’s future, and now he is their ultimate foe.

4. The Anti-Monitor is leading this.

   

   Even though this entire “herald” business sounds a bit like ripping off Galactus having the Anti-Monitor create the Sinestro Corps is flat out great. This guy can take hits from Superman and now he has Hank Henshaw, Parallax, Sinestro, and Superboy-Prime at his side.

5. This will more than likely come to a head in Countdown. So far Countdown has sucked, and the sales figures for it show it. While 52 rocked constantly, Countdown is something I just thumb through at the local comic book store and put back. Having this war spill into Countdown across Multi-Verses (this is the Anti-Monitor we are dealing with) could combine the best parts of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, and 52: a weekly serial with a lot of action.

Other things that make this series rule:

1. Killowog VS Arkillo. It has to be done, if it isn’t done then this entire series is a waste.
2. Despotellis is a virus. A virus. They gave a ring to a virus!
3. A possible battle on Mogo. Imagine Superboy-Prime returning to Mogo, where he “lost” his powers, and taking his revenge on the Green Lantern Corps. If they throw in Superman it will rock faces off.
4. Geoff Jones knows that bad guys should be bad: Of course. And you know, I wanted to stack the deck against the Green Lanterns with a big unified group. One thing I always hated in comics was arguing villains, because if you had a group of villains who argued, it would make it easier for the hero to defeat them. To me, it always made the hero less. Because I always wanted the villains who made the reader go, like… “Holy-!” I wanted the villains who would make you fear for these heroes. I want you to be afraid for your favorite characters. The whole point of this book is about fear. And so I wanted to stack the deck as high as I could. I wanted people to put the book down and say, “they’re dead,” but with an anticipating smile.
   Source.
5. More Power Rings:

   

   Also a widely hated idea, but I think that Geoff Jones has a great idea here: every emotion should have a power, and if there is a ring to channel that power then great.

This issue is how you revive attention in multiple series at once. After reading this I immediately picked up a subscription to Green Lantern Corps and Countdown to supplement my reading of Green Lantern. This will rule, you can count on it. Go out and buy it.