Comic Review: Green Lantern (2022) #12

Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Geoffrey Thorne

Artists: Tom Raney, Marco Santucci, & Mike Atiyeh

Letterer: Rob Leigh

Green Lantern #12 concludes the arc that Geoffrey Thorne and the rest of the creative team has been building since DC’s soft reboot last year. While the series hasn’t been consistently entertaining, there have certainly been some highs. Fortunately, Green Lantern #12 has a few more highs as it ties everything together as well as one can ask. 

Following the climax from the previous issue, Thorne uses this issue to set up the Green Lantern line for the future, though we don’t know when that future will continue since there aren’t any Lantern titles listed in the next few months’ solicitations. Not every character gets a neat or fair ending, though John Stewart certainly gets one. The character has been a central character throughout the arc, and he has now been set up for a bigger role in the universe in the future. Fans of the character will certainly have something to look forward to, though fans of other Lanterns like Simon may feel disappointed. 

As neatly as everything is tied, the issue still struggles with what has plagued this series. It just isn’t the most entertaining comic on the stands. Sure there are some great moments, but the dialogue is too wordy and it feels like this whole issue exists to explain things for the future, rather than just tell an entertaining story. Hardcore fans will likely dig it, but more casual readers will feel like the payoff wasn’t worth it. 

While the script itself is certainly disappointing, the colors by Mike Atiyeh are not. Atiyeh does a phenomenal job using just about every color imaginable to make this issue a feast for the eyes. The first page sets a high standard, and Atiyeh keeps living to that standard throughout the entire issue. Raney and Santucci’s art looks solid too, with the cosmic bits in particular really shining. Some of the expressions and poses throughout the issue look somewhat unnatural, but it doesn’t ruin the experience. Leigh’s letters are solid with some great creative decisions thrown around. It’s noticeable but also never distracting, it simply enhances the experience. 

While it is a fine ending to Thorne’s story, this issue doesn’t do enough to make Green Lantern a series that’s easy to recommend. It suffers from the same issues that have plagued the series, and if it wasn’t for the remarkable colors, this would be a forgettable issue. Still, if you have stuck with the series this long, it’s worth it to get a glimpse of the future of this franchise.