Comic Review: The Green Lantern (2018-) #7

The Green Lantern #7

DC Comics

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: Liam Sharp

The Green Lantern has been consistently one of the best DC books since it started about half a year ago. It’s managed to weave six issues that feel entirely distinct into one engaging narrative. This issue continues the trend of telling one complete story in a single issue but does seem to be separate from the others. This isn’t a bad thing, as it still manages to add quite a bit to the mythos and make even the most mundane aspects of the lore feel meaningful.

This issue feels completely different from any that came before. Not only due to the disconnect with the rest of the plot, but also in terms of its structure. While the story itself is plenty intriguing, it doesn’t feel like the point. The point of this issue, really, is to allow Sharp and Morrison to play with the format of a comic book. Morrison is no stranger to implementing prose work into his comics, but with this issue he blends the prose with the comics storytelling in an interesting way. He switches back and forth between them, rather than choosing one or the other. It reads like an experimental storybook in some places, and a traditional comic book in others.

While it is a team effort, Liam Sharp’s pencils are what really ties this all together. He abandons the traditional idea of a “panel” in favor of a more connected page. The panels are often open, just bleeding into one another. This allows your eyes to flow from one prose paragraph to the next in a different way than most comics. It’s not overly flashy, it’s just the right choice for this kind of storytelling. Comics tend to be more about moments, whereas prose tends to focus more on how the words blend together to evoke a feeling. Sharp’s art reflects this beautifully, and demonstrates a perfect understanding of this idea.

The story itself, while ultimately not as intriguing as the way it’s told, still has a lot to say. This issue takes place inside a universe that is inside Hal’s ring. In other words, it’s a Grant Morrison book. It introduces a character that we’re meant to believe is entirely new. However, it’s revealed to be someone who’s actually very important to Hal. I’m trying not to spoil anything, but this revelation adds depth to the most basic concepts in Green Lantern. It makes something as small charging the ring feel emotional and important, when before it only felt like a plot convenience. It’s a story that I never felt needed to be told, and yet I’m glad that it was.

The Green Lantern #7 is, at the end of the day, a successful experiment. It perfects the combination of prose and comics storytelling and makes the two feel like partners. It does what Morrison does best, and re-contextualizes what you knew about a character that you have known for years. If you like comics that play with the form, you’re not likely to find a better example from Marvel and DC than you are with this issue.