COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Red Lanterns: Death of the Red Lanterns

With all that is happening in the world, I think that it’d be fair to say that if all the Lantern Corps were real, the Red Lanterns would be doing pretty well. The last novel in the series I read told the story of Atrocitus and his Red Lanterns, along with the recruitment of a human, Jack Moore, into their Corps.

‘The Death of the Red Lanterns’ is exactly what it says it is. It tells the story of how Atrocitus when attempting to create his first Lantern, created Abysmus, a malformed creature who he then decided to bury, believing him to be dead. However, Abysmus was alive, and upon re-emerging, poisons the Red Lantern Central Battery, thus slowly killing all the Red Lanterns. Suddenly, Atrocitus, Bleez and the former Jack Moore, now known as Rankorr, go in search of Abysmus in order to reverse the poison and save their Corps.

I have to say that I didn’t enjoy this novel very much. I found the story to be a little tedious, and certain issues containing Stormwatch, some superhero team that deals with alien threats, seemed unnecessary to me. I did feel like there was some character progression in terms of Bleez and Rankorr, but again, not enough.

The artwork was not my favourite, in certain parts it seemed messy and I whereas I can appreciate that it was supposed to be a distinct style, I wasn’t a fan. The covers were also not great, apart from the one above. Overall, I thought this novel was a downgrade in the series, and I hope it can pick up!

Favourite Panel:

Whilst Apollo and Martian Manhunter fight Atrocitus...

Favourite Character:

Again, it’s Rankorr, but I do wish I’d seen more of him!

Rating:

• Story Arc: ★★½

• Character Development: ★★½

• Artwork: ★★½

• Enjoyability: ★★½

• Re-readability: ★★

Level: Advanced