New Guardians has been one of the more interesting titles I’ve been reading. Bringing together representatives of all the various corps was an idea that kind of worried starting out, but all those worries have been dashed away. This issue continues the mystery of what has brought the different corpsmen together and reveals who exactly Invictus is, and what purpose his star system sized ship will play.
Invictus’ reveals his back story after Saint Walker attempts to ease his rage. It turns out that the star system Vega, used to be under protection of Invictus and others of his kind. That is until Larfleeze AKA Agent Orange came into possession of the orange lantern. Agent Orange possessed the power to capture his victim’s souls and reanimate them in his army of constructs. But, whenever he killed one of Invicitus’ people their spirit would pass on to their kindred before his ring could steal them away. This drove Larfleeze to hunt down and kill all of the “angels” in the vain attempt to turn one into his construct. But, because he couldn’t capture one, their combined essence flowed into Invictus making him more powerful than Larfleeze, but Agent Orange was still able to rip Invictus’ wings off and banish him into another universe. Then it turns out that Invictus wants Kyle to kill Larfleeze.
Tony Bedard is spinning a gripping tale. I can’t wait to see how all of this is going to play out. I really like that Bedard is making Larfleeze more of a villain again, and not so much comic relief (Christmas special anyone?). Invictus’ history is tragic and does well to explain how he can go to toe-to-toe with Larfleeze or easily take out the members of the Corps. Invictus is beautifully written as a tragic hero. He was once protector of the Vega system until Larfleeze cast him out of this universe. And you can understand why he would want to replace the planets in the Vega system with the solar system ship he brought with him.
Tyler Kirkham is quickly becoming my favorite Green Lantern artist out there (and not just for the fact he’s drawing my favorite GL). His stuff is always clean, crisp, and it just looks great. Facial expressions on the characters are so well done that they could tell the story themselves. If there’s any issue I have, it’s with the banner on the cover. It just looks out of place and mars an otherwise fantastic cover from Kirkham.
I have a feeling that this arc is going to have a major conclusion. Invictus’ request of Kyle to kill Larfleeze is pretty stunning, considering it seems like he could do it himself. Larfleeze’s return to major antagonist is long overdue and I especially like that his own greed for an angel construct was the reason Invictus became as powerful as he did. This is definitely one of the better titles on the shelf nowadays, do yourself a favor and pick it up as soon as possible.
Art: 9/10
Script: 8.5/10
Parental concern: Just a good ol’ fashioned brawl.
I can’t get over Agent Orange.
