Green Lantern Corps: Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns

Green Lantern Corps:Revolt of the Alpha-Lanterns is maybe my favorite GL Corps story yet. This trade collects 48-52 and then takes you backwards with 21-22 which is sometimes very upsetting when trades do that but this is not the case and once you read the first five issues of the story you will really like what those issues have to bring. The first five issues of the story take place right after Blackest Night and is written by Tony Bedard which his writing is amazing, basically what is going on is the Alpha-Lanterns are being mind controlled by Superman-prime which himself is now a Alpha-Lantern and now has the abilities to control them. The characters in the story are used very well you have John Stewart which is really nice to see him star in this book and not be Hal Jordans sidekick on the main GL book and then you have Ganthet which he's pretty awesome in this, Kyle Rayner and Natu have a really nice sub-plot in this which is going to be used in the next story and finally you have Alpha-Lantern Boddikka which you come to love if your really not familar with the character like I was.Overrall this is a very good book and if you didn't read Blackest Night or anything else you will be fine because they basically recap with everything thats happened and anyone who is a big Green Lantern fan or just Corps fan will enjoy this all the way. The art is really nice and agian if you have been reading this series so far its sad to see Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason leave and not to mention the star in this book Guy Gardner only to have a cameo but with the new team and Stewart replacing him is really good so its hard to stay sad.

I've always found the Alpha Lanterns kind of creepy, and they do a REALLY good job of capturing that here. I won't go into spoilers, but the villain of the piece fits in perfectly with the turncoat behavior of the Alphas. I've also always loved anything to do with Kyle Rayner or John Stewart, who are GREAT characters. Plus, there's a whole story within a story about Ganthet becoming one of the Corps, and he's another really great character who now has a chance to shine with the other Corps heroes that get showcased in this title. The adventure and art are great, and the story is a powerful one as the Corps sets out to find out what happened to the Alpha Lanterns, which later culminates in the redemption of Boodika, who's always been a very interesting character as well. The emotion is really captured by her 'voice over' dialogue, and we learn a lot about the inner workings of the Alpha Lanterns. I'd have rated the story higher, especially the main 4 parter Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns. I didn't care as much for the subsequent two parter that focused on Boodika and her sister, The Curse of the Alpha Lanterns, but it wasn't a bad little story. So like I said, overall, a solid A grade across the board. If you're a fan of the Green Lantern Corp, then I don't think you'll be disappointed. Thanks so much for your time folks. Sincerely, R.A. McDowell

Basically this book comes in 2 story arcs: "Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns" and "Curse of the Alpha Lanterns." The problem is that they are out of chronological order. If you are reading through the Green Lantern/Green Lantern Corps story line leading up to Blackest Night, READ THE SECOND HALF of this ("Curse") before reading "Rage of the Red Lanterns." It's a great set up and makes some character motivations a lot more clear.When you read through Blackest Night and Brightest Day story-lines, then read "Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns."Both the story arcs are good and fit in well with Blackest Night/Brightest Day, but it suffers from the DC Editing issues. If this quick write-up was unclear, check out the reviews of the hard-copy cover of this book, written by Cultural Production. Found here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2MM1GSIQEFK1N/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=140123139X&nodeID=283155&store=books

Green Lantern Corps: Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns collects Green Lantern Corps #48-52, originally published in 2010, and Green Lantern Corps #21-22, originally published in 2008. Like most DC hardcovers, the graphic novel features overly glossy paper and unfinished boards (though, in this case, with gold foil-stamping). The editing is horrendous: not only has the editor, Bob Harras, removed the original issue numbers and omitted a table of contents, he's also put the two featured storylines in reverse chronological order without even indicating that he's done so--a move likely to confuse many readers.As for the stories themselves, Revolt of the Alpha-Lanterns, written by Tony Bedard, is an entertaining though somewhat rushed mystery/thriller in which Boodikka, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Ganthet investigate a missing Lantern and a planet that has curiously gone quiet. The story suffers some side-plots that remain extremely undeveloped (at least in this volume), but overall Green Lantern fans should enjoy it as it serves up some interesting updates to the post-Blackest-Night Green Lantern universe. The second story, The Curse of the Alpha-Lantern, which should actually precede the first (it takes place between  Green Lantern Corps: Ring Quest  and  Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire ), is something of an origin story for the Alpha-Lantern, Boodikka. Though considered on its own it makes for a fairly good character study, the positioning of it *after* the Revolt story robs it of much of its drama. Because the story lacks any kind of editorial frame indicating that it is an earlier tale, it is also likely to confuse readers since its premise contradicts the ending of Revolt. The art, by Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes on Revolt and Nelson on Curse, is solid superhero stuff but nothing extraordinary.If you're a Green Lantern fan, you'll want to pick this up, despite the terrible editing. More casual readers are likely to be very confused--you're better off picking up earlier volumes of the series, such as  Green Lantern Corps: Recharge  or  Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: To Be a Lantern .

Great