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Green Lanterns #36 Review: Odd Finish to the Arc but with a Great New Villain

Green Lanterns Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz are before a Corps Honor Guard inquiry. Someone has died on their recent encounter, and the Honor Guard want to know if the Green Lanterns were ethical in their dealing with the situation.

This framing brings us back to the arrival of Singularity Jain and her attempts to kill Bolphunga and his elderly father. Jess and Simon are unwilling to let that happen. Simon takes the two men far away from Jain while Jessica has a showdown with the walking black hole.

Green Lanterns #36 cover by Mike McKone and Dinei Ribeiro
Green Lanterns #36 cover by Mike McKone and Dinei Ribeiro

Singularity Jain quickly proves to be an interesting new rogue in this issue. She is pure evil yet brimming with personality. Her powers are quite dangerous and give her near-equal footing with the Green Lanterns.

We are also given some more insight into the fears of Green Lantern Jessica Cruz.

Bolphunga is pushed slightly into the background in this issue, but he is given some emotional moments with his father which definitely add some substance to the proceedings.

This does bring us to the slightly odd resolution/moral of the comic. While the previous issue touched on the vicious cycle of incarceration and release in regards to Bolphunga, that's relegated to some brief lip service about John Stewart needing to learn how to better judge potential criminals.

Instead, Bolphunga learns to stand up for himself and fight his own battles. While that is technically a part of Bolphunga's problems, and it does lead to a fairly satisfying solution for the alien, that's not his main problem. His main problem is that he needs to learn that beating the tar out of people and being a general bastard isn't how to best advance one's station in life. He also needs to be given more of a chance by others such as the Green Lantern Corps. Those angles are just left to flutter in the wind, and Bolphunga just becomes the brawler he always pretended to be anyway. That's not really that satisfying a resolution for this story.

Green Lanterns #36 art by Ronan Cliquet and Hi-Fi
Green Lanterns #36 art by Ronan Cliquet and Hi-Fi

Ronan Cliquet's artwork is quite good as per usual. Bolphunga has a great visual design, Singularity Jain has some interesting changes throughout the comic, and our two Green Lanterns look as great as ever. Hi-Fi's colorwork is as strong as ever, and the comic is all the more visually dazzling for his effort.

Despite some flaws, Green Lanterns #36 is another strong entry in the series, and I have become confident in Tim Seeley's ability to continue what Sam Humphries started. The characters are as endearing as ever, Jain and Bolphunga are good antagonists, and the art of Cliquet and Hi-Fi is great. This one earns yet another recommendation, and you should definitely check this series out if you haven't already.



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Joshua DavisonAbout Joshua Davison

Josh is a longtime super hero comic fan and an aspiring comic book and fiction writer himself. He also trades in videogames, Star Wars, and Magic: The Gathering, and he is also a budding film buff. He's always been a huge nerd, and he hopes to contribute something of worth to the wider geek culture conversation. He is also happy to announce that he is the new Reviews Editor for Bleeding Cool. Follow on Twitter @joshdavisonbolt.
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