Review: Green Lantern Vol. 6- The Life Equation

Quick Summary

Pros: The crossover event contains several thrilling moments. The collection’s finale introduces an unexpected but interesting tease for the next major story arc. The artwork is mostly positive.

Cons: Some pieces of the crossover event are unappealing. One of the book’s stories is just average and doesn’t really stand out. 

Overall: This volume is mediocre in most places but does very well in others. The collection has some great moments from its main characters, a conclusion that makes you want to read more, and some solid artwork to back it all up. However, some chapters are very forgettable and others have a few negatives that end up mostly balancing out the positives. The collection may be worth it for those interested in Hal’s overall story progression, especially since it has some great moments from him, but may not be worth it for everyone.

Story

Like many of the recent books in the Green Lantern series, Green Lantern Vol. 6: The Life Equation, by Robert Venditti, is a bit mixed. The pieces of the Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead (Review) crossover are engaging and have some of the event’s most thrilling moments. In addition, the collection’s conclusion does a wonderful job with setting up the next story arc. However, there are problems with the way the crossover handles logic and storytelling and a few of the chapters here end up being just alright. This is far from a bad volume but it still struggles in rising above anything other than just average.

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The Life Equation starts with the Green Lantern chapters from the Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead (Review) crossover event. Like the full event, these chapters are a bit mixed when it comes to quality. The overall narrative is interesting and seeing the war play out is exciting. However, there are problems with how some of the event’s logic and Highfather’s sudden change of heart, at the event’s conclusion, comes across as cheesy rather than meaningful.

Luckily, The Life Equation has the benefit of containing some of the best chapters from that crossover. Hal Jordan’s twisting and turning solo quest allows him to experience this event’s best moments. He has the idea to recruit Black Hand, he is there when the Source Wall comes to life, and he is the one to fully capitalize on the return of Saint Walker’s Ring. Seeing these moments back to back is fun and still gives readers a solid picture of the event as a whole.

From here, The Life Equation has the Green Lantern series take a breather by having Hal take some time off from the Corps. It is an enjoyable reprieve that works well with the flow of this series. However, it doesn’t really stand out as anything that positive. It spends a while talking about emotions and the recent troubles in Hal’s life but never digs deep enough to feel truly meaningful.

Then, The Life Equation begins laying out the groundwork for the next major arc in this series. It has Hal realize that the Green Lantern Corps is truly hated throughout the universe and that the only way for this problem to be fixed is if someone takes the fall for the Corps’ past actions. So Hal, in another action befitting the “Greatest Green Lantern”, decides that he will be the one to take the fall. This decision is a great showcase of Hal’s character and opens plenty of new possibilities for the series that I am intrigued to see play out.

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Art

The Life Equation demonstrates, once again, that the artwork in this Green Lantern series is one of its strongest points. Billy Tan has an awesome grasp on how to make the events of a space-traveling police force as epic as they should be. His approach flows well, is creative, and brings a nice level of realism to the book. The highlight of Tan’s work can be seen at the finale to the Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead crossover, where Tan’s artwork goes a long way in making several epic moments look even more epic. Meanwhile, Francis Portela and Scott McDaniel’s chapters are not quite as detailed but their chosen art style suits the New Gods wonderfully. The crisp and clean approach feels slightly evocative of Kirby and, thus, presents these characters in a way that feels authentic. In general, the visuals in this book look good and make this an aesthetically-pleasing read.

Continuity

Green Lantern Vol. 6: The Life Equation mostly continues the story from Green Lantern Vol. 5: Test of Wills (Review) but takes place immediately after New Gods: Godhead #1, currently only collected in Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead (Review).

Issues from this volume also form part of the Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead (Review) event, explained in our “Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead Reading Order“.

The story here continues in Green Lantern Vol. 7: Renegade (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• The Green Lantern: Lights Out (Reading Order) event is mentioned a number of times throughout this volume. This event depicted Relic’s mission, the Source Wall breach, Saint Walker’s loss of hope, Mogo taking over as the new Oa, and the “death” of Kyle Rayner.
• Earth’s victory over Darkseid’s invasion is mentioned a few times. This is a reference to the events of Justice League: Origin (Review) (From the Comics).
• Kyle Rayner became a White Lantern in Green Lantern: New Guardians #16, collected in Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 3: Love & Death (Review).
• Sinestro has been collecting refugees from Korugar over the course of the New 52 Sinestro series, starting with Sinestro Vol. 1: The Demon Within (Review).
• Green Lantern #38 references the loss of several Red Lanterns over the course of Red Lanterns Vol. 4: Blood Brothers (Review) and Red Lanterns Vol. 5: Atrocities (Review).
• Hal left the Justice League (Reading Order) in Justice League #12, collected in Justice League Vol. 2: The Villain’s Journey (Review).
• Green Lantern #38 references the Forever Evil (Review) (Reading Order) event.