Review: Red Lanterns Vol. 5- Atrocities

Quick Summary

Pros: The opening chapters are an exciting way to build suspense for the volume’s conclusion. These chapters also have great moments of humor and character development. The volume’s conclusion is wonderfully exciting on its own and works as an excellent end to the current narrative.

Cons: There are some minor flaws in the storytelling. The artwork is mostly lackluster.

Overall: This collection takes everything great about the Red Lanterns and makes it even better. This is a volume packed with action, emotion, and narrative hooks that never lets you go. The entire adventure is filled with wonderful moments that highlight the unique cast of characters and add to the overall story. The volume has a few minor downsides but more than makes up for it with the overall appeal of the story. Anyone who read previous volumes or who is interested in the Red Lanterns should consider picking up this collection.

Story

Red Lanterns Vol. 5: Atrocities, by Charles Soule, is an excellent comic and probably the best volume in this series thus far. It takes all of the fun action and renewed charm of the Red Lanterns, from the previous volume, and takes it even further. Their adventures here are exciting, meaningful, and punctuated by great moments from nearly every character. These early adventures then lead to an amazing conclusion that works well in a number of different ways. The entire volume ends up being a highly enjoyable ride from start to finish.

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Atrocities opens up by showcasing the rising action in a conflict that will eventually erupt into an all-out war. It has the Guy Gardner-led Red Lanterns scramble for resources and deal with minor threats while Atrocitus slowly begins his return to power. This rising action includes a awesome team-up with Supergirl, a tense situation on an alien planet, and a few minor battles in between.

While fun and exciting, the true draw in this portion of the narrative is the characters. Charles Soule’s writing is smart and makes the banter between members of the Red Lanterns feel witty and, occasionally, gives it some great moments of humor. It also excels at emphasizing who these Red Lanterns are and what they are about. It makes the reader feel for the drama behind every character, whether it is something already established, like Supergirl’s ongoing quest for acceptance, or brand new, like the Judge’s desire for justice.

All of this also has the added benefit of building up this volume’s conclusion. Watching the Red Lanterns grow together while worrying about how they will contend with Atrocitus gives excitement to the narrative. By the time the war with Atrocitus actually begins, readers are primed and ready for it to play out.

When this war does break out, it easily claims its place as the best piece of Atrocities. This volume’s final few chapters bring in numerous elements from the past several story arcs and a few from even earlier to deliver a conclusion that feels like a jackpot payout. It allows for amazing moments from Supergirl and the Judge, heroic sacrifices from Skallox and Zox, and a great twist from Rankorr. Meanwhile, Guy’s inner turmoil and his fight against Atrocitus comes to a head in an epic and meaningful final battle. The entire conclusion is a success from a narrative, emotional, and character development standpoint.

Alongside all of these positives, the negatives in Atrocities are extraordinarily minor. The romance around Skallox is somewhat weird, there are points where the mechanics behind the Rings seem illogical, and a few moments where action feel rushed. However, none of these are serious problems and a few may even go unnoticed by most readers.

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Art

Unfortunately, the artwork in Atrocities is the collection’s Achilles’ heel. Miguel Sepulveda’s work on the finale is probably the best work in the collection and even it does not look as good as it did in previous volumes. Instead, most of the visuals in this book look pretty lackluster. They do an alright job in depicting the action but contort characters’ bodies in weird ways and, occasionally, fail to properly convey emotions. It also doesn’t help that the visual style changes drastically from chapter to chapter, making the lighthearted visuals of the Supergirl chapter feel weird when contrasted against the darker visuals of the Red Lanterns chapters. Overall, the artwork in this book is not downright bad, but it could definitely be a lot better.

Continuity

Red Lanterns Vol. 5: Atrocities continues the story from Red Lanterns Corps Vol. 4: Blood Brothers (Review).

The story here continues in Red Lanterns Vol. 6: Forged in Blood.

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Guy Gardner and Ice recently served on the Justice League International (Reading Order) through Justice League International #1-12, collected in Justice League International Vol. 1: The Signal Masters (Review) and Justice League International Vol. 2: Breakdown (Review).
  • However, their time on the pre-Flashpoint version of the Justice League International is mentioned here. Ice’s time with the team began in Justice League International Vol. 1 #12, collected in Justice League International Book One: Born Again.  
• The Green Lanterns began policing the use of the Emotional Spectrum in Green Lantern #25, collected in Green Lantern Vol. 4: Dark Days (Review).
• An inauthentic message from Hal Jordan is mentioned. This message was sent out in Green Lantern #27, collected in Green Lantern Vol. 5: Test of Wills (Review).
• Supergirl’s changed situation, from the beginning of the book, took place in Supergirl #28, collected in Supergirl Vol. 5: Red Daughter of Krypton.
• Superman’s relationship with Wonder Woman is mentioned. For more information on this see ComicBookWire’s “Superman/Wonder Woman Reading Order“.
• Events from Supergirl’s past are referenced. These include:
  • Her discovery of her homeworld’s destruction across Supergirl Vol. 1: Last Daughter of Krypton (Review).
  • Her involvement with H’el across the Superman: H’el on Earth (Review) (Reading Order) event. 
• John Stewart’s problems with Fatality are expanded upon in Green Lantern Corps #33-34, collected in Green Lantern Corps Vol. 5: Uprising (Review).
• Supergirl’s changed situation, from the end of the book, took place in Supergirl #33, collected in Supergirl Vol. 5: Red Daughter of Krypton.
• Batman’s “one punch” comment is a reference to a punch in Justice League Vol 1 #5, collected in Justice League International Book One: Born Again.