Review: Red Lanterns Vol. 6- Forged in Blood

Quick Summary

Pros: Each of the volume’s stories are exciting and interesting in their own way. Guy Gardner is a great main character and the examination into his current mental state is well-done. The series ends on a satisfying note.

Cons: The crossover issues are presented somewhat poorly.

Overall: The final volume in the Red Lanterns series proves that this entire series is worth reading. This terminal installment has all the action and intensity that previous volumes brought to the series. However, it also takes a great look into Guy Gardner as a character and uses that to give the comic a heartfelt farewell. Any fan of the Red Lanterns series or of Guy Gardner should consider adding this volume to their reading list.

Story

Red Lanterns Vol. 6: Forged in Blood, by Charles Soule, closes the Red Lanterns series on a high note. This volume tells several exciting and interesting stories. All of these stories are then backed up by an equally interesting examination into Guy Gardner’s mental state, leading to some touching moments from this Red Lantern. The quality of the volume dips slightly as it proceeds through the Green Lantern/New Gods (Review) crossover event but even this dip is not that significant. Overall, this is a solid book and a satisfying way to end the series.

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Forged in Blood starts with chapters that tie into the Green Lantern/New Gods crossover event. Though the volumes making up this even are mostly negatively impacted by this event, the Red Lanterns series preforms rather well. The chapters collected here are less directly related to the main event and, thus, are able to focus more on their own story. This allows them to place more emphasis on Guy’s reaction to the end of the Red Lantern Corps, which is plenty interesting all on its own.

However, Forged in Blood does not make it away from this crossover unscathed. Chapters often give little context for what is happening here and the event’s conclusion is left out altogether.

Once the crossover concludes, the volume begins detailing the final story arc in the Red Lanterns series. This arc has all of the over-the-top action and tense situations one would expect from this comic. At one point, Guy is even forced to fight a baby fueled by a sentient force of rage. It is a fun narrative with plenty of epic moments and an epic conclusion to top it all off.

Finally, Forged in Blood ends with a look into a possible future for Guy and the Red Lantern Corps. In this future, Guy and Bleez are traveling the universe and decommissioning all Red Lanterns, one by one. Their final battle is against Rankorr, who they are able to talk down with minimal violence. It is a fantastic conclusion to Guy’s struggle through this era and a fitting end for the Reds in general.

Throughout all of these storylines, Forged in Blood does a terrific job of exhibiting Guy Gardner as a character. He starts out the volume wracked with survivor’s guilt and is nearly suicidal. As the book progresses, it becomes clear that Guy is taking on the pain, suffering, and, most of all, rage of everyone around him. After his sister points this out to him, it leads to a satisfying release of these problems, which directly leads to the book’s finale. It is a great progression that fans of this character are sure to appreciate.

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Art

The artwork in Forged in Blood is alright but doesn’t stand out as anything significantly positive or negative. J. Calafiore’s visuals and Gabe Eltaeb’s colors create a style that suits the tone of this book well. It makes the book’s events look as dark and brutal as one would expect from a Red Lanterns comic. In addition, these visuals are laid out well and serve as an asset to the storytelling. However, there are also places where these visuals, particularly characters’ faces, look strange and somewhat take away the appeal of a scene. In the end, this book still looks alright but doesn’t look quite as good as some of the books that came before it.

Continuity

Red Lanterns Vol. 6: Forged in Blood continues the story from Red Lanterns Vol. 5: Atrocities (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“.

Red Lanterns series ends with this volume. Guy Gardner’s adventures somewhat continue in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: Sinestro’s Law.

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• 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).
• Simon Baz fought Cyborg in Kahndaq back at the beginning of the Trinity War (Review) (Reading Order) event.
• Simon was involved with the JLA (Reading Order) throughout much of the Justice League of America Vol. 3 series, starting in Justice League of America Vol. 1: World’s Most Dangerous (Review).
• The final issue in this collection is a tie-in to the Futures End (Reading Order) event.