September 2011

• Title: Red Lanterns #1
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Peter Milligan
• Artist: Ed Benes

Although I’ve been a Green Lantern fan for almost my entire life (aside from those dark days known as the Ron Marz years) I had no intention of picking up the first issue of Red Lanterns. Atrocitus and the Red Lanterns burst onto the scene in Final Crisis and (along with the other colors of the rainbow all given their own power rings) have been a big part of Green Lantern comics ever since.

Unlike the Green Lantern Corps, the Red Lanterns use their rage and anger to fuel their rings. Their leader, Atrocitus, blames the Guardians of the Universe for the destruction of his home sector of space. Now that Hal Jordan has killed Krona, the Guardian responsible for the massacre, the leader of an army bloodthirsty killers with hate-fueled wish rings finds himself at an impasse.

Over the last two-thirds of the comic writer Peter Milligan does a fairly good job going over the events surrounding the Red Lanterns and bringing new readers up to speed. It’s the opening story, however, that made me pick this issue up.

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• Title: Animal Man #1
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Jeff Lemire
• Artist: Travel Foreman

For those who have no experience with the character Animal Man may be a little hard to understand. Part super-hero, part animal activist, part horror protagonist, and part family man, the character of Buddy Baker is as far on the edge of the DCU as you can get, which was why I was pleasantly surprised when he earned a title as part of DC’s “New 52.”

Animal Man has the ability to tap the morphogenetic field (known as “the Red”) and mimic the abilities of various animals for short periods of time. He can even combine the abilities, such as the speed of a cheetah, stink of a skunk, and the strength of a rhino, all together.

As the comic begins former actor, hero, stuntman, and now actor again, Baker finds himself wrapping up a small role in and independent film, spending time with his family, and throwing on the tights to end a stand-off in a hospital’s children’s ward.

The stand-off in the hospital is especially well done and writer Jeff Lemire gives us one creepy ending involving Baker’s daughter Maxine (which I won’t spoil here).

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