Red Lanterns #24 could be one of the most frustrating comics I’ve read in recent months. Why? I’ll get to that in a moment. Red Lantern #24 is the fourth installment in the “Lights Out” story arc. The GLU is in serious threat of being wiped out at the hands of Relic, an entity from a universe before ours who is looking to destroy all Lanterns to preserve the very source of their light energy. All the other players are in order, the only ones left are the Red Lanterns, which poses a problem since Guy Gardner hates Hal Jordan and the GLs for leaving him there.
Gardner’s time on Ysmault isn’t going smoothly. Having been outed as a spy, Red Lantern Bleez is looking to rid her team of Gardner once and for all. Problem is, Gardner was a tough guy with a short fuse as a GL, as a Red Lantern he’s almost unstoppable. Fearing nothing, Gardner confesses his crime, finishing the confession by swearing allegiance to the Red Lanterns. That’s exactly when Hal Jordan and the rag tag group of Lanterns shows up on Ysmault.
Meanwhile, Atrocitus, who was thought killed by Gardner, has consumed the power of the Butcher, the red bull (no pun intended) that is the essence of the Red Lantern rage. Cue White Lantern Kyle Rayner, who forces the Butcher out of Atrocitus and into himself to hang with the other light essences that Kyle is currently controlling inside his skull. The loss of the Butcher hurts Atrocitus, who is comforted by his cat Dex-Starr. It’s a weirdly tender moment between huge red killing machine and his furry friend. Once Kyle has scooped up the Butcher, he races not to stop Relic, but help him.
Back on Ysmault, Guy is busy beating the holy hell out of Hal Jordan. Jordan manages to explain the Relic situation and strikes a deal with Gardner. If the Red Lanterns help (their power isn’t being drained for reasons too long to get into), then they can have their own sector to police how they see fit. I seriously doubt Jordan or the Lanterns will hold to that promise, but Gardner and his Red Lantern flunkies buy into it. Now, with the Red Lanterns on board, the stage is set for the final chapter of “Lights Out.”
This could have been a great book, but instead it’s incredibly frustrating. My reasons? The art. Writer Charles Soule has penned a great book, and artist Alessandro Vitti just craps all over it. Let’s start with Guy Gardner, whose head and face are on a Rob Liefeld level of awful. At some points, Gardner looks like his nose is broken, on other panels his face is flat. Hal Jordan’s face is worse. Vitti has him making these absurd faces, like he’s pooping razor blades made of acid. Panel after panel, the art is just sloppy, badly formulated and boring. It completely saps the energy of the book.
(5 Story, 2 Art)
