It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to DC writer Geoff Johns. Oh sure, he’s still going to be writing Aquaman, and a couple Justice League comics, but DC won’t be the same now that Johns is leaving Green Lantern after nearly 10 years on the title. This is a truly sad moment, because none of his other comic work as been as good as his stories on Green Lantern. And he has told some remarkable stories. Green Lantern was a minor character at best before Johns came along. This one guy with his brilliant ideas almost single-handedly made Green Lantern popular enough to warrant a live action big screen movie, in a world where DC only makes Batman and Superman movies. Johns made Green Lantern so popular that he was one of only two superheroes to remain unchanged in the New 52 reboot.

Johns work on Green Lantern is nothing short of spectacular. It’s no wonder DC eventually promoted him to DC’s head of creativity. The guy definitely made me a believer in the awesomeness of Green Lantern.

Fortunately for us all, Johns’ final issue on the series is as good as any other he’s written. Green Lantern #20 easily wins Comic Book of the Week for it’s sheer awesome audacity. Johns threw out all the stops with his final issue, bringing everything his fevered mind could think up to the final party.

Just look at that picture and tell me you don’t love everything about it.

Comic Reviews: Green Lantern #20, Justice League #20, Superior Spider-Man #10, Talon #8, and Uncanny X-Men #6.

Green Lantern #20

Green Lantern #20
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Doug Mahnke, et al.

This is the Geoff Johns we all know and love. I know I wrote a lot about him in the opening, but this issue is one of the best writers in the industry today This is the best Green Lantern has been in awhile, and it is a fine example of just how amazing and creative a Geoff Johns story can be. This issue is why fans flocked to him in the first place, and why stories like the Sinestro Corps War and the Blackest Night were such huge successes. Johns created the Emotional Light Spectrum, and in this issue, he takes every insane idea and story twist he’d been holding onto and throws it on the page, with Mahnke drawing it all with supreme skill. This issue is the best action comic I have read in years! And as someone who loves every aspect of the Emotional Light Spectrum and the Rainbow Corps, this was one of the coolest comics as well.

It’s an all-out assault on the First Lantern, and Johns takes everything he’s created in the past few years and throws it at the villain. Seriously, it’s just a string of amazing, mind-blowing ideas thrown onto the page. Guy Gardner, and the Green Lantern Corps team up with Kyle the White Lantern, the Star Sapphires, the Red Lantern Corps and the Blue Lantern Corps. Mogo combines all of their various Lights into a big blast at the First Lantern! Sinestro is a Yellow Lantern again! Sinestro unlocks the Yellow Power Battery and frees Parallax, whom he immediately absorbs to become the new Parallax! The Indigo Tribe show up to free Hal Jordan from the Land of the Dead! Newly Black Lantern Hal Jordan leads a new army of Black Lantern zombies! Hal resurrects Nekron! Parallax Sinestro and Nekron team up to defeat the First Lantern!

The denouement is just as amazing. The First Lantern’s ring, the first ring ever made, goes out into the cosmos to find a new bearer. Hal Jordan becomes a Green Lantern again. The Sinestro Corps return to full strength with their new leader, Arkillo. Sinestro kills all of the Guardians. The final showdown between Sinestro and Hal ends with Sinestro relenting and promising to leave and never come back, as well as telling Hal that they will always be friends. Then in the very end, we learn that Sinestro left Ganthet alive, and he made a secret deal with Larfleeze to reunite Ganthet and his lover Sayd so that they can live happily ever after!

And then! Even though all of the GL series will continue, Johns has some fun writing some ‘what-if’ future epilogues for all of the characters. Guy Gardner becomes a grizzled old space jockey who loves telling his old war stories in bars to impress sexy alien women. John Stewart returns to Earth, marries Fatality and becomes a politician. Kyle Raynor becomes Space Jesus and travels from planet to planet curing ills until the end of his days. Hal and Carol retire and get married, raising a big, loving family. Simon Baz becomes a hero and later trains the first human female lantern. Saint Walker starts a family and the Blue Lantern Corps grows as big as the Green Lantern Corps. Indigo-1 finds peace and is able to take off her ring. Larfleeze finds his family, but is eventually pulled back into his Orange Lantern ways. Atrocitus learns humility, or something. Sinestro eventually becomes the secret, hooded keeper of the Book of Oa and the Story of Hal Jordan.

Seriously, this comic is just packed full of so much amazing stuff! I didn’t even get around to mentioning G’nort!

Comic Rating: 5/5 – Great!

This was just a fantastic comic book. I do not envy the new writers taking over the Green Lantern franchise. They have the biggest shoes in the world to fill. Geoff Johns turned Green Lantern from a nobody into a character so popular that he got a big budget Hollywood movie! And it’s issues like this one that remind you why his work on the character was so loved. Johns managed to not only come up with new and very creative ideas for the world of Green Lantern, then had a blast smashing those ideas together into new and exciting stories. His standout character has always been Sinestro, and the scene of Sinestro bonding with Parallax was chilling. I can’t believe he’d never done it before now. This issue is full of big, exciting comic book moments using awesome characters. And that’s always been what I’ve loved about Geoff Johns’ writing. He will be sorely missed from his series.

Justice League #20

Justice League #20
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Zander Cannon, Gene Ha, Andres Guinaldo and Joe Prado

Whereas I’ve loved everything Johns has done with Green Lantern and Aquaman, I still think his Justice League work is lacking, both on this title and on Justice League of America. I’ve said it again and again: I think the true genius of Johns’ JL plans exists only in his head. Only Johns seems to understand how the two teams are interconnected and why that interconnection matters. In no way has he convinced me to care one iota about Steve Trevor and Amanda Waller trying to take down the Justice League by using their own Justice League of America. The issues are usually good, but the overarching story just isn’t as powerful or as clear as Johns seems to think it is.

Despero has attacked the Watchtower, and only Element Woman, Firestorm and the new Atom are there to defend it. The three rookie heroes do their best, but Despero is able to take out both Element Woman and Firestorm. Atom shrinks down to get away, and she’s saved by Martian Manhunter, who shows up randomly on the Watchtower and defeats Despero on the mental plane. When the rest of the League show up to investigate, they discover that Despero is wearing the Kryptonite ring that was stolen from the Batcave, but he was not the thief. So someone knows Batman’s identity, knows about his secret anti-Justice League plans and is still out there.

Later, Batman reveals to Superman that the reason he’s so worried about Superman’s relationship to Wonder Woman is because Batman doesn’t have a secret anti-Wonder Woman plan. Superman is his plan should Wonder Woman ever turn evil. Batman also entrusts Superman with the anti-Batman plan he’d worked up.

Also, in the end, we learn that Atom is a spy working for ARGUS and the JLA. But after the big fight, she’s starting to feel bad about spying on such nice people.

Comic Rating: 4/5 – Good.

I really like this take on Element Woman, Firestorm and the Atom, so seeing them team up and work together to try and take down Despero was fun. It was also pretty cool to see Martian Manhunter show up. Unfortunately, the conflict in this issue is based almost entirely on the history between Martian Manhunter and Despero. The two characters constantly talk about a previous battle…but we have no idea what they’re talking about. Remember, we don’t know any specifics about what the JLA got up to during the five year time skip. So it seems foolish to have the two characters talk about a previous fight while leaving the readers in the dark. Though I will say that I’m mostly enjoying everything we learn about Martian Manhunter’s brief, tumultuous membership with the Justice League in the DCnU.

The reveal at the end that the JLA is spying on the League isn’t as meaningful as Johns seems to think. I haven’t liked the JLA series, whereas I’m mildly entertained by Justice League. So whatever big tapestry Johns is building, I’m not on board yet. Also, while the reveal that Atom works for the JLA was a cool twist, it spoils the idea that the Martian Manhunter just showed up all on his own to kick Despero’s butt. I thought he was just there to be badass, but clearly we know now that he was sent by the JLA to back up Atom. Oh well.

Spider-Man #10

Superior Spider-Man #10
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Ryan Stegman

Peter Parker is dead. Long live Spider-Man! Dan Slott is finally free and clear of all the complicated filler he put into this comic, and it’s finally time for Otto Octavius to shine as the Superior Spider-Man. No more worrying about Ghost Peter, no more having the Avengers question his identity; it’s all smooth sailing from on out as Otto steps up his game – and I’m excited. I know Peter will be back someday, and I look forward to that moment. But for right now, I am more than happy to see what Slott has in store for Spider-Man. And judging by this issue, it should be a lot of fun!

On his first full Peter-less day, Otto charges full on into his life as both Parker and Spider-Man. He stops a gang war between the Owl and the White Dragon. He aces a test in college, and is closer to submitting his doctoral thesis. He blows off MJ, who is getting more suspicious about his behavior. He has a nice dinner with Aunt May and the Jamesons. He has a hot/cute date with Anna, and they share their first kiss. And then he defeats Tombstone. He’s doing a great job!

But there are sinister forces at work behind the scenes. A super-villain attacks MJ’s club causing a fire. She spends the whole time expecting Peter to come save her, but we learn later that Otto heard the alarm and re-routed it to the fire department rather than tackle it himself. MJ meets a cute firefighter instead. Carlie now has help investigating Spider-Man from an NYPD captain. Also, it seems the Green Goblin is stirring up trouble. His henchmen (some of the Vulture’s kids) are the ones who attacked MJ’s club, and he recruits some of the leftover gang members after Owl, White Dragon and Tombstone were taken into custody. Green Goblin has figured out how to bypass Otto’s spider-eye network, and he declares himself the Goblin King!

Comic Rating: 4.5/5 – Very Good.

This was just a fun issue, with a lot of fantastic little touches that show why Otto is so different from Peter. I love the idea that Otto waits until the most opportunistic moment to strike during a gang war, and how he trusts the police and fire department to do their jobs, whereas Peter would have thrown himself into every single emergency and pushed himself beyond his reach in order to save everyone. It’s a fascinating comparison between the two men, and one I look forward to seeing fully explored. Beyond that, Otto just seems to be enjoying himself, and that translates to a better comic. His date with Anna was super cute, and I want to see more of the two of them. I also liked the idea of MJ moving on. And beyond the relationship stuff, Slott is building some good conflict in the background, from the police investigation to a new Green Goblin scheme. Superior Spider-Man is finally firing on all cylinders.

Talon #8

Talon #8
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Miguel Sepulveda

I don’t like the status quo change in this issue of Talon. Simple as that. I’ve always been a little weirded out by all the changes they’ve had in only nine issues of this fledgling series, but this one takes the cake. I don’t like what it does to the character and I don’t like what it does for the series. But I don’t think it’s bad enough that I’ll give up the comic. I guess I’ll keep reading, because it’s still enjoyable. I just…it’s very disappointing, that’s all.

Casey and Sarah have been on the run since last issue, but at the start of this one, they’re immediately captured by the Butcher. He makes them take him back to Sebastian’s lair, where they find Calvin Rose dead. I can’t believe they killed him. Butcher takes everyone back to the Court of Owls. Casey is tortured for information, Sarah is put into an indoctrination program and Calvin as resurrected as a true zombie Talon. The Court threatens the two girls in order to get Calvin to do their bidding – they want him to kill the renegade female Talon that’s been running around with the Birds of Prey.

Meanwhile, Sebastian and Bane are building an army in South America.

Comic Rating: 4/5 – Good.

I just don’t like that Tynion killed Calvin. I realize the whole point behind Talons was that they were resurrected zombie warriors, but I thought the point of Calvin was that he was a flesh and blood renegade who escaped the Court. He was supposed to become his own hero. I really wanted to read the adventures of Calvin Rose, brand new superhero. But now he’s a hideous, zombie monster. The series isn’t even 10 issues old! I think Calvin working for the Court would be a neat story, but not like this. Not like this.

Uncanny X-Men #6

Uncanny X-Men #6
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Frazer Irving

I’m happy to report that Uncanny X-Men is still free of the All-New X-Men storyline. That series, also by Bendis, has been telling the same story for upwards of 10 issues so far, and while I’ve enjoyed it all, it’s still only one story. With Uncanny X-Men, it seems that Bendis has a ton of ideas in mind for characters, conflicts and fresh twists. I remain a diehard Cyclops supporter, and am very excited to see everything Bendis has in store for us.

Cyclops and his X-Men find themselves in Limbo, where the Dread Dormammu plans to kill them all with an army of Mindless Ones. Mostly he wants to kill Magik, but he’ll gladly kill all of her friends along with her. The new recruits are reasonably scared, but then the Stepford Cuckoos give them a boost of courage, and the X-Men fight back against the demonic armies like pros! Cyclops even gets a badass moment when he takes off his mask and gives Dormammu a full optic blast.

Meanwhile, Maria Hill is investigating who sent the Sentinels after the X-Men. It definitely wasn’t SHIELD, as far as she knows. In the end, she recruits Dazzler as an Agent of SHIELD to spy on Cyclops and get a handle on the whole mutant problem.

Comic Rating: 4.5/5 – Very Good.

Poor Dazzler. She’s had a rough couple of years. I rather liked her position as minor X-Man when the team was living in San Francisco. But then she got randomly selected as the main character in X-Treme X-Men, a wannabe Exiles title that went absolutely nowhere and was recently, mercilessly cancelled. That has me wondering: when did Bendis get the idea to bring Dazzler into this series? This is only the sixth issue of Uncanny X-Men, and I would assume he isn’t just making things up on the fly so early into the series. How soon did Marvel know that X-Treme X-Men was going to be cancelled? Either way, she should make for a fun addition to the cast. I look forward to Dazzler interacting with Cyclops’ team. And the rest of the comic is just as exciting, with the X-Men kicking butt in Limbo, and Maria Hill beginning her own fun subplot.

The comics I review in my Hench-Sized reviews are just the usual comics I pick up from my local shop any given week, along with a few impulse buys I might try on a whim. So if there are any comics or series you’d like me to review each week, let me know in the comments!