Review- GREEN LANTERN: SECTOR 2814 VOL. 3

GREEN LANTERN: SECTOR 2814 VOL. 3 (DC, First Printing, 2014; Softcover)

Collects Green Lantern #194-200 (cover dates November, 1985- May, 1986)

Writer: Steve Englehart

Artists: Joe Staton with Inking by Bruce D. Patterson, Mark Farmer, and Bob Smith

In this volume we see the saga of Hal Jordan quitting the Green Lantern Corps come to it's logical conclusion amidst the crossover Crisis On Infinite Earths. I am not sure if I should use the SPOILERS tag for something over 30 years old, but be forewarned that I might blow the whole plot for you if you proceed any farther.

John Stewart has been the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 since Hal Jordan quit The Green Lantern Corps (in the first of the three volumes of trades in this line). Stewart is still learning the ropes but has a good grasp on the powers and his role. There is no doubt that he is a hero. The Guardians Of The Universe have a crisis of their own during the COIE and have become a warring action, with Guy Gardner recruited to become a Green Lantern to carry out a mission.

Gardner is a Green Lantern for “the new generation”, an anti-hero rebel type who is wholly unlikable and completely unheroic. He's a definite precursor for the '90s “!!! totally extreme!!!” style heroes which leave me cold.

There are some nice character development moments with the relationship between Green Lanterns John Stewart and Katma Tui. While the events in these comics play out clearly, there is a feeling as we hit issues 199 and 200 that universe-wide changes have occurred in the aftermath of COIE that are not fully explained here. DC was in the process of trying to reset their universe, a then-innovative and bold concept which has now been done ad nauseum, and they were in a hurry to clear the deck. The Guardians were about to embark with their forgotten other halves, the Zamarons, to proceed with some kind of Dark Crystal style merging.

The series continues with #201 in Tales Of The Green Lantern Corps Vol. 3 trade paperback, long out of print but not too pricey. DC's collected editions department makes no sense, with it's scattershot approach to collecting material. They seem to be trying to rectify that lately but their production errors (missing pages, dropped word balloons) are keeping them a dozen or so years behind Marvel's collected editions program.

It took me a while, but I finally read all three of these books. The first volume was the strongest of the bunch, with the second one still being enjoyable. This third volume has cemented Green Lantern as a B-lister in my mind.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials of physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Linework and Color restoration: Comic book restoration amateur hour. While the original color palette is faithfully maintained, the linework is washed out. Marvel hasn't done a job this bad since 2004.

Paper stock: Bright white glossy coated stock. This is not optimal for material with flat coloring. Marvel stopped using paper like this for vintage material around 2006.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.