The Sinestro Corp War

2008 was the comeback year for cosmic comic books. A series of solid series was put out by both Marvel and DC featuring characters on their space-faring adventures. For those of you wondering why cosmic comics are so in at the moment, look no further than Green Lantern.

For the longest time, Green Lantern was a second-rate title but now it is top of the pile. The reason for this change was “The Sinestro Corp War”. The series which ran in the Green Lantern & Green Lantern Corp regular series made a superstar out of Geoff Johns and put GL up there alongside Superman and Batman as DC icons. With a discount available, I went and bought all 3 TPB involved in “The Sinestro Corp War”. For the record, this is “The Sinestro Corp War- Part 1”, “The Sinestro Corp War- Part 2” and “Tales of The Sinestro Corp”. So how did I find the series that started the whole cosmic craze?

My overall view of the “The Sinestro Corp War” is that it’s good, it’s very good but it’s just short of great. I can see why many people liked it as Johns put in the right mix of action and characterization. Although the main character is the Earth GL, Hal Jordan, Johns did not ignore the rest of the cast. Sinestro was terrifying and scary and with Superman Prime, Henshaw and the Anti-Monitor, the Sinestro Corp looked like a powerhouse. You can see why they managed to stand up to the more experienced GL Corp. Supporting characters like Kilowag and Sodam Yat also shines as Johns showed that they are also Green Lanterns, powerful and important in their own right.

For all my talk of characterizations, ‘Sinestro Corps War’ is an action-driven epic. We have fights in space, on alien planets, on Earth, in the Anti-Universe, and there are many, many of them. We have everything from ones-on-ones, to skirmishes, to full scale battles. Everything is here. I especially like how brutal the fights were; GLs were taken unaware by snipers, Sinestro Corp members were overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and casualties were taken on all sides.

There are parts in the story which I thought could be avoided. I can understand the need to have a war on Earth and to involved Superman and gang, but the issue about Coast City was unnecessary. It was like a road bump in the middle of the expressway; you are going fine and fast when suddenly something knocked you of your stride. The whole world is in danger and both Parallax and Hal Jordan take themselves out of the fight for some family matters?

Still, this was a good series and a pretty admirable way to revitalizes the Green Lantern mythos. 3 TPB may be a little on the steep side but as I said earlier; this is a very good series and if you enjoy action epics, cosmic stories, or even war stories; this is the series for you.