Green Lantern #37
“Don’t Feed the Trolls”
Writer: Jeremy Adams
Artist: Xermanico
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
What would happen if the trolls on the internet turned out to be real trolls? What would you do?
Unless you’re the current Green Lantern of Sector 2814 (you’re not, right? It’s tough to keep track), I wouldn’t recommend finding out.
From the Pages of the Monstrous Manual
New actress Odyssey has had her "coming out" party, and social media is not being kind. As her "bodyguard," Kyle Rayner feels he needs to do something about these trolls. So, he spends more than fourteen hours engaging them online, to no avail. Needing a break (and caffeine), Kyle heads out to meet Jade for a breakfast date.
Things are going well until he gets a call from Odyssey’s phone (she never calls). Turns out that the internet troll that Kyle was arguing with last night is a real, live, actual troll, who gets power when people argue with him. Green Lantern and Jade go to help, but can Odyssey hold her own?
Meanwhile, the government organization S.H.A.D.E. has been collecting aliens found on Earth for unknown purposes. They have learned that Green Lantern is capturing the same aliens they’re looking for, and that’s a “Major” issue. They’ll have to use a blast from his past to “Force” him to stop…
You’re Never Alone on the Internet
This was a little more like it.
Other than Hal Jordan’s two-page interlude that confused the heck out of me, this issue stayed on one idea, flowed well, and had better artwork than the last few. It was much easier to get into and enjoy.
Let’s talk about Hal first. When we left the book a couple of issues ago, he had been zapped away from the planet he was at with Jayna and Tobi Y2K. He turned up in Emperor Aquaman for a very enjoyable story. Now he’s back on a spaceship with Jayna and Tobi again, heading towards some coordinates that he got from somewhere or other? There isn’t even a footnote reminding us that he’d been in Aquaman’s book for a spell. It’s making it really hard to care about Hal and his storyline.
Thankfully, Kyle is getting some more agency in his own book and it’s much easier to care about him. As an old-school Kyle Rayner fan (the crab-mask is still the best), I’m really enjoying seeing him and Jade together again. That was a great relationship, probably the best one Kyle was ever in. Although they seem to have retconned her cheating on him to be “he screwed things up with her.” On the one hand, I hate retcons. On the other, her cheating always seemed so out of character and forced. If they officially get back together here, I’ll probably be okay with it.
As for the main story, I thought Kyle getting so pulled into internet flame wars to be a little odd. I get he’s been off-world for a long time, but is he really that clueless as to what a cesspool social media has become? That rang a little false. The fact that he was arguing with a for-real troll that feeds off that argument was hilarious, though. It’s an easy joke, for sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.
The fight with the troll had a nice tie back to DC KO, and it gave us a chance to learn a little more about Odyssey. Let’s just say the “time bandit” has stolen some really cool stuff over the years, and doesn’t have the same rules about killing as superheroes do. Although the surprise appearance at the end of the issue is really going to test Kyle’s adherence to that particular rule. It’s another blast from the past, and it’s got me really excited to see what it means for Green Lantern and his mission.
Flame Wars
This month, writer Jeremy Adams is joined by only one artist, Xermanico, who is paired with regular colorist Romulo Fajardo Jr. It gives the book a more consistent look than the last few issues have had.
Adams bases this issue’s story on another commentary of today’s world, like he did with creatives and A.I. a few issues ago. It’s funny, but maybe a little heavy-handed. Most of the humor does land, though. He does solid work with characterization; you can feel the history and the love between Kyle and Jade. I’m just not sure about the retcon there. The two pages spent on Hal Jordan are a misstep, giving no information or context for either new or returning readers, so that’s a major misstep there.
Xermanico’s artwork is a nice step up from the duo of the past several issues. Their art was fine, but his is much cleaner and more consistent. The troll looks like I’d expect it to as an old-school Dungeons & Dragons player, so that was fun to see. He gives Kyle a couple of fun ring constructs, and his action staging is pretty dynamic. The facial expressions of Kyle and Jade when Odyssey takes on the troll are pretty funny, which makes that scene work. And the splash page of the blast from the past, which appears at the end, is very well done.
The colors by Fajardo Jr. are a constant from issue to issue in this series, which helps keep its look somewhat consistent. He keeps Kyle’s new home of Los Angeles brightly lit, since it’s pretty much always sunny there. The troll looks creepy and unnatural with his darker tones. Ring constructs have that cool green glow that makes them stand out, especially when they’re more creative in nature. And again, the end of the issue appearance looks particularly menacing thanks to how the colors make them stand out.
Regenerated Limbs
Green Lantern #37 is a fun issue that teaches Kyle to never feed the trolls on the internet, because sometimes they might turn out to be a real troll. The rekindling of his relationship with Jade has been great for his characterization, and we get a bit more insight into Odyssey this issue, too. The Hal Jordan interlude is a confusing distraction, however—something needs to be done to better tie the stories together or just send Hal off to another book entirely. There are already two Green Lantern books; would one more be that big of a deal?