First off I hope everyone had a happy holiday and I deeply apologize for how late this review is. Irregardless it’s finally time to end this marathon known as Godhead. I won’t lie and deny that this crossover has had it fair share of pains but it hasn’t been all terrible, but now that the finale has finally arrived, can Venditti stick the landing? If there is anything I’ve learned from reading crossover comics is that the ending can be the hardest part, and you have to go in knowing that not all readers will be satisfied. So let’s see how the year 2014 ends for Green Lantern!
Venditti wastes no time with making this issue one giant spectacle. His writing throughout this issue certainly had that feeling of the final battle scene of a war movie, with all your favorite heroes and Sinestro fighting to stop High Father from committing his evil plan. When the previous month felt lacking in the action department, this one annual made up for it. Even Billy Tan’s pencils (at least the first half) looked crisper than any previous issue of Green Lantern he’s worked on.
If there was one major issue I had with Venditti’s writing was the sudden face turn for High Father. While High Father’s downward spiral towards tyranny wasn’t perfect it was a bold move to make this seeming benevolent character into his own nightmare. His switch and realization of what he was perpetrating just comes off as so abrupt and execution of the following scenes just seem to sweep High Father’s crimes under the rug. It makes a reader wonder what was the point of High Father turning into a tyrant if the result was always going to have become a force of good again. If the point was absolute power corrupts then the lack of sticking with High Father as a tyrant doesn’t make that mantra stick as it becomes more of about “for the greater good” but the cost maybe to high. Either way it’s sliced, the dramatic shift for High Father just wasn’t properly executed.
While I did praise Billy Tan for the first half of the annual, his art deteriorates as you turn the page. Backrounds become non existent, combined with individual characters looking quite unpolished, even Tan’s own storytelling takes a bit of a dive during the final segments of the issue. The art really killed my enjoyment of the story, it’s Tan’s worst issue on a Green Lantern issue to date.
One last thing before Green Lantern wraps up 2014, the long awaited meeting between Hal and Kyle since Kyle’s apparent “death” and I was expecting some animosity between the two that would have message boards fighting for days. Thankfully Venditti steers away from pointless melodrama and instead shows the maturity of both Hal and Kyle.
Green Lantern Annual #3 did have the epic finale feel to it and for the most part was a satisfactory conclusion to Godhead, yes it did leave readers with asking questions (what event doesn’t) but Tan’s art collapse does knock the annual down a score.
Green Lantern Annual #3 earns a 3/5
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