We all start out with the best of intentions. I firmly believe no one is born evil, (unless you’re literally the son of the devil) our own personal experiences shape our own reality, which sadly can lead many people down to the path of the dark side. Just look at comics, as some of the best villains are those that started on the path of good only turned to evil because a random twist of fate. It makes villains feel more realistic, we may not agree with their actions but we can sympathize with them. Warning they’re will be spoilers going forward, you’ve been warned.

Now if you’re like me, you want to know exactly what in the world happened to Simon and Jessica. It’s one of those cliffhangers that is begging readers to come in two weeks to find out the fate of our heroes. Now I’ll admit that due to to the bi-weekly shipping schedule this interlude isn’t the big of a disruption if this title was shipping once every thirty days. With that being said, Humphries still wants you to emphasize with Volthoom, as this entire issue shows you his fall from grace. In a way this could be Humphries version of Lucifer’s fall from Heaven. If you look at Volthoom in this issue, he’s a trusted friend of Rami. A friendship that only falls to ruin as Volthoom becomes consumed with power. a fall from grace. Now even though this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a bit of Volthoom’s backstory before I actually like this intrusion more.

This issue is the first instance that shows readers that Volthoom and Rami were actually friends, who on a surface level had a common bond. Both of them wanted to break beyond the barriers. Given that 90% of the time Guardians are in a Green Lantern comic, they’re usually very stoic and cold separating themselves from emotions. It’s the basis of their character type after all, so seeing Rami and Volthoom literally skip with joy around Maltus was shocking but it’s also a great way to how emotions play a huge role for the rest of this story. My only real problem with this flashback issue is that it feels it could have used another issue. Seeing that the end doesn’t see Volthoom imprisoned, so his turn towards madness feels a bit sudden. Granted we as readers already know the end result, but that doesn’t mean his turn should be so sudden. A minor complaint in another wise fantastic issue.

Ronan Cliquet returns on pencils and I absolutely adore his ability to make Volthoom’s face light up with joy. Considering at this point we’ve only seen Volthoom only in shadow or driven mad by power, seeing him calm or enthusiastic makes the moments of terror and villainy have a great impact. Even though I’ve written a lot about Volthoom, I genuinely felt heart broken for Rami as he saw his own friend become enveloped by his own rage. A lesser artist would have made these moments lose their importance, but Clinquet knocks it out of the park again. Yes I’m disappointed that the story didn’t actually progress, but if you jumped on with the previous issue then this second chapter was vital to retaining those new readers. A solid read overall.

Green Lanterns #26 earns a 4/5