I know I’m relatively young, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned when it comes to human beings is the sheer amount of animosity we can have when trusting another human. I understand that is a huge generalization but I believe that it’s a factor of life at this point. For some people it takes time to get over these preconceived notions and move forward in building a better society, one that well can enjoy for generations to come. There will be spoilers going forward, you’ve been warned. Read at your own risk.

Yes this book is called Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps so the center of attention will still be Hal, but the opening sequence for this issue with Gorrin-Sun and the aforementioned Space Ape are on a routine patrol. It was only a few pages that ultimately ends in a cliffhanger but I like that Venditti is showing readers that the Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps is more than the key central figures It makes me wish that this book had twice the page count and feature two stories instead of one. One theme that Venditti seems to driving home is that the members of The Green Lantern Corps are complete clowns to The Sinestro Corps.

It would be one thing if The Sinestro Corps were antagonizing the Green Lanterns, but on the contrary it’s the reverse. This could be a commentary on how some police officers are quick to judge a book by it’s cover which can lead to tragic results. I’m sure I’m reading way to much into a simple fight scene between Greens and Yellows, but I can’t help see that. With that being said, I must give praise with the decision to keep the tension between the corps still present. Yes there was a minor peace moment as Guy with Arkillo manged to stop the flames from spreading even further, but it’s clearly not the end of the animosity.

For this issue there was no Rafa Sandoval or Ethan Van Sciver but instead readers are treated to the styles of Ken Marion who is a name I don’t recognize but did a serviceable job for this issue. One criticism I had was the debut of these new emerald spiked creatures look a bit like Michael Bay Transformers without the car parts on top of them. It’s mostly how he has their faces angled and the sharp edges do them no favors either. The page itself looks cool and at the end of the day that’s all that really matters in regards to scenes like this one. When it came to the rest of the series I can’t help but feel that Marion was influenced by Neal Adams. There were some anatomy problems in a couple of panels but nothing that I would consider terrible.

Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps #18 does a great job of showing that the current green/yellow partnership will still play a factor going forward, but most of this issue was setup for whatever this new threat happens to be. It had the right amount of entertaining moments to keep me invested for the rest of this arc.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #18 earns a 3/5