One of the most exciting aspects about Geoff Johns’s run on Green Lantern is the fact that he continues to find ways to add layer upon layer on top of an already intriguing and rich mythology. One of the most well kept secrets has been the Indigo Tribe, and the purpose behind their existence. In the “The Secrets of the Indigo Tribe,” the secret is slowly becoming unraveled.
Green Lantern #9
“Secrets of the Indigo Tribe” part 3
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Doug Mahnke
Inks: Christian Alamy
It should be no surprise that Green Lantern continues to get a lot of spotlight here at Touring the Cosmos. It repeatedly blows open the doors on science fiction and space faring action, keeping readers and fans at the edge of their seats after each issue. While there are three other titles (Green Lantern: New Guardians, Green Lantern Corps, Red Lanterns), the flagship GL title that stars Hal Jordan has consistently been the best book of the bunch. While this volume (beginning with DC’s reboot) started off on a lower note than expected, it has propelled itself to the forefront of cosmic reading goodness.
The current arc in GL is directly dealing with the mysterious Indigo Tribe. Indigo represents compassion, and their color of power is violet. They all use their batteries as a staff, and channel the powers of every other emotion for their own purpose. The Indigo Tribe has an odd sense of honor and empathy, and their true purpose has been kept very secret. The most recent addition to their ranks was William Hand, a.k.a. Black Hand, who has been totally transformed into a “compassionate” individual.
Hal Jordan and Sinestro have recently found themselves on the home planet of the Indigos, trying to figure out the secret behind the tribe and their relationship with Abin Sur. Abin Sur was the GL that passed his ring on to Hal, and was also the best friend to Sinestro before he died. Both GL’s have a vested interest in the connection between Abin and the tribe, and are stopping at nothing to figure out what it is. The real question is, as they dig further and further, do they really want to know?
Geoff Johns has proven himself to be a capable and nearly master storyteller. When he took over the reigns of Green Lantern all those years ago, he has since truly proven his ability to craft an engaging tale. In the case of Green Lantern, it has been a wild ride for fans with each month and each story bringing more and more to the table. Earlier in the series, along with DC’s reboot, Green Lantern was having a bit of trouble finding its footing. Johns knew where he wanted the story to go, but it seemed like he was having a difficult time establishing the new status quo in Hal Jordan’s life. Now that it has all been figured out, the stories keep getting better each month. Exploring the Indigo Tribe has been a story fans have been eagerly awaiting, and each little tidbit of info and spoiler has been well worth the wait. Johns has an amazing grasp of the characters he uses, and issue #9 is no exception.
Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy’s work has been nothing but amazing. Every character has an amazing amount of detail, and the Indigo Tribe has some very unique looking members, different from even the existing corps who sometimes share similar looking aliens. The splash page to the left (found in issue #8) shows a great example of the Indigo members, and how well Mahnke can display the same character in two different lights. There is some really dark lighting, which can sometimes make things difficult to make out. This makes sense considering the dark of space can be overwhelming, and the contrast between the black of space and the light of the rings is a treat on the eyes.
Green Lantern has consistently been the book for fans of cosmic space action. Great characters drive the story forward, and as each story progresses, the characters just get deeper and deeper. It all ties in to a greater concept, which makes the GL-verse that much better. Johns has an amazing grasp on where he wants the story to go, and he really knows how to retain a reader’s attention. Mahnke and Alamy’s work only makes the book that much better with their amazing attention to details and creativity. Green Lantern has been a shining beacon literally and figuratively for everything cosmic, and shows no sign of letting up.
Mike Parente
mike@comicattack.net
