Alpha Lantern vs. Alpha Male
This is amazing, but, for a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence; the banner actually works well with the cover. It actually works with the other shadows to create, almost a border, like a doorway, enhancing the sense that John and Guy are backed into the corner. And then the Alpha Lanterns are all nicely balanced.... this is a good cover.
Once again, while I feel like this series DOES highlight John and Guy above the others, I maintain that it still takes time to develop, and give shining moments to, other members of the corps. When the Alpha Lanterns depower the rings of the lanterns helping Guy; we get to see a variety of reactions, very smart to each character. Hell, even within the Alphas, care was taken to make sure they didn't overlap in personality. And Salaak reminds us all what a cool customer he is, reacting to the Alphas' orders similar to the way he did in Blackest Night.
Meanwhile, Guy and John escape to The Foundry, recalling the events of War of the Green Lanterns. It really highlights just how little the Green Lantern Epic was affected by the relaunch. It's still being written as tightly and self-referencing as usual. I was a little disappointed that we didn't see ANYTHING foreshadowing The Third Army down in the Foundry, I figured that was a big part of the point of that scene; but whatever.
What DOES come out of that scene is classic Guy Gardner outside-the-box thinking. It's kind of a dark move, but an absolutely brilliant one. It helps turn the tide of the battle, but also sets up an insanely epic climax for the next issue.
In Conclusion: 4.5/5
It's another very solid Green Lantern Corps issue. I don't know why this one's so overlooked, though maybe I'm biased because Guy Gardner's hands down my favorite Green Lantern. But it honestly isn't JUST about him, it's about the Corps. And this is certainly the best Alpha Lanterns story thus far.
