Far Sector

I'm not a fan of green lantern stories in DC and i'm also not a fan or noir mystery type novels, so when someone rec. this to me I was dragging my feet to start. When I did start reading this story I DID NOT put it down! I was compelled by the world building and thought the panel layout was excellent in telling this story as well. I was pleasantly surprised! Excellent book!

NK Jemisin brings her own brand of storytelling to Green Lantern, and the result is a smashing success. Although, strictly speaking, this is a superhero story it feels much more like a regular science fiction novel - something that obviously fits well with Green Lantern, but which it rarely achieves in practice. That may be partly down to the adult rating, allowing themes we don't often see so clearly in superhero comics, with the central character being a bisexual African American woman who has tried, and failed, to be part of the system.

But it's also the comparatively in-depth look at the setting, a Dyson swarm inhabited by three alien races which has known peace for centuries and now finds its society cracking at the seams. The result is a noir-ish thriller interspersing the police investigation of a homicide with looks into the alien culture and its parallels with our own. There are some great ideas in here, and a sympathetic hero in the form of rookie Green Lantern Jo Mullein trying to fight for what's right. Emotion, often a theme in Green Lantern, is central here, but in a more sophisticated way than it normally is (fighting Red Lanterns, or whatever), partly aided by Jo having a variant ring that doesn't work in the usual way.

This is a good piece of comic book science fiction, showing what Green Lantern can do with a good writer (and artist) when some of the brakes are taken off.

A phenomenal story by N.K. Jemison (that it is a Green Lantern story is almost incidental, almost). Jamal Campbell has created a world that is amazing, just amazing - a unique combination of color, line and sheer brazen imagination. I haven't something this bold and clear yet visually complicated and rich. This is worth your time.