Green Lanterns: Vol. 2 – The Phantom Lantern (DC Universe Rebirth) (DC Comics, 2017) – Trade Paperback

Description

Green Lanterns: Vol. 2 – The Phantom Lantern continues Sam Humphries’ warmly received Rebirth era run on the series, illustrated by Robson Rocha, Eduardo Pansica, and Ronan Cliquet. Published by DC Comics in 2017, the volume introduces Frank Laminski, a man whose desperate and obsessive desire to become a Green Lantern has consumed his entire life, as the wielder of the Phantom Ring, an ancient and unstable device capable of channelling any colour of the emotional spectrum without the psychological barriers that govern a true power ring. His emergence as the Phantom Lantern places Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz in direct conflict with a villain whose tragedy is rooted in the same longing for belonging and purpose that defines their own journeys as Earth’s newest Lanterns.

Humphries deepens his character work on both Simon and Jessica considerably across this volume, using the Phantom Lantern’s unchecked emotional volatility as a mirror for the pair’s own struggles with fear, self-doubt, and the weight of responsibility. Robson Rocha and Eduardo Pansica’s artwork maintains the kinetic energy and emotional expressiveness that made the first volume so visually engaging, with the shifting colour palettes of the Phantom Ring providing a spectacular visual hook across the action sequences. A strong and emotionally satisfying second chapter in one of the Rebirth era’s most character-driven series.