I was unfamiliar with Tom King when I first picked up this book. It was recommended to me by my brother because I was looking for some Kyle Rayner stories to read (I became a fan of the Green Lantern mythos through Geoff Johns' Hal Jordan-focused run, so I missed Kyle's heyday entirely). What I was not prepared for was a complex space epic full of thoughtful geopolitical themes and hard-hitting (and timely) observations on the personal nature and cost of war. I read it all in one sitting because I was riveted from page one. Not only did it instantly convert me to a Kyle fan, but I'm pretty sure it made me a Tom King fan for life. I immediately sought out his "Mister Miracle" series, his "Vision" series (which was great, but not QUITE as great as his DC work, in my opinion), his brief-but-powerful contribution to "Action Comics" #1000, and his ongoing Superman story "Up in the Sky," and have concluded that yep, he's a genius. Or at least, a ridiculously gifted writer. I've got a lot of friends who are superhero/comic fans to varying degrees who don't understand how I could possibly prefer DC over Marvel, and this book - along with stuff like "Watchmen," "All-Star Superman," "Superman: Secret Identity," "Mister Miracle," and countless others - is yet another great example for me to hold up and show them as to why. It's another all-timer that deserves a spot alongside the great DC classics.
I should also give a shout out to the art here, too. Barnaby Bagenda's rendering of these alien worlds is gorgeous and perfectly complements King's unique style. I'd recommend this book to any fans of Lantern lore, those who love cosmic superhero stories, or anyone who enjoys extra meaty themes in their sci-fi. If you're into something like "Dune," chances are you'll love this.
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Andrew O.
Are the Omega Men terrorists or revolutionaries? A beautiful tale paved with blood.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2020
Andrew O.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2020
The story begins quite interestingly with a gripping broadcasted execution of the white lantern Kyle Rayner. We quickly learn that's not the case as Kyle is held prisoner of the Omega Men and kept secret, Kyle with no way to fight back having surrendered his ring to enter the Vega system to end the conflict and bring peace, must comply with his captor's. While captive, Kyle will slowly learn more about the Citadel and begin to wonder if there is more to the Omega Men than the terrorist label they are branded with along with their desire to extinguish the Citadel. Are the Omega Men terrorists or revolutionaries? Things are not always so black and white.
As I stated earlier, I decided to read this twice before writing my review because I'm sure I missed a few things and this is a comic that deserves multiple read-throughs to appreciate, and I'm glad I did. This is a very intelligent and very political story, and despite me not being keen on them they offer a more complex layer of depth that should at least be tried, even if you aren't a fan of politics. The story was enjoyable with beautiful artwork, although it's not the best I believe is not meant to be heavily detailed and not too bland, like how some things in life aren't black and white, the artwork is the middle and compliments the theme in my opinion. I didn't mention the inker but I do believe I need to give Romulo Fajardo Jr.,Tomeu Morey, and Hi-Fi some credit because the colours are beautiful and make different worlds distinct and stunning. This is one of the most beautifully coloured comics I've read, the other top one I think of is Donny Cates Cosmic Ghost Rider: Baby Thanos Must Die (recommended for a quick amusing read), all in all the artwork is great and primarily sticks to a 9 grid layout similar to that of Watchmen or V for Vendetta, I do think it'll be up to personal preference and I will include pictures (for some reason Amazon isn't allowing me to upload pictures to my reviews, I'll be checking daily and add the pictures asap) but I don't think this will be a case like Batman: Arkham Asylum where some people flat out hated it. I should mention that for issue #4, Toby Cypress handled the artwork, and although he did an okay job I wish Bagenda did the entire 12 issues. Beyond the story, one of the highlights for me are the characters and cast, despite this being a cosmic space story over 6 planets it has a relatively small cast of main characters and they each serve a purpose and get good development, personally I hate it when I read a comic and it's filled with 50+ characters just for the sake of including them. I personally loved most of the characters especially Broot, Doc, Scrapps, Primus and Kyle. For instance, I'll be including pictures of the entire opening execution, we see Broot show concern for the restraints, loosening them, then before leaving putting a hand on his shoulder while leaving, we see Primus rubbing his face in displeasure and pacing around Kyle as he prefers nonviolent methods of protest, just in these first few pages that have a raw and authentic feel to it. Later there's also an interesting duality with the citadel soldier repeatedly saying "we will not hurt you, we are friends" while bashing and shooting people, and also when the Omega Men say it to Kyle.
A big plus is that you don't have to know anything about the Omega Men or Green Lantern to enjoy this, it's a self contained story that explains itself well enough, so if you're worried about not being caught up don't worry, I came in blind and loved it, so if you're curious there's no excuse not to pick this up.
Overall, this was a fantastic story that I'm sure I will only grow to love, appreciate and learn more about with each read-through. With a deep story and awesome characters paired with some beautiful art it's easy to recommend this to anyone. I'll do my best to include as many pictures as I can once Amazon allows me to, I do believe that I will be looking into the deluxe edition for my next read-through and will be looking into Tom King's other works. The Omega Men is a fantastic read that deserves to be on anyone's bookshelf and you'd be silly to pass it up.
Hopefully you found this review helpful and happy reading.
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