Hey, it's a sideways cover!
I'm a big fan of the underdog (hey, that's why I cheered on the Mets for years) - and that's probably why I was drawn to Guy Gardner, the guy who was runner-up for the "Green Lantern from Earth" job (Hal Jordan got the gig), and even though he eventually got his own ring, he was always treated as a second-tier character in GL and Justice League International.
When he finally got his own comic, his adventures were written by Chuck Dixon, who excels at that kind of real-world, bare knuckles kind of hero.
When Dixon stepped away, the editors wisely handed the reins to Beau Smith, a writer from the same rough-and-tumble, take-no-prisoners school of action.
But almost immediately, Guy ran into what I call "crossover problems." The storyline in the GL book that had Hal go crazy and destroy the Green Lantern Corps (the less said about that storyline the better) also meant that Guy could no longer carry a Power Ring.
Thankfully, Beau and a series of gifted artists didn't back down from the challenge - instead, they turned the volume up to "11" and started a series of wild adventures that gave Guy new, alien-based powers that allowed him to transform his body into any kind of weapon he could imagine.
So that made for lots of issues filled with over the top action - but the creative team also knew when to throw a change-up at the readers.
That's what makes this issue so much fun. Oh, there's some fighting in there, but most of the issue is turned over to a party featuring almost every hero in the DC Universe (and quite a few you would never have expected). It's all to celebrate the opening of Guy's new bar, and what a guest list!
Where else would you find Supergirl talking to Congo Bill, or Judo Master and Thunderbolt sharing stories over a beer?
Drawn by Phil Jimenez, it's loaded with an insane number of characters (as he channels George Perez in the best possible sense).
The comic manages something that's mighty rare these days - a funny story that has you smiling all the way along.
The Warrior series was like that from start to finish - a wildly unpredictable and entertaining series that kept you guessing throughout.
We need more like it!
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Grade: A
1 comment:
This has one of my favorite covers, as it's an homage to one of my favorite paintings, "The Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper.
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