There are worse reasons to win a war.
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom King
Art: Barnaby Bagenda, Ig Guara
What They Say:
The Omega Men’s mysterious plan for Kyle Rayner comes to fruition as the former Green Lantern is forced to make the biggest decision of his life-one that could cost millions of lives. Secrets are finally revealed in an epic climax that will change the balance of power in the DC Universe.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Omega Men has been a real blast to read and dig through as there’s so much to unpack in different ways to different readers. The layering of it, the mystery behind it all still to be exposed, and the simple variety of new locales explored really drives it home in a big way. As much as I like the familiar, this whole sector and its separateness from the rest of how the space side works in the DC Universe is highly appealing. It allows for more sophisticated and mature storytelling that lets some familiar characters really step up and feel like they’re becoming more fully realized and engaging. This installment does a lot of that for Kyle, who already has a pretty varied history behind him.
With the way events have played out on Hyn’xx so far, it’s now been a bit since the event went down and Kyle and Kalista have escaped. You know she’s still playing him for her/their own purposes, but she does it so masterfully, with so much ease, that you can find yourself questioning just how much you believe it. That’s a big plus in the book as we see the two of them on the run, avoiding being captured, while looking for passage offworld. There’s some really great moments between them because you also know that Kyle has realized that he’s being played, at least on some level, and has committed to the act just as much as she has. it’s an elaborate dance that plays out as they make love, deal with the locals, and go through the process of securing passage using an important item of his from Earth. With anything from Earth being high-value out here, it certainly makes a lot of sense.
The nature of their escape is fairly standard, but it’s so beautifully executed in the script and through the fantastic visuals with Bagenda and Guara delivering in spades here that you forget just how engaging it is. It’s the kind of book where you do a second and third read through just to focus on various aspects of the design. When the book shifts into its final escape mode and we see the Omega Men revealing themselves (like we thought they were dead), it has a great bit of intensity to it as Kyle shows that he’s not that easily pushed out and has figured out a lot of what’s going on. His facial expressions during it really ups the intensity that you know he’s feeling, especially in contrast to the calm of Kalista as hints of the truth start to finally come out. His curiosity is what’s likely to kill him, but few could really resist at this stage.
In Summary:
The Omega Men has a fairly traditional escape installment here that’s made fantastic in its actual execution. With beautiful visuals in both character and backgrounds – those backgrounds! – and a very smooth flow in how the panels are laid out, it’s so easy to be caught up in this book with what it’s attempting to do that you just enjoy the singular aspects while also taking in as a part of the whole work that King and company are crafting here. Giving the majority of the focus to Kyle and Kalista definitely works here – I practically want a Kalista solo book if I can’t have a weird one of the two of them together – and I love how it all comes back together at the end with enough time to really up the anticipation for what’s to come. Fantastic stuff across the board here.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: December 30th, 2015
MSRP: $2.99
