John Stewart: The Emerald Knight #1 follows longtime Green Lantern John Stewart as he continues his journey through the cosmos. In writer Geoffrey Thorne’s 12-issue run on Green Lantern, Stewart absorbed the “godstorm,” a cosmic phenomenon that gave him godlike powers. Alongside his newly acquired New God status, Stewart has also become the power supply for the Green Lantern Corps following the destruction of the Central Battery on Oa. Declaring himself the Emerald Knight, Stewart became the clear leader of the Corps moving forward. John Stewart: The Emerald Knight #1, written by Geoffrey Thorne, with art by Marco Santucci, colors by Michael Atiyeh, and letters by Rob Leigh, explores Stewart’s future as a New God and the leader of the Green Lantern Corps.
While this is a 48-page one-shot issue, it is a clear continuation of Thorne’s previous work on Green Lantern. The issue does a solid enough job explaining the pertinent information for the conflict at hand to welcome new readers. Still, fans will benefit from some knowledge of previous events. The central conflict for the issue comes as Stewart and his fellow Lanterns battle the New God Esak, who is manipulating hypertime and the physics of the multiverse for his own perverse ends.
Thorne’s writing is incredibly dramatic. His tone is perfect for a story of this scope and scale. The New Gods are mentioned throughout the issue, and the implications of how the omniverse functions are talked about casually. The drama is writ large. John Stewart is the main focus of this issue, and he’s shown as an extremely capable and selfless leader. The supporting cast around him is engaging and adds levity and conflict when needed. The villain, Esak, feels a little generic as far as bad guys go, but the meta commentary Thorne weaves into the story through him makes up for it.
Santucci’s art ranges from serviceable to fantastic. The action sequences, in particular, are stunning, while sections that feature characters standing around talking can feel like a bit of a drag. Those smaller and quieter scenes lack the dynamic energy of the action. Seeing the Corps in battle, with their constructs, is awesome. The chaos is easy to follow, and the scale of the power on display is a sight to behold in various moments.
Atiyeh’s colors are brilliant throughout. A stunning array of greens helps to distinguish between multiple costumes and varying intensities of power. They clash fiercely with the oranges dominated by Esak’s forces and make it easy to keep track of the battle. Blues and purples also get moments to shine in backgrounds and in accenting powerful moments. Leigh’s lettering is just as solid in this issue. Esak’s speech bubbles have a unique undefined quality to their borders that adds to his character’s personality. Sound effects emphasize key moments in the action, and Leigh knows how to bring attention to keywords to add a sense of urgency to epic battles.
Fans of John Stewart are sure to love this issue, and fans of Green Lantern content will, at the very least, be intrigued by the new directions the Corps is going. It’s a bit wordy at times and will be much more enjoyable to readers who have followed Stewart’s previous escapades. This one-shot tells a compelling story with a clear beginning and end, but the door remains wide open for future tales. With John Stewart: The Emerald Knight #1, Thorne and the rest of the creative team deliver on the powerful and near-limitless future of one of the Lantern’s most beloved characters.
