DC Comics brings one of its best Green Lantern stories to the Compact Comics format and it works!

Ever since I was a kid, I have been reading comics but most importantly I have been reading Green Lantern by DC Comics. My dad introduced me to the character and the mythos of the character when I picked up my first Green Lantern comic featuring Kyle Rayner as the titular hero. Since that point I have done my best to keep up with my favorite ring slinging heroes, but as you all know, life sometimes gets in the way and we have to take a step back from things in order to focus on other matters. Even through those moments, I still found ways to keep up with the stories and the heroes of OA and recently I discovered one of the best Green Lantern stories to date with Far Sector from DC Comics and their Compact Comics line.

Before I get into what Far Sector is about and who created the series, I wanted to talk a bit about the DC Compact Comics line. The books in this line of products are about the size of a manga and they collect anything from a 3-4 issue miniseries to a 12 issue maxiseries to the first 13 or 14 issues of a series. It depends on the story you pick up but the best part about these books is the price point: $9.99. Think about that, most comics nowadays can run $3.99 to $5.99 and up depending on the series and whether or not it is a special issue possibly kicking off a new event. Also, most graphic novels can be anywhere from $15-$16 all the way up to $50 or $60 depending on what you get. But, with the Compact line readers can discover some amazing stories and at a fantastic price point of $9.99 and that is a great deal. One last selling point on the Compact line before I talk about Far Sector, is that every book has full color pages.

Now let’s talk about Far Sector and what the story is about and who the creative team behind the story is. In Far Sector, we are introduced a new Green Lantern by the name of Sojourner “Jo” Mullein who is tasked with policing a sector on the fringes of the known universe. She is based in the City Enduring which is a Dyson swarm that is home to 20 billion beings. The residents of the City Enduring consist of three species: the all digital beings known as the @At, the Nah who have wings and the keh-Topli who are a plant based species. After a lifetime of conflict the three species came together to better society by creating the Emotion Exploit which allows the citizens of Enduring to live in peace. The citizens are ruled by a governing council called The Trilogy Council where a member of each species presides.

After 500 years of peace, someone is murdered and Jo is tasked by the Trilogy Council to investigate the murder and bring the killer to justice. What Jo uncovers in her investigation is just the tip of the iceberg to what is really going on in the City Enduring and I will say that it is wild.

The series Far Sector ran for 12 issues from 2019-2021 and was part of the DC Comics Imprint: Young Animal and it was written by N. K. Jemisin with art by Jamal Campbell. I have to say that the story and the art had me hooked from the very first page. It’s a full page panel that is so beautiful and haunting that it sets the tone for what is to come in the best way possible. It begins with a quote from Chinua Achebe‘s Things Fall Apart: “A man who makes troubles for others is also making it for himself.” I’m glad N.K. Jemisin used this quote to kick off this story because as I was going through this mystery, I kept thinking about it whenever we would get Jo’s backstory or we would see the true motivations behind some of the things going on. I also found it especially powerful when it came to the explanation of the importance of the Emotion Exploit and how the only person who had a choice in whether or not they got it was Jo. Jemisin does a fantastic job of setting up this moral and emotional conflict from the get go and does not let up at all. I also wanted to talk about the world building and how Jemisin does a fantastic job of not only introducing us to new species and a brand new world but also establishing new lore within the mythos of Green Lantern. We are introduced to a brand new character who we automatically attach ourselves to and by the time we get to her backstory, we are fully invested in Jo and we can’t help but root for her. This is someone who has been through so much and this assignment to the fringes of the universe allows her to work through her past and set herself up for a better future. All of these things show you how much love and care went into every aspect of this story.

The art by Jamal Campbell is so clean and full of so much detail. I absolutely loved the design of Jo’s Lantern uniform and her ring and it’s wonderful to see how every Lantern adds their own flair to their uniform and Jo’s is no exception. But the best designs aren’t just with Jo, they are everywhere from the various looks of the creatures that inhabit the City Enduring to the city and technology itself. Campbell does an incredible job of helping Jemisin build this world and making it a living breathing place. While this world is alien it feels very familiar and it feels like a place that anyone of us could live. With all of these things, I honestly feel that Campbell was the only one who could really capture the look and the tone of the story.

So we covered the story and the art, but now it’s time to talk about the build of the book. As I stated earlier in this review, this book is the size of a Manga and I have to say that DC Comics has done a fantastic job in adapting this story into this compact format. Some of the splash pages and spreads suffer a bit from this being a paperback and not a hardcover like an omnibus but I am willing to forgive that. Here is why I am willing to forgive that: the first thing is that this book is $10 and I get a complete comic series. The second is that I can take this book anywhere! I can put it in a backpack or a small bag and read this anywhere. As much as I love my oversized hardcovers and omnibuses along with compendiums and so much more, I’d rather have this. I was just on vacation with my wife and I took two of these Compacts along with me and read one on the plane going to our destination and then I slowly read the other throughout the trip. We have another trip coming up soon and I know that I will be taking a few more of these with me (especially with the train ride we are taking). But seriously, if you are looking for an incredible story at a fantastic price point and you are willing to forgive that some of the splash pages won’t be as majestic as they would be in a standard graphic novel or oversized hardcover or omnibus or what have you, then this is the format and this is the book for you. If you are looking for a great Green Lantern story with a new lead who has an interesting past, check this book out. You all will not be disappointed.

I give DC COMPACT COMICS: FAR SECTOR 5 GREEN LANTERN POWER RINGS OUT OF 5

Have you checked out Far Sector or the DC Comics Compact line out yet? If so, we would love to hear from you and if you haven’t we would love to know if you are going to check it out.