Best Shots review - Future State: Green Lantern #2 saved with Teen Lantern back-up story

The main story in Future State: Green Lantern #2 picks up in the midst of the ongoing planetary evacuation while John Stewart has been captured by the Khund cult, but Geoffrey Thorne's scripting never stirs any emotion. 

It's just difficult to care about a conflict when the writing itself seems disinterested in the characters that find themselves caught up in it, and the continued lack of context for why this is all happening hurts that potential level of engagement even more. The story only seems to exist because there needed to be a Green Lantern book being published. Not even the rugged texture of Tom Raney and Mike Atiyeh's artwork can make it seem like more.

The issue's saving grace is the first back-up, which comes from Josie Campbell, Andie Tong, Wil Quintana, and Dave Sharpe; it sees Teen Lantern, trapped on Mogo, the sentient planet, when the central battery stops. Stranded and alone, it's up to her to fend for survival. While somewhat slight due to the brevity, the team succeed in tackling this from the young character's point-of-view and in illustrating the character's potential within the wider mythos and not just as a part of Young Justice.

The second back-up is more of an ad for the ongoing series than an actual story. Robert Venditti's script opens with Hal lamenting how many Lanterns have disappeared or lost contact, so he sets off for the stars to get a handle on what threats are coming. Though what's worse than the thin material is how the dynamic stylings of Dexter Soy are flattened by Alex Sinclair's colors. There are hints of texture in the artwork, but the final outcome hews too close to the house style for an artist who has previously proven to be capable of anything but.

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