Written by N.K. Jemisin.
Art & Cover Art by Jamal Campbell.
Lettering by Deron Bennett.
SUMMARY:
Released in 2021 by DC Comics, this 312-page trade paperback compiles 2019-2020’s complete Green Lantern: Far Sector # 1-12 series. Subsequently re-released as a compact (digest-sized) trade paperback, this title is also now available in deluxe hardcover and digital formats. Previously an U.S. combat soldier, a down-on-her-luck New York street cop, Sojourner “Jo” Mullein, is introduced as a new Green Lantern recruit deployed on extended solo duty for a year.
The rookie Mullein possesses neither a lantern power battery nor a traditional power ring’s full capability. Now a few months inro her assignment, all she can do is compensate through her compassion, an unwavering conscience, and natural Brooklyn-born tenacity as a detective. Including her struggles learning to fly, Mullein must often resort to taxis, if only to conserve her ring’s power supply – which takes nearly a week to self-recharge once fully depleted.
Assigned as a special law enforcement officer to a diverse domed city-world of twenty billion alien inhabitants, Mullein regularly updates readers at the start of each issue. Such updates include Mullein’s confidential correspondences to the Green Lantern Corps’ Guardians or perhaps an imaginative analysis of her present predicament.
Meanwhile, sporadic moments of Mullein’s life as an African American – her pre-9/11 childhood up through a stress-inducing incident ending her police career – are revealed throughout the series.
Inside the domed City Enduring, which exists outside the Green Lantern Corps’ known universal boundaries, Mullein is its sole inhabitant openly exhibiting emotions. For a society intermingling three vastly different alien races, emotion has been purged for centuries – ‘The Emotion Exploit,’ as it’s called. Dubbed ‘Switchoff,’ a banned means of releasing/experiencing one’s suppressed emotions is now circulating in the city’s underworld, as if it’s an illicit drug. Following half a millennium of virtually zero violence, two grisly homicides in rapid succession rock the City Enduring.
Working with her best friend, local police officer Szyn, Mullein (along with her AI-assistant, CanHaz) links these ugly deaths and additional crimes to the City’s own supervising Council. Including her potential romance with a suave prime suspect, Mullein’s probe confirms that the spreading effect of emotions has the City Enduring descending into political/social chaos.
Determined to protect the defenseless and uphold basic justice, Mullein’s efforts are undermined by some unexpected adversaries pursuing various ulterior motives. Such conflict might even sever Mullein’s unfulfilled relationship with her one true soulmate. A final assault is launched to penetrate the domed city and forcibly reduce its inhabitants back to their prior subservience.
With her power ring coasting on fumes, Mullein makes a climatic stand protecting the denizens of her temporary home world.
REVIEW:
Far Sector delivers an intriguing sci-fi political/urban whodunnit, which just happens to feature the Green Lantern Corps’ newest recruit. Written as one might expect from an acclaimed novelist, N.K. Jemisin’s intricate plotting takes its time unfolding. Occasional lags happen, but Jemisin’s admirable originality makes up the difference. Her savvy sci-fi storytelling is sparked by artist Jamal Campbell’s stellar visuals. Jemisin and Campbell, in that sense, concoct a welcome deep dive into the genesis of their creation: a very down-to-earth Green Lantern.
Though John Stewart and Guy Gardner are briefly mentioned, Jemisin smartly depicts Sojourner “Jo” Mullein as a solo heroine unsure of her own destiny. Given how Mullein is this storyline’s sole human (aside from glimpses into her troubled past), a near-constant emphasis on her struggles adapting to alien culture becomes a mirror for readers. Grasping the City Enduring’s futuristic concepts surely isn’t an easy read. At least, Jemisin and Campbell effectively acknowledge this fish-out-of-water handicap through their protagonist’s own recurring bewilderment.
Recognizing some kid-unfriendly elements (i.e. multiple ‘f-bombs;’ briefly implied nudity/sexual intercourse), Far Sector is geared for college-age audiences and up. More so, unlike standard comic book storylines merely reprinted as graphic novels, Jemisin and Campbell’s Far Sector fulfills the concept. Readers are literally getting a visual sci-fi novel with cinematic flair.
Perusing this complex storyline first through the library might make the best practical sense for casual readers. For patient adult fans, at least, Green Lantern: Far Sector may well hook them into adding it to a favorite bookshelf – it’s worth the ride.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Entitled “A New Green Lantern,” DC’s ‘Young Animal’ imprint supervisor Gerard Way (rock band My Chemical Romance lead vocalist) supplies a two-page foreword on N.K. Jemisin’s behalf. Each full-page Jamal Campbell cover precedes its issue. Provided in a full-page format is Sojourner “Jo” Mullein’s variant cover gallery consisting of these artists:
- Issue # 1 (1. Jamie McKelvie and 2. Shawn Martinbrough);
- Issue # 4 (Ejikure);
- Issue # 5 (Warren Louw);
- Issue # 6 (Sanford Greene);
- Issue # 7 (Stjepan Šejić);
- Issue # 8 (InHyuk Lee);
- Issue # 9 (Meghan Hetrick);
- Issue # 10 (Yasmine Putri);
- Issue # 11 (Mirka Andolfo); and
- Issue # 12 (Jen Bartel).
Campbell supplies four full pages of character designs and concept artwork. The last page is a brief interview of collaborators Jemisin and Campbell.
BRIAN’S OOD MOON RATING: 8½ Stars
