Green Lantern has been a pretty great comic book series for as long as I can remember. I can’t think of a single “bad” arc that has come out in the last decade. Maybe even longer! The GL franchise (Because it has spawned other stories about the Corps) always has solid art and great fight scenes. It’s also a blast to read because space battles are very enjoyable.

This collection covers the Agent Orange arc (Hence the title) and the final few pages lead into Blackest Night. The collection (Or Hal Jordan’s part of it) starts off with Hal Jordan still trying to get rid of his Blue Lantern Ring. (Personally, I’d keep it, since it amps up his GL ring and constantly recharges it. Likewise the GL ring does the same to the BL ring.) The Blue Lanterns are actually pretty mean…or not very understanding of the whole situation. They are attacked by Manhunters which is always a cause for concern, because this usually leads to intergalactic wars or very complicated situations.

Meanwhile, a group of really “tough” characters have infiltrated a cave. They have found the orange light of power and wish to claim it for themselves. With this power at their disposal, they can finally defeat the Red, Yellow, and Green Lanterns and conquer the galaxy! Their plans are quickly foiled and the leader of the Orange Lanterns, Larfleeze, declares war on the Green Lanterns. After all, these cave infiltrators were once affiliated with them. The Guardians respond by assembling the full might of the GL Core and attacking Larfleeze’s home planet (And they search the rest of the sector for fugitives)

Larfleeze is the main villain of the comic, but I can’t say that he’s one of my favorite characters. I didn’t really care for him and while his constructs are powerful, I’d take Hal over him in a fair fight. Luckily it wasn’t a fair fight for either of them. Hal Jordan had his BL ring to amp up his GL ring, and Larfleeze had his Orange power battery so that he could keep on charging his OL ring.(Keeping track of all the abbreviations?) Like him or not, Larfleeze is still a formidable foe and should be regarded as such.

Hal Jordan is still the main character and it’s definitely for a reason. He seems to be the most competent out of the Green Lanterns and he quickly takes the fight to Larfleeze. He single-handedly gives him a good fight, while the rest of the core are struggling against his constructs. His uniform also looks the coolest and the mask is pretty cool. I prefer when it’s hard/sharp as opposed to the Lone Ranger/Robin type of mask from the old days. Jordan was definitely my favorite character from the comic.

John Stewart gets a decently large role in the comic as well, but he just doesn’t seem as skilled as Hal. He ends up getting some help from one of his old enemies, but he still manages to take out a lot of Orange Lanterns. I can’t really say that I liked his character a lot, but I didn’t dislike him. He just didn’t leave a big impression.

Agent Orange is a pretty solid arc that I believe you will enjoy. All GL fans will certainly get a kick out of it and it’s very fun and easily accessible. New fans to the series shouldn’t be confused and the art is spectacular. The Guardians make a pretty controversial call towards the end, but they never were heroes now were they? The lead into Blackest Night is definitely epic and we see that some characters may be getting a role in the upcoming battles (Star Sapphire). You definitely won’t want to miss this collection!

Overall 7/10