Green Lanterns #18 (DC)

Not reading this regularly since last summer, there are things that've happened in the pages of Green Lanterns that I've missed, obviously.  But thankfully, there are always back issues available in comic book stores. And thank goodness, because Sam Humphries finally told the secret origin of the First Lantern, Volthoom.

Volthoom was a character Geoff Johns introduced late in his run on Green Lantern, in the relaunch volume during the New 52.  Johns introduced or revamped so many elements of Green Lantern lore it can be tempting to overlook or underestimate some.  Volthoom seemed particularly throwaway, barely a sketch, just an excuse for another overblown event when it seemed Johns had maxed out with Blackest Night. 

But fortunately, Humphries is able to handle this one, too.  He's already been breathing new life into the Johns creations Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz, the lead characters of Green Lanterns, the two actual Green Lanterns that Johns created, characters who seemed like they were going to head into the scrap heap of history while Robert Venditti did seemingly everything else.  But Venditti was doing what DC wanted him to do, which was to chart new waters, same as Humphries, which is to explore the known again.

And again, thank goodness, because what he does with Volthoom is fascinating.  He actually completely rewrites the origins of the whole concept.  He has Volthoom come from the year 3079, on a parallel Earth.  So yes, Volthoom is actually human.  And he and his mother create the first lantern to try and save the world.  Only, things backfire and Volthoom has to search the multiverse throughout time to try and salvage their efforts.  In so doing, he encounters the Guardians before they were the Guardians.  And he has the Guardians remove their emotions into a new battery, and in the process the first ring is created, and it is given to Volthoom.  But it's too much power for him, and so the Guardians create seven Green Lanterns to defeat him.  (Will we get to meet these guys?) 

And then, fast-forward to the present, when Humphries presents the next chapter in Volthoom's story, to be explored in other issues.

Venditti's Green Lantern never really clicked with me.  He's still writing it in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, but I'm so, so glad Humphries is writing Green Lanterns, for stuff like this.  Maybe he can't be the concept engine Johns was, but he's eminently capable of exploring the world Johns created.  And that is more than good enough.  For a lot of readers, this will actually be their first exposure to it, to Volthoom and Simon and Jessica, and everyone benefits from that.