Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemire Head to Vertigo

Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemire are two of the most prolific creators in the comics industry right now. But though they're both heavily involved in shaping DC's New 52 universe (Johns with Justice League, Green Lantern, and Aquaman and Lemire with Justice League Dark, Animal Man, and Frankenstein), fans have yet to see the two creators work together on a series. That's set to change this October thanks to Vertigo's new anthology special, Ghosts. The issue will include a short story called "Ghost for Hire," written by Johns and illustrated by Lemire.

Ghosts is an oversized one-shot featuring a variety of both established creators and newcomers, with every story featuring a ghostly theme. Appropriately, the issue is scheduled to ship on October 31. On their Source Blog today, DC released a preview image from "Ghost for Hire."

"Ghost for Hire" by Geoff Johns & Jeff Lemire

Lemire commented on his partnership with Johns. "It was a real thrill for me to work with Geoff," he said. "I've written with him before, but to get to draw for him was really special. To be honest, I wasn't sure what kind of ghost story Geoff would deliver and I was pleasantly surprised with "Ghost For Hire." It's whimsical and fun and it has heart. When Geoff said he wanted to do a story like all the old Abbot and Costello movies he watched as a kid it really clicked for me!"

Continue below for more preview art from Ghosts.

"The Dead Boy Detectives in Run Ragged" by Tony Litt & Mark Buckingham

"Treasure Lost" by David Lapham & Paul Pope

"The Dark Lady" by Gilbert Hernandez

“The Night After I Took the Data Entry Job I Was Visited By My Own Ghost” by Al Ewing & Rufus Dayglo

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following Jesse on Twitter, or on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Green Lantern #0 Review

While most of the other zero issues are serving to reflect on the past of its titular characters, Green Lantern #0 is instead looking at the future. Here, Geoff Johns introduces us to the mysterious new Green Lantern of Earth, Simon Baz. Happily, Johns builds a fantastic new representative of Sector 2814, constructing a stellar issue that uses the modern socio-political climate as a way to showcase Baz’s ability to overcome great fear. This issue is a triumph of not only character building, but turning a negative of the real world into an inspirational positive.

We’re introduced to Baz and his family as they are being persecuted for being Muslim in the wake of 9/11, and later, Baz himself accused of being a terrorist. This is, of course, untrue, but he falls deeper and deeper into the interrogation rabbit hole. Johns showcases Baz’s strength of character by allowing him to admit that he is, in fact, a criminal (he was stealing a car), and that upon learning the car he jacked carried a bomb on board, he had heroic intentions. Johns is able to rely on the very real climate of a post-9/11 America to let readers infer certain aspects of Baz’s younger years, leaving him ample space for a well-written interrogation scene that reveals more about both Baz and the agents interrogating him.

Green Lantern #0 is another example of Johns taking his epic Green Lantern run in a wholly unexpected direction that also serves as a stellar jump-on point for newbies. Though it’s only been one issue, I fully expect Baz – if he survives for a while, of course – to become another successful addition to Earth’s Green Lanterns. For continuing readers, yes, there’s also a brief one-page look at just what the hell happened to Hal Jordan and Sinestro in Green Lantern #12.

Dough Mahnke delivers a solid issue, and gets to explore some different territory outside the norm of his usual Green Lantern work. This is a book filled mostly with real-world situations (predominately the aforementioned interrogation scene), and Mahnke really gets to show off his knack for hitting dramatic beats and constructing solid facial emotions. Johns has an uncharacteristically dialogue-centric script, but Mahnke does a stellar job of pacing his pages so the visuals are still just as interesting as the words, where a lesser artist would struggle to make talking heads as dynamic as this.

As much as I’ve dug the buddy cop elements of Green Lantern as of late, Green Lantern #0 seems to be pushing the boundaries of the mythology much like the early days of the War of Light did a few years ago, but from a very new and very specific character-centric approach. Welcome to the DCU, Baz.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

Source : ign[dot]com

Aquaman #11 Review

Apparently it's not enough for Geoff Johns to swoop in and make writing a compelling Aquaman yarn look like child's play. He also has to prove that it's perfectly possible to toss an entire team full of essentially new characters at readers and make these readers fall in love with them after a handful of issues. This is a book that makes good on all the promise the New 52 offered.

More flashbacks in this issue shed light on the early days of Atlantis, its first king, and how all of that ties into Aquaman's revamped origin. The scope of the series is getting bigger all the time, yet never does it feel like Johns is losing sight of his characters or the very personal grudge between Arthur and Black Manta. New developments this month suggest that the series is only going to get bigger and more unpredictable after this current conflict wraps up.

Johns focuses more attention on the present-day incarnation of The Others in this issue. It's interesting to see how these characters interact with Aquaman and respond to his status as a Justice League member. Their jealousy is an amusing counterpoint to the constant "Aquaman is lame" jokes that were flying in the first arc. Johns offers up some memorable character work for characters like Vostok and The Prisoner (who makes for a much better Unknown Soldier than the one currently seen in G.I. Combat). It's impressive how much life Johns is able to breathe into these characters despite their limited dialogue and screen presence.

Ivan Reis and his collaborators shine quite a bit in this issue, despite there being three inkers. For the most part, the inking duties are divided in such a way that the pages play to each artist's strength. Andy Lanning's bold lines crop up in pages where clear, detailed figure work is required. Joe Prado's inks, meanwhile, enhance the more ethereal and underwater scenes. Unfortunately, Jonathan Glapion's inks don't seem to complement Reis' pencils as well as the other two. The standout sequence this month is an aerial drop that recalls the expert framing of Superman's plummet in the climax of Johns and Gary Frank's Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

See? Aquaman is as cool as Superman. In the right hands, at least.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and various other IGN channels. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com