By Lantern Light: Ult. Green Lantern Discussion

[Stardrifter]

Sorry for the wait, but Ultimate Green Lantern Vol. 2 #1 is up!

I'll be updating the timeline topic soon, but for those wondering, consider this story to be modern day. The end of Vol. 1 was about 3 months ago, in universe time.

This is obviously a change of direction. Let me know what you guys think.

[liquidsword34]

I haven't read much of GL Vol. 1 so can't comment on the change of direction, but I liked this first issue, namely the characterization of Kyle.

[buck]

Enjoyable first issue and looks like your shrinking the scope which was my biggest issue with Jross take he went too big too fast. Though I'm interested to see how the Green Lantern Timeline changes relationships between Kyle, Hal, Sines Toro and all that good stuff.

[Stardrifter]

New Secret Files are up. I generally don't like using actors for them, but it was already done for most of them so I'm just going with the flow. There's a lot of topics but I felt it best to separate them into Corps for future sanity.

I just took care of the humans for now. Sometime soon I'll get the alien Lanterns up there.

[Deleted]

SO I read the first issue of GL Vol. 2, which means I have now read as many issues of volume 2 as I had of volume 1 (I just never had the chance to catch up on GL before JRoss went AWOL). So a lot of the back story referred to in the beginning was a bit lost on me.

It was a solid first issue, well written. To be honest, I never really warmed to Kyle as a character (largely because I was never a fan of Ron Marz's writing and also because Hal's GL was a childhood favorite that I read through high school as one of the few DC books my Marvel Zombie kidself followed). So an ultimate series featuring Kyle as the main protagonist is not going to be a huge draw for me, but I will keep checking it out as it is well written and I enjoyed Star's previous efforts on Ultimate Superman a lot. So let's see where this goes, and as an avid D&Der myself, I enjoyed the gaming moments.

-M

[C_Miller]

I liked this. Unlike mrp, I am a pretty big Kyle fan for a lot of the reasons that I tend to like Wally West and a lot of the other younger heroes. And this felt a lot like what a Kyle driven title should be about. Down on his luck guy about to be given the greatest weapon in the universe. Just from that, there's a lot of story potential.

I'm trying to think of specific parts I really liked. I did like the scenes with Alex. Those came off as extremely natural and I liked the mythology stuff you did, even though it's not exactly mythology you built. It definitely feels like you have a direction and are going with that full speed ahead. Can't wait.

[Stardrifter]

Kyle is the main character for now, as a way to reintroduce things and setup the changes I have planned. In time I envision the title to be more of a team book, kinda. Just keep in mind if you are a Hal/Guy/John etc. fan that you won't be disappointed for long. Assuming theyre alive...

And of course being ultimate, I'd urge you to keep in mind that my take might be different and you might like Kyle.

[Stardrifter]

Updated the Secret Files with Sines Toro, Kilowog, and Tomar-Re. Updated the timeline in the timeline topic. Updated the draft topic for Guy and Booker.

[Stardrifter]

Part 2 is up!

I'd really appreciate any feedback I can get. I'm trying to be more character focused in this series without going overboard. I'd like to know how you guys feel about it and if it's staying interesting and believable.

So let me know what you think and get ready next issue for the reveal of the "trainer."

[liquidsword34]

I like the character focused approach. Very well written issue.

[oberonfrost]

Kyle is my second favorite Lantern, so I'm pretty pleased that he's the focus for the moment. The only Earth Lantern I like better is Guy, and I can't wait for your take on him Star.

Both issues so far are very well written, top points on quality. Like MRP, I missed out on JRoss' volume one, so this was all new to me.

The one thing that bothered about your "ultimaztion" was that Kyle himself wasn't different enough. It's still the down on his luck comic book artist who is given the best weapon in the universe and is the only hope for the space cops all over again. I have no doubt that things are going to go vastly differently from DC's Kyle from here. But I'm torn on that point as a criticism, even. Maybe I'm just being nit picky about it.

I'm definitely on board to see what happens from here on out. I can already tell it's going to be a fun ride.

[Stardrifter]

I'll agree my take on Kyle isn't very different yet. I think part of me wanted a chance to write his character as it is, so right now I'm focusing more on how things are different around him. That isn't to say he isn't going to evolve over time, and the journey this Kyle is going to take will change him quite a bit.

But yeah it is a fair criticism at the moment.

[oberonfrost]

Actually, when you put it that way, I think it's a terribly unfair criticism on my part. You've obviously thought it through, and I really like the idea that "ultimate Kyle" is still the same old Kyle, and the world around him is what's different, eventually bringing him to a different place than his original counterpart. Very cool thought, Star.

So, do we get a "women in refridgerators" gag with Alex this time around? Or would that be spoilers? ;-)

[Stardrifter]

All I'll say is Alex is in no danger of dying any time soon.

[oberonfrost]

Well that sucks. Cause I hate her. Well the old her. Maybe you can make me think she doesn't deserve to be fridge stuffing.

EDIT: This is mostly a joke.

[C_Miller]

Jun 21, 2012 20:57:30 GMT -5 Stardrifter said:

All I'll say is Alex is in no danger of dying any time soon.

Haha. Good. I was actually talking to buck about this very issue recently and I'm happy to hear that she'll be around for a while. It will be nice to have a stable relationship on the site being focused on. Just off the top of my head, I can't think of one.

But yeah, loved the issue. It does feel like it's very similar to the Kyle that I'm a massive fan of and I'm not picking up on too many updates, but I'm sure they'll come. I definitely trust your pen.

[elite147]

Read both issues and it's solid work man. I enjoy your Kyle and can't wait to see where you take him. I like Miller, I don't see to many updates, but I trust your writing and look forward to more.

-Elite

[Deleted]

Just read issue #2. Solid and well written, it gave us a little longer look at Kyle, Alex and heir relationship, but it didn't feel like the story moved forward very much aside form Kyle figuring out how the ring worked. Enjoyable, but feels very decompressed-not always a bad thing, but I am hoping to see a little more in the next issue.
-M

[Stardrifter]

I can see what you mean about the decompression. I feel like I have a tendency in my writing to be too short. That I want to get to the next exciting story idea that I tend to skip over fleshing out characters and scenes. Which is why I'm trying to do better with GL and take time to flesh out the characters.

If I'm going too far the other way I apologize. But the next issue will be a step forward in the story.

[Deleted]

It's cool. It's a tough balancing act between spotlighting character development and moving the story forward. Plot and character. It's something I think every writer struggles with. Robert McKee's book Story, has a lot of interesting things to say about using character to drive plot and having every scene mean something. I am not sure I agree with everything he says, but it is good food for thought. However, Bendis, one of the writers most guilty of decompression in the history of comics, swears by McKee, so I don't know how good an endorsement of McKee that is. McKee is also seen by some as espousing a formulaic approach to storytelling, but that I don't see. I think McKee is worth a read by most aspiring authors though, as it at least gets you thinking about the craft of storytelling and forces you to contemplate your own choices.

The character work in #2 was very well done, and if there had been an additional piece moving the story forward, more than the glimpse at the menacing cloud entity at the end, I would have said it was an excellent issue overall, but in the end, it felt a little empty because not much happened.

Even if the additional piece had been Kyle revealing the ring's powers to Alex and their conflict took another step towards resolution or worsening (positive or negative value change in McKee terms) instead of leaving it hanging until next issue, then #2 would have felt more satisfying. I'd hate to see you back off the character work, but I would like to see more movement of the story, whether plot arc or character arc. But that's just me, and as I have said when commenting on other titles, I am a greedy reader.

-M