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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey   Story: Denny O'Neil Art: Neal Adams & Dick Giordano Editing: Julius Schwartz SYNOPSISGrandy the incel cook hates women, and uses his sidekick, and her telekinetic gifts to hurt them, including Hal Jordan's love interest, Carol Ferris. Meanwhile, still recovering from her recent traumas, Dinah Drake decides to take a position as a physical education teacher at a school for gifted children (no, not that one), and finds herself on the receiving end of Sybil's power, prompting Hal and Ollie to intervene. Dave So, back again with Green Lantern and Green Arrow. Do you know what year this issue was from? Kev 1971, apparently. Dave Okay. Any initial thoughts on the cover? Kev I think it's a pretty decent cover. I like the contrast of the orange backdrop against our green heroes. Plus, the silhouette of our mystery antagonist gives it a nice bit of intrigue. Which, at the risk of revealing my hand too early, is pretty much a microcosm of the issue. What about yourself? Dave It pretty much gives you an insight into what the theme of this issue is. Yeah, it's not bad at all, as a cover. Nothing fancy, just enough to keep you interested. We are already thrust straight into the antagonist of this story, and how he callously wields his power over Sybil. That's a bit of a scary panel of Sybil on that page with her eyes all lit up.  "She tried to hide the scars. Her name reminds me of the stars. I saw diamonds divide in the corners of her eyes." Kev Yeh, this is quite disturbing, this little one page prologue here, with Grandy basically getting Sybil to paralyse a woman because he bumped into her. It's any excuse with this guy. Dave Yep, I think he's making the point that this guy is completely off his rocker. One thing I will say about this series, is it really suits the bright colours used throughout it. Kev Definitely. Yeh, the colour palette is fantastic. Dave I do like the narrative transition from, "This is what happened last month" to "And this is now..." Keep it simple. Kev Yep. Simple, yet very efficient and effective. In fact, O’Neil is wasting no time in getting straight into the meat of the story. If that was today, we’d reach this point at the end of the issue, not page 2 or 3. Dave The action picks up pretty quickly. Kev It certainly does. Dave It also allows for a bit of banter between them while the action is unfolding. Kev Yeh, it's the repartee and the chemistry between Hal and Ollie that makes this feel like a buddy cop superhero story. Like ‘48hrs,’ or something. Dave Yeah, the back and forth is very much like that, and it isn't all arguing either. I like it though. O'Neil is clearly having a dig at the world of politics again, with Arrow's line, "Thanks pal! If this had conked me I'd have a headache big as a politicians mouth.” Kev Yes! O'Neil has certainly used Ollie as a bit of mouthpiece for more left-leaning views, shall we say. Ha, ha! Dave A little Hitchcock homage on the next panel with the reference to 'The Birds,' and a person who bears an uncanny resemble to Hitchcock. Kev Yeh, that Hitchcock cameo is class. Hitch as the postie. Just like in one of his movies. Dave A nice little touch to inject some humour there, and Grandy the submissive looking guy answering the door, fooling our unsuspecting heroes. Kev Definitely. That first panel on page 5 is superb. But with the team of Adam’s and Gioardano on art duties, it’s hardly surprising. Cracking second panel on page 6, of a dejected looking Hal as well. Grandy's a weasely little shit, isn't he? Dave He's the puppet master, making sure he knows what’s going on. Kev He certainly is that. Using his influence over a little girl to use her and her abilities as a weapon. Dave Canary is already suspicious of something not being right, and Grandy is quick to use Sybil again for another onslaught. The pace in this story is fast and doesn't waste any time. Lantern is his usual self, always looking on the gloomy side. Kev Yeh, Hal would appear to be having something of a crisis of confidence here. Although, it's probably fair to say that this has been building throughout this entire run. I really enjoy the pacing and the structure of these stories. They have a proper episodic, self-contained feel to them. No six issue arcs, a complete story in every issue. Like an 70’s or ‘80’s TV show. 'Knight Rider,' or the like. But I'll take any opportunity I can get to reference 'Knight Rider.' Dave They are very self contained stories. How TV used to be. Not the serial format that most shows follow nowadays. That's a terrific panel at the top of page 6, of Lantern jumping over. Great colours and imagery.  Hal Jordan leaps over an invisible fence. Kev It's excellent, isn't it? And I love the first panel on page 8, of the three of them just hanging out, riding a winged horse. As you do.  And that's just Hal Jordan's runaround horse. You should see his fancy, weekend horse. Dave If you look at those four pages, 6, 7, 8 and 9, I actually think that it is some of the best artwork I have seen in this series so far. It's really rich in colour, but also the attention to detail is great. That's the advantage of having two artist on this issue. And once again, the action doesn't let up, with the exposition going on in the car scene. Kev Yeh. And two all-time great artists at that. The "acting," the emotional expressions that Adams and Giordano get on the faces of the characters, never ceases to amaze me. It’s superb. Dave Also, when they take shelter from the rain, we are getting shades of James Cameron’s blue-esque cinematic look. Kev True. They don't half love that blue, do they? Dave And the dialogue is just as pacy as the action, it never lets up. Kev It never has a chance to get boring, that's for sure. Dave Lantern has a more mature look in this issue, facially and also physically. Kev That's a really good point as well, man. He definitely looks a bit more like a veteran superhero in this issue. There are a few more lines in his face here. Bit of sexy Dinah-getting-changed-into-her-Black-Canary action there. One for the dads.  I feel seen. Dave Yep, I see what you mean, I'm getting MJ vibes here. Kev I agree. Mary Jane was often presented in a similar way to this when we started reading Spider-Man comics in the late '80s. Certainly visually. Dave I like that line from Dinah to Grandy, "I thought you were the cook! I didn't know you'd been promoted!" after he tells her off. She's too savvy, she knows something isn't right here. Kev O'Neil definitely writes Dinah as the smartest person in whichever room she's in. Especially when it's her, Ollie and Hal that are in said room. This, despite the somewhat condescending manner in which Ollie refers to her as "little bird," and the fact that she's essentially playing the part of damsel in distress, and requiring rescuing again here. Dave On pages 10 and 11, Grandy is looking like a puppet from 'Spitting Image.' Especially on the two panels of him facing forward. Kev Ha, ha! "Hold a...chicken in the air, stick a deckchair up your nose, buy a jumbo jet, and then bury all your clothes." That's yet another excellent panel at the top of page 12.  "Close your eyes, give me you hand, Darling. Do you feel my heart beating? Do you understand?" Dave Totally, and of course Sybil is let out of the bag to do her thing again. I like how Canary is getting into the fighting aspect, yet is conscious enough to be aware that it needs to be controlled within. Kev Dinah thinks like a proper martial artist, doesn't she? That's a good point, Sybil is essentially just Grandy's attack dog being let off a lead, isn't she? Dave Grandy sounds completely bonkers "Vile! Vile! Hussy!" He's got just a few issues going on there. Oddly enough, he hates women, and he has used the term "hussy" throughout this, but his weapon of defence is a young female. Must be because he can control and manipulate her, yet with grown women he can't do that. Kev Yep. Grandy was a misogynistic, incel before being a misogynistic incel was cool. Basically he is a good portion of the Andrew Tate supporting internet in 2023. I bet he hates Captain Marvel and She Hulk as well. Dave Haha. The panel of the kids dragging her along the floor, with the brainwashed zombie look is another good one as well. It's interesting, O'Neil's take on the theme of order. Clearly he is using this story as an exaggerated, heightened version of this, but I feel he doesn't like the whole "stick in the muds" of society, and was probably more into free living. Hence why Grandy is a despicable character. Kev Yeh, there's definitely a comment on authoritarianism here, but when he says, “...nothing is so disordered as the average school," I couldn't help but think that he must’ve seen my high school in the early to mid 90s. And throughout this run, you feel that O'Neil is using Ollie as his mouthpiece in a lot of ways. There's a generational conflict of ideas and philosophies here between the hippie, counter culture generation, baby boomers, represented by Ollie, and the more conservative, authoritarian, silent generation, represented by Hal. "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain," apparently. Dave Yeah, O'Neil is a master of weaving his social commentary in, just so you get what he is sending a message about. Kev “Sybil,..make them sorry,” is such a creepy line. It’s great. Dave He's been written as a proper villainy kind of....villain, but it adds to the shadiness of this story. Kev He is one step away from growing a moustache and twirling it. Dave Good move by Canary, putting the wig on to protect her face from the wasps. Arrow certainly gets annoyed by Lantern's uncertainty doesn't he? Kev Yeh, she's certainly no dumb blonde. I think Ollie gets so annoyed at Hal's uncertainty because he feels that it could be costing Dinah her life. And considering how much he loves her, he just can't bear the thought of that. That's another cracking panel at the foot of page 17. The colour palette is fantastic, once again. Speaking of colours; I do love how Hal becomes a redhead, but just for one page on page 19. These digital recolours aren’t always the best. Bloody hell! Now Grandy’s just slapping children as well. He's a lovely chap.  Children Of The Dorm. Dave Again great use of different colours in each panel throughout these scenes. You could see the build up to Grandy getting his eventual comeuppance. Kev Yeh, he's such a despicable character that you're just waiting for it to happen, aren't you? Although, I thought it was interesting that O'Neil left it open for Grandy and Sybil to return at a later point. No body, no death and all that. It's comics, no-one ever stays dead anyway. Dave And there was the question by Arrow to Lantern about could he have saved them. Dropping a subtle question about the morality of valuing all lives. Even those of evil people as well? Kev Yeh. Has Hal let them both die purely from his inaction? Maybe. The composition on that 5th panel on page 21 is fantastic.  That school looks awful for wheelchair access. Dave Yeah, if it were the movies or a TV show, they would insert a clip of the sequel or the next season of her escaping at the last moment in a completely ridiculous manner, and force you to question your suspension of disbelief. Sorry, I'm just getting flashbacks from 'Halloween H20' to 'Halloween Resurrection' there. At least Lantern gets a reasonably satisfying ending, even if it is pissing down with rain. Kev Ha, ha! Totally. And with Sybil's abilities; it's not beyond the realms of possibility for her to have used them to save herself, and Grandy. Dave And, of course, the last panel of the issue teases us that Sybil made it out alive. To be fair, it's keeping it in the realms of "we don't want to condone a child being killed,’ even if she was manipulated into doing evil acts, as she redeemed herself earlier. Kev True, you don't want to be seen to be killing off kids, I suppose. Dave It's another great page of drawing, the rain works well with the tone of what's happening. Kev Yeh, the rain really adds to the mood, that's for sure. That scene with Hal declaring his love for Carol at the end of the issue is…..interesting, to say the least. Dave There's a fair bit happening in this issue, both verbally and physically. Kev Yep. It's jam packed alright. Dave I think this is a good example of how to cram as much as you can into one issue, and yet it still work. It doesn't need to be drawn out into two parts. Kev Absolutely not. I didn't think I was going to like this issue as much as some of the others when I started reading it, but the further I got into it, the more it grew on me. I loved the fast pace, the self contained, procedural nature of it, and the commentary on coercive and controlling men. Dave There's definitely a great combo there Lantern, Arrow and Canary. Kev Absolutely. I've got to admit, much as I love the two of them together, I think I prefer the stories that have a third traveller with them. Dave So, in general, I would say this issue has turned out to be another good story. I’ve got to admit, and I said this before, I wasn't expecting to like this series, but it continues to deliver on so many levels. Kev It really does, doesn't it? This one in particular turned out to be a really enjoyable, good, old fashioned, fun comic for me. With the emphasis on old fashioned. Ha, ha! Dave It finds a good balance on the way. It's not too dark, there's always a message penned in, and it has some good ol' buddy-buddy genre stuff going on, before that really came a staple. Kev It's considered a classic run by two top tier creators for a reason, I suppose. Dave It's a good choice, as I have never read this series before. Kev Me neither. I was aware of it through its reputation, and I'd always meant to get around to reading it, so doing these reviews has provided me with just the excuse I needed to do so. (D) & (K) Next: Rapped In Plastic 
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