Sometimes there are books that simply call out to you, whether that be through the cover, the characters involved, or the core premise, and sometimes those books manage to deliver everything you were hoping for. Well friends, this is how we arrive at DC K.O. Green Lantern Galactic Slam #1, a DC K.O. tie-in that creates a DC Universe wrestling federation with all of the elbow drops, mic drops, and heel turn twists you could ever hope for, and all with one of the best Green Lanterns right in the middle of it. When I say this book feels like it was written for me, that is not an understatement, and I couldn’t recommend this ring-slinging wrestling fever dream more.
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The team of Jeremy Adams, Cian Tormey, Pat Boutin, Romulo Fajardo Jr, and Buddy Beaudoin has created something absurdly fun with Green Lantern Galactic Slam, and while it’s largely self-contained, I’m hopeful this leads to even more adventures with the duo at the center of it. That would be Kyle Rayner and the baddest wrestler on the planet, Omega-Bam-Man, with the latter making his debut in an earlier adventure with The Flash. That said, this adventure ramps things up to 11 with a story of twists and turns that also never forgets not to take itself so seriously, and that tongue-in-cheek nature is what puts it over the top.
Rating: 5 out of 5
| PROS | CONS |
| Wrestling fans will adore this, and it’s hard not to see the enthusiasm throughout | Will have to wait and see how much this actually affects DC K.O.’s story |
| Out-of-the-box scenarios bring the best out of Kyle Rayner | |
| Bro Bro is now part of my every day slang |
Adams has done such a wonderful job of bringing out the individual personalities and quirks of each of the Lanterns, though that’s especially true of the Earth Lanterns, and Rayner is no exception. Rayner’s ability to sort of fumble through this adventure and run with things on the fly allows immense opportunities for comedy, and some of the setups towards the end are perfect embodiments of this in action. When you hear Kyle talk about how he’s always thought about having a cape after having to wear wrestling gear only for Omega-Bam-Man admonish the Bat Person who was a naysayer of the concept, you just can’t help but smile, and after reading this issue, I’m going to slip in a Bro Bro or two into my daily slang from here on out.
That lighthearted sense of humor permeates the book, and truly allows you to lose yourself in the wonderful world of cosmic wrestling that Tormey, Boutin, Fajardo Jr, and Beaudoin have created, which is gorgeous by the way. The moment-to-moment action is visceral and brutal, and yet is balanced thanks to that surface-level wink and a nod that wrestling is so famous for. That is captured beautifully throughout the issue, from entrance poses to heel turns, and there are times all that is missing is a literal microphone in hand.
It’s also a credit to the team that a sizable portion of the issue doesn’t really connect to Kyle or the K.O. present, and instead dips into Omega-Bam-Man’s origin story. If there wasn’t any investment in the character or the overall premise, this would have been a momentum killer, but because you actually end up caring about him, you can’t help but be genuinely curious to see how this crazy man actually came to be. That backstory sets up the ending third of the books perfectly, and it all crescendos into an ending that brings things full circle and allows the possibility for more adventures with this team in the here and now.
DC K.O. Green Lantern Galactic Slam might not land as well with those who aren’t wrestling fans, but if you happen to be a wrestling fan and enjoy a little superhero adventure as well, you will absolutely be in heaven.
- Published By: DC Comics
- Written By: Jeremy Adams
- Art By: Cian Tormey and Pat Boutin
- Colors By: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
- Letters By: Buddy Beaudoin
DC K.O. Green Lantern Galactic Slam hits comic stores on January 21st.
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