The breakout character of 2008: I give you... Ruffles. Ruffles the Red Lantern.

[thehefner]

So.

In this week's GREEN LANTERN comics, we were introduced to the Red Lantern Corps, an intergalactic force akin to the rage infected zombies of 28 DAYS LATER, but given incredibly powerful power rings. And this power manifests, infected-style, by vomiting up blood. I feel like the only one making the 28 DAYS LATER connection, but it seems obvious to me.

I'm going somewhere with this, bear with me.

It's all building up to an epic war between the various Corps along the color spectrum. For those who don't read GL, all this must sound like the stupidest goddamn thing ever. Or at least, with a "Rainbow War," the *gayest* goddamn thing ever. And yet somehow, in practice, it is utterly goddamn jaw-droppingly awesome, space opera on a grander scale than any I've seen before. You'll just have to take my word for it.

You see, the Green Lanterns' power derived from willpower. The Sinestro Corps--the evil Corps, formed by the renegade GL Sinestro, natch--their yellow energy is derived from fear. The Sapphire Lanterns' violet powers are love (albeit the Zamaron's own brand of love), the Orange Lanterns are avarice, the Indigo Lanterns are compassion, the Blue Lanterns are hope, and the Black Lanterns are, of course, death. Death in the form of space zombies with power rings.

(No, it's awesome. Really, I swear to god.)

But the Red Lanterns... the Red Lanterns are rage and hatred. And this past Wednesday, on New Comics Day, the Red Lanterns finally struck with their newest member.

His name is supposedly "Dexstar." We* call him "Ruffles." And we love Ruffles the Red Lantern.

And as someone observed, it makes perfect sense. After all, few creatures in existence can hate quite like cats can hate.

See? Told you it was awesome.



*Actually, he was dubbed "Ruffles" by a guy on scans_daily who I have held a bit of a grudge against ever since he preferred being dismissive and slinging mud at me rather than actually take up on my offers to have a real discussion. Don't you just hate it when people like that come around and say something great?

Comments

[nymphgalatea.livejournal.com]

Ruffles the Rage Kitteh is an idea so perfectly *DC comics* that I imagine Dan Didio gave Geoff Johns a raise when he saw that page. It is ridiculous, fitting and somehow quite wonderful, all at once.

Much like the rest of the Corps War, which I am enjoying immensely. Right now I'm waiting patiently for the reveal of the Indigo Lanterns. (Figures that the ones I'm most interested in are the last to show up. Grrr.)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

God, I think you're right. I hadn't thought of it that way, but it is pure DC.

Aye, I recall you were excited about them when they were first announced. Why the Indigo Girls Lanterns?

[nymphgalatea.livejournal.com]

It's partly the look of them - the organic Lantern staves and hippy costumes are very different to all the rest. It's very low-tech looking, as opposed to the Green/Yellow Lanterns with their little rings and their shiny spandex outfits.

And it's partly that I just really like the idea of a Corps that could be used as a peacekeeping/medical force. One of my all time favourite comics characters is Raven, from the Titans. She's been horribly written recently (which is why I wish to smack Judd Winick), but prior to that she was a pretty gentle sort of person, for whom violence was a last resort, which is pretty rare in comics and in real life, sadly.

I hope that the Indigo Corps would be along the same lines as her and Soranik Natu. Empathic, fairly gentle folk, who if they make ring constructions, would tend to use it for things like shields or healing. I could be wrong, but I'd like to think that's how it'd be set up.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Great points. Furthermore, all this puts me in mind of something I've been pondering in the back of my mind.

If the GL mythos were as popular as STARS both WARS and TREK, I imagine we would rightly have whole stories focused on characters and concepts like those, fleshing out and exploring the huge, huge universe of worlds and characters and cultures. How strange that it's only recently that we're finally starting to really see that, in some respects.

Hopefully good writers will come along and run with these concepts if Johns doesn't do so himself.

[nymphgalatea.livejournal.com]

I would really love to see that, but sadly I'm having a hard time thinking of what writers currently in the comicbooky business would be able to run with the concepts. Morrison & Ellis are good at "out there" ideas, but I really can't see either of them on a GL comic. Rucka & Brubaker are great character writers, but on a realistic, street-level style, not for space-operas.

I suppose it's as difficult to write GL as writing Legion of Superheroes seems to be. It's hard to find that balance between "woah, kooky alien world" and "characters/situations I can relate to".

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Yeah, unless it does reach TREK/WARS (not to be confused with TEK WAR... oh my god it's the same thing minus one letter each word! Shatner you hack!) level, I doubt we'll just have to be grateful for whatever excellent writers we luck into along the way. Sigh.

I think you nailed the problem in a nutshell right there. Oh, wait, I know one person who can: J. Michael Straczynski. Jesus, ever watch BABYLON 5? The thought of him (and him when he's really on fire, as he's certainly got his stumbles; that said, he may win an Oscar for his latest stumble, as THE CHANGELING is supposedly just the right kind of shitty to wow the Academy) writing GLC the way he handled B5... oh man, I get giddy in inappropriate ways just at the thought.

[gnort.livejournal.com]

He and G'nort need to battle each other.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

God yes.

Now, it's been established that Ruffles comes from Ch'p's home planet, so we might at least get epic Kitty/Squirrel battle!