Green Lanterns, Vol. 2: The Phantom Lantern

Green Lantern works best when it's trying to be a cop story rather than a superhero story. And the best cop stories, as anyone knows, are buddy cop stories. So logically, Green Lantern as buddy cop story pretty much has to be great.

Beyond that simple formula, the characters involved are actually what make this thing great. Simon Baz has every reason to hate authority, and seeing him have to manage his bitterness while also representing authority is fascinating. His partner, Jessica Cruz, is agoraphobic and struggles with anxiety - and she's expected to police the galaxy with a magic ring fueled by willpower. Both are arguably the last people you would expect to be Green Lantern - and seeing them struggle with that, and fight consistently against those aspects of themselves makes for a fascinating story.

If there were any disappointments here, it's that the villian of the book doesn't live up to these great characters, so the main story feels a bit of a squash. And, to go from the buddy cop dynamic, both characters are basically Riggs - there's no Murtaugh to provide balance against the impulsive rookies. These are minor complaints, though.