Filed under: Comic Reviews, DC Comics | Tags: Ardian Syaf, Atrocitus, Peter Milligan, Peter Pantazis, Red Lanterns, Vicente Cifuentes
The origin of Atrocitus was hinted at way back in issue #1 with a glimpse of his family’s death on his home planet as a massacre played out and here in issue #0 we get the chance to find out much more on this.
Starting firmly at the beginning when the massacre itself kicks off and the inhabitants of his home world, Ryutt, perish at the hands of the first Guardians. As his daughter dies in his arms the loss of hope is the fuel for his anger and rage. As the planet dies its sole survivor, Atros, attracts the attention of others fighting the guardians who see him as a useful ally in their own war and his anger and rage are courted by them in a bid to aim this at their own targets.
This is when we start to really get inside Atrocitus’ head and thanks to Peter Milligan’s consistent barrage of pain and anguish….I’m inclined to hope that Atrocitus rises to the position of power he demands and that’s exactly where Milligan takes us. A brutal and bloody existence over hundreds of years sees the murdering group grow and add to their body count. Included in this body count is one of the guardians who stray too close to the rage of Atros and his murdering group and this proves to be the beginning of the end for the creatures around him.
Milligan plays this out with Atros becoming Atrocitus, destroying those around him and forming the Red Lanterns – bringing rage and blood to the galaxy in the most brutal way possible. The entire issue is splattered with red pages and strangely enough this manages to capture a whole range of emotions thanks to the detailed art from Ardian Syaf (penciller), Vicente Cifuentes (inker) & Peter Pantazis (colourist)
Red Lanterns has always been a favourite of mine since the New 52 reboot from DC and the work of Milligan manages to exhibit so much depth that it’s a joy to read – backed up with consistent art that blends in well with the darker edges of the Lanterns.
8/10
G-Man
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