SINESTRO ANNUAL #1
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Martin Coccolo, Victor Ibanez, Andy Kuhn, Daniel Warren Johnson, Mirko Colak, Ronan Cliquet
Published by DC Comics
Release Date: April 1, 2015

Get to know the Sinestro Corps with the anthology-style Sinestro Annual #1 featuring a closer look at five of the most recognizable members of the Corps.

Cullen Bunn is at the helm for the entire issue, written in an anthology style with each of the prominent members of the Corps getting their time in the sun. Bunn writes the connective pages of this issue well, and the transitions between stories are solid. The back stories deal with some dark material (this is the Sinestro Corps we’re talking about) and each story fleshes out the history of the characters well. Bunn gives each of these yellow ring slingers a plausible reason for them to end up with a yellow ring, and the man who is the boss of them all is in full arrogant glory in this annual. Bunn captures his personality well and each of the Corps members are shown to have a unique path to becoming members, and this makes them more than just generic fodder with yellow rings who are in Sinestro’s shadow. These are powerful characters with compelling back stories that make me want to learn more about each (who I previously thought to just be killing machines, for the most part).

What makes this annual work is the caliber of artists brought in for it. Coccolo, Ibanez, Kuhn, Johnson, Colak and Cliquet each do a great job with their individual aspects of this issue and the presentation of each mini-story allows them to cut loose and add some unique style to the book without worrying about affecting the flow. The artwork is strong for the vast majority of the issue and their individual spins on these Sinestro Corps members is great. Andy Kuhn on the Arkillo story stood out to me, as his style is dramatically different from the rest but it worked very well. This is one of the better penciled annuals I have read in a long time, and the skill of these artists is what makes this style of presentation fly.

Bunn and the art team have crafted a strong issue with Sinestro Annual #1, giving the entire Corps a greater depth going forward. I want to know about these lunatics as much as I do some Green Lantern Corps recruits, and that is saying something. This is an annual that is worth the price of admission for Lantern fans.

The Verdict: 8.0/10