Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Jesus Merino
There has been a lot that has changed in the Green Lantern universe and with this recent re-launch of the Green Lantern comic, the change brings us full circle to lead us in a different direction for the protector of sector 2814. That’s earth and its surrounding area for those of you not in the know.
The Story
The story starts off with a flashback of sorts, showing the first installment of the earthman Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern. We are quickly brought to the present with Hal Jordan trying to recapture his past as a fighter pilot. But his flyboy time is short lived as another Green Lantern, John Stewart – those of you familiar with the Justice League cartoon will know this character – calls upon Hal to help him look into an abandoned spaceship in orbit around earth.
The pilot of the earth is nowhere to be found by the Green Lanterns and instead appears to be roaming earth, with two directives. The first is to find the “predecessor” and the second is to terminate all life. Nice fellow isn’t he?
There is also military truck carrying an unknown but apparently talking cargo. A driver hears the words, “No man escapes.” Frightening words indeed.
Hal has other worries as well. Most people think he and the Green Lantern were dead. They were right. He was dead, but recent events have transpired to bring him back to life in the limelight as the core Green Lantern.
Review
One of the difficulties for this comic is its
history. For new readers, even with the flashbacks and retelling of what has been happening, the waters are, how shall we say…muddy? This can make it somewhat difficult for people not familiar with the history of Green Lantern, but for those in the know, it should be no problem.
This series sees the return of the classic silver age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. As stated before, Hal is back from the dead to be the core Green Lantern. This is a move that many fans have been clamoring for and even working for. As evidenced by the website H.E.A.T., a website devoted to bringing back the classic Green Lantern character.
Despite the issues with the comic’s history, the writing is well done. The story starts off a little slow, building up tension with the reader as to what is behind the spaceship pilot and the cargo. It succeeds rather well, especially when the cargo starts to talk and the pilot starts killing people. But how they relate to the Green Lantern remains a mystery until the end of issue two.
The art is great and I like Carlos Pacheco’s clean and crisp style. It seems to lend well to the Green Lantern. Overall the art is a great asset to this comic and I look forward to seeing more. The inking and coloring are also top notch and really help to make this comic a run for the top rungs of current comic book standings.
Conclusion
Even though there is a lot of history to wade through, and the story was a little slow in the action area, I felt that the first two issues of Green Lantern are a great start. There are many questions for the die hard fans of Green Lantern to discover such as the status of Kyle Rayner, the previous Green Lantern. There is also how Hal Jordan will go about setting up his life again after his time away. These things set up Green Lantern for a great read and if you like the Green Lantern from the cartoon or have enjoyed his previous incarnations, you will most likely enjoy this new Green Lantern series.
