Wait… is that Sinerstro? Is he a…Green Lantern? What??
What They Say:
The red-hot GREEN LANTERN team of writer Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke introduce an unexpected new Lantern.
The Review:
Green Lantern is one of my favorite series and frankly the only franchise I actually read and followed in the old DCU. It is also one of the few series to keep the old continuity in the DCnU. DC’s big thing with the new 52, and point I have tried to make with previous reviews, is accessibility. Getting new readers in and bringing back fallen fans. On these grounds, the new Green Lantern succeeds a little bit but fails a bit more. The story starts off with Sinestro reciting the oath and talking to the Guardians. There are no hints or anything that tells readers who the Guardians are and what their purpose is. There are plenty of hints dropped about who Sinestro is so that new readers can get the idea that he used to be a bad guy and now he is somehow a Green Lantern. We are then introduced to Hal Jordan on Earth, attempting to adjust to his new life not as a Green Lantern. We are given hints that he used to be a GL and it is spoken a couple of times that his life is in shambles because he has been out in space saving the universe. We are given a level of comfort and familiarity with the character and a simple understanding of who he is and what the current situation is. But the burning questions of why he isn’t a GL anymore are never addressed. This can bug some people as it is dependent upon the old continuity. But the story is so well written and presented that if you just go with it, you will not care and just enjoy the book.
As a GL fan who has been reading every single issue from the past 10 years…this is a great book!! It is simply the start of a new saga and it is filled with interesting character moments and more shenanigans from those shady Guardians. The new GL continues the tradition Geoff Johns started with GL: Rebirth in making one of the best comics in print that hooks and pulls and leaves you fiending for more. There is also a classic scene (yeah I know, we’ve seen it before) where Hal mistakes a movie set for a real crime and intervenes despite not having any powers. The tone is perfect for the reluctant villain who is now a GL and the desperate schmuck down on his luck. This is good stuff and I will continue buying every issue of GL.
In Summary:
Green Lantern is a really solid book with plenty of humor and action as the stage is set for new events to unfold. I think it gives the audience just enough information that new readers or old readers who have fallen out can pick it up and get into it. Yes they will feel left out of the loop but nothing seems crucially important to know. For existing GL fans who have followed everything to this point, well, is there really anything to say there?
Grade: B+
