Green Lantern: Rebirth #3

December 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Yellow

The truth about Parallax – and the Green Lantern Corps!

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Ethan Van Sciver
Inks: Prentis Rollins
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics

A lesser writer than Geoff Johns would have me fuming right now, because of the various theories regarding Hal Jordan’s return as Green Lantern, he seems to have gone with one that I liked the least. However, he’s executing it extremely well, to the point where I find I’m actually accepting of an explanation that I thought would cheapen the character himself and years of stories.

Kyle Rayner and Ganthet find themselves battling maddened members of the Green Lantern Corps, even as the Justice League is battered by brave men who should be their allies. A desperate Kyle heads to the JLA Watchtower for help, only to find the place leveled and only one hero standing – Hal’s best friend, Green Arrow. There, Kyle tells what he found at the edge of the universe, the truth about Parallax, the truth about Hal Jordan, and the truth about the Green Lantern Corps.

This issue, I must admit, really surprised me. We’ve only hit the halfway point of this series, and it seems like Johns has already laid all his cards on the table. All the revelations, all the surprises, all of it is already right here. That seems to leave three issues for an extended fight scene. I hope Johns has more up his sleeve than that.

I’ve also got to deduct points for the last-page surprise appearance by a character that’s died twice already (at least), and who seemed dead for good last time out. He’s apparently going to start trying to rival Magneto in the resurrection category.

Ethan Van Sciver’s artwork is phenomenal. With Moose Baumann giving the entire book a green tinge, this book looks more like a Green Lantern comic than any issue in years. He does a fantastic job not just on the GLs, but on the various other heroes herein. This is a guy who could easy have a spot illustrating the big DC team books – JLA or JSA – they’d be in great hands.

I am enjoying this series. Johns is probably telling the best story about Hal’s return that anyone could, and while I may not be crazy about all of the nuances of the tale, he’s executing it better than anyone in comics could.

Rating: 8/10

Green Lantern: Rebirth #2

December 5, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Enemies Within

As the powers of the few remaining Green Lantern go haywire, the Justice League prepares to have words with Hal Jordan.

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Ethan Van Sciver
Inks: Prentis Rollins
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics

Before I get into the review proper, I should disclose that I’m one of the voices that wasn’t too happy about this project. I like Kyle Rayner. I think he’s earned his place as a Green Lantern and I feel like DC capitulated to a vocal minority by backtracking this way.

That said – man, if you’re going to bring back Hal Jordan, this is the way to do it.

A wounded Kyle Rayner lies in the desert, his spaceship in wreckage, with a mysterious, but very valuable cargo. Meanwhile Hal has come back to see his old girlfriend, Carol Ferris, who has moved on with her life in Hal’s absence. Elsewhere, virtually everyone who has ever wielded the power of a Green Lantern is suffering odd symptoms – John Stewart’s control is eroding, Alan Scott is weakening and Guy Gardner is on the verge of death. And somehow, this all spirals back to the different aspects of Hal Jordan.

Geoff Johns is the man for this project without a doubt. As he proves every month in Flash, JSA and Teen Titans, there are few if any writers who can pull together continuity and weave an exciting, engrossing tale the way that he can, and he puts all of his skills to work on this issue.

Ethan Van Sciver has been considered an “up and coming” artist for some time – with this series I think it’s safe to say he has arrived. Every character in the book is spot-on perfect, with great action and some really beautiful high-energy pieces that seem to reply on good classic art instead of computer tricks the way a lot of comics do these days.

A lot of people were dying for Hal’s return. I was not one of them. But since it is an inevitability, I have to admit, this is about the best way to bring him back one could hope for.

Rating: 8/10