Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The New 52 Review: GREEN LANTERN #1

GREEN LANTERN #1
DC COMICS

WRITER: Geoff Johns
PENCILS: Doug Mahnke
INKS: Christian Alamy with Tom Nguyen
COLORS: David Baron
LETTERS: Sal Cipriano
COVER: Ivan Reis and Joe Prado with Rod Reis (Variant cover by Greg Capullo)
32pp, Color, $2.99

The best known Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, first appeared in Showcase #22 (September-October 1959). Like other Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 (which includes Earth), wields a power ring, one of the most powerful weapons in universe. But times have changed.

There have been other Green Lanterns of 2814, and with the re-launch of DC Comics’ superhero line, “The New 52,” there is a new Green Lantern. Now, Hal Jordan’s nemesis, Thaal Sinestro, who first appeared in Green Lantern #7 (July-August 1961), replaces Jordan. Sinestro shares the spotlight with Jordan and apparently takes the lead in the new version of the flagship Green Lantern title.

As Green Lantern #1 opens, Thaal Sinestro faces the Guardians of the Universe on his way to being the new Green Lantern (of Sector 2814). Sinestro’s first stop is his home world, Korugar, which is besieged by Sinestro’s own Yellow Lanterns. Meanwhile, Hal Jordan seems to be having every kind of life crisis he can have but then, help is offered…

Once upon a time, in a rural home far, far away, I was a Green Lantern fan, but the character mostly bores me now. I didn’t read anything in this new Green Lantern to make me become a big fan again, but this is a good comic book, for the most part. The juxtaposition of Sinestro’s ascendance and Hal Jordan’s collapse gives the book some dramatic tension. The Yellow Lanterns and Guardians sequences did not appeal to me, so I see them as problems in an otherwise good comic book.

I must also commend penciller Doug Mahnke and inker Christian Alamy for creating some of the best Brian Bolland-clone art I’ve seen in a long time. I might come back for more that.

B

September 14th

BATMAN AND ROBIN #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/batman-and-robin-1.html
FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/frankenstein-agent-of-shade-1.html
SUPERBOY #1
http://ireadsyou.blogspot.com/2011/09/superboy-1.html

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