Thursday, July 14, 2016

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1

   I've been a fan of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) since the early '60s, when I discovered the terrific John Broome and Gil Kane stories being published by DC Comics.

   I stuck with the series for decades, but finally dropped it a few years ago when it just got to be too much - too many multi-colored Corps, too few Guardians, too many times Hal Jordan was de-powered and had to find a way to work around that handicap.

   So with some trepidation I picked up this Rebirth issue - hoping it treated Hal as well as the original "Rebirth" series (about 10 years ago) that brought the character back into the DC Universe as a Green Lantern (after a side trip as a mass murderer and the Spectre - don't ask).

   The issue is a bit of a puzzle - Hal has apparently been transformed into green energy, the rest of the Green Lantern Corps is "gone" - and he's trying to return to the world of the living. (There's not much in the way of explanation for those of us who have missed the recent story arcs.)

   We also catch up to an aged Sinestro, who is in control of the planet-sized Warworld, which is taking its place at the center of power in the universe.

   The issue features a strong story by Robert Venditti and powerful artwork by GL veteran Ethan Van Sciver.

   So there's a lot of potential for future stories and (hopefully) a return for Hal to his position as one of DC's greatest heroes - and maybe (stay calm now, gentle reader) a return to my pull list!

   Time will tell.

Grade: B+

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