CREDIT: DC Comics
Rating: 3.5/5 – Ethan Van Sciver’s Art Saves This Issue.
By ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
I’ll always follow Ethan Van Sciver’s art and when his pencils grace the page of a Green Lantern book, to me it’s a special thing. He had a long run on Green Lantern penciling Hal Jordan’s Rebirth series, then the Sinestro War specials, and followed that up by designing so many of the Black Lanterns during the Blackest Night Event. It was a surprise to see his pencils again on Green Lantern number forty-three and for the most part the art doesn’t disappoint. Regrettably the same can’t be said for the story, and this renegade Hal Jordan.
Although Green Lantern’s current look is frankly a bit ugly in its design, Van Sciver attempts to make the most of it. Hal Jordan is currently sporting some long hair and is without the classic Green Lantern costume. And as he harnesses the power of the original Green Lantern gauntlet instead of a power ring, the whole ensemble just looks well…bad. Despite the updated costume, Van Sciver in the opening pages has the opportunity to draw Black Hand again and he looks fantastic, and his interpretation of Relic is also spot on towering over the “human sized” Hal Jordan. There are a couple pages where Van Sciver duplicates the panels in an attempt to fill the page and a few panels that look rushed, but for the most part I enjoyed Van Sciver’s return to Green Lantern and I wish there was more of it.
As far as the story goes, its mostly a done in one story that has Hal Jordan and Relic, who at first doesn’t recognize that Hal is a Green Lantern, meeting again at the Source Wall. Anytime the Source Wall shows up, much like Van Sciver’s art I’m all for it. It has such a storied history in the DCU and the concept of it has always intrigued me. Relic is investigating a tear in the Source Wall that does have ties to Black Hand, which we see in those opening pages mentioned above. Unfortunately these revelations and ideas are quickly cast aside and the second half of the book moves into a rather lackluster action sequence as Hal and his ship attempt to escape Relic and his hatred for the “lightsmiths”.
If you’re a fan of Ethan Van Sciver or a fan of Black Hand and his connections to the larger Green Lantern mythology, then this issue does present some clues as to what will happen next. Regrettably though, Black Hand’s appearance is all too short and this is not the same Hal Jordan as Green Lantern we’ve come to love. I’m willing to give this series a bit more time to come around, but I’m hoping that the Hal we’re all used to comes back soon.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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