The Green Lantern #1 is a title that we here at The Revolution have been anxiously awaiting. I am a massive fan of Hal Jordan. And I am an equally massive fan of Grant Morrison. Therefore, The Green Lantern #1 seems to be a title tailor-made for me. I think the cosmic setting of the Green Lantern franchise is a perfect match for Morrison’s unique talents. I have high hopes! Let’s hit this review and find out if Morrison delivers the goods.
Words: Grant Morrison
Art: Liam Sharp
Colors: Steve Oliff
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: We begin with the Guardians on New Oa demanding a report from the Green Lanterns in Sector 2018.1. We then cut to those Lanterns. Green Lantern Maxim Tox replies that he cannot talk to the Guardians right now since they are locked in combat with some space pirates. We see some of the locals watching the fight and taking bets on the fight between the Lanterns and the space pirates. The aliens are talking to each other in an odd alien-sounding version of the English language. One of the aliens calls the other alien, “My Rokk.” (Hey! A nice reference to Cosmic Boy’s real name!)
During the battle, one of the space pirates that is a spider alien bites off Tox’s ring finger with his power ring on it. Tox replies that what the spider space pirate does not know is that Tox’s partner Green Lantern Floozle Flem is inside the spider space pirate. (What a fantastic name!) That Floozle Flem is a super-intelligent all-purpose virus. Tox says that Floozle Flem does not catch villains. That villains catch Floozle Flem. (I love it.)
The spider space pirate sneezes a bunch of green goop out of his nose. The green goop covers the spider space pirate. Tox says that he will administer a vaccine against the Emerald Flu that will stop the vomiting and diarrhea. But, Tox will not give the space pirate the antidote until the space pirate has told the Lanterns everything that he knows about his fellow space pirates and their plans.
Trilla Tru then arrives on the scene with another one of the space pirates captured in a green orb. That space pirate looks like a small mole. We then see the third space pirate captured. That space pirate looks like a large robot.
The Green Lantern meat wagon arrives. Green Lantern Chriselon is in charge of bringing the space pirates to New Oa. The Lanterns talk about how the space pirates were trying to steal something from the Luck Lords of Ventura. (The Luck Lords! Another cool Legion of Super-Heroes reference!) Tox mentions how the other space pirates and their boss are all still at large. Tox says that he will take this assignment and then flies off into the air.
We cut to Tox arriving at a damaged space vessel. Tox talks to himself about how joining the Green Lantern Corps was his family’s idea and not his. Tox surveys the damaged spaceship. We see a dead tiny Starro like Jarro from Justice League #10. Tox comes across a woman who has been badly beaten. The woman tells Tox to run. The woman says that it is behind him. Tox’s ring warns him that anti-matter has been detected.
We shift back to the Luck Lords talking to Trilla Tru. The Luck Lords complain about all of the damage done to their place. The Luck Lords demand to be told when the Green Lantern Corps recovers the stolen Luck Dial.
We then zip to Kommander Kraak reporting to Controller Mu. Mu is the boss of the space pirates. Kraak says that they lost several of their best pirates in the fight with the Green Lanterns. Mu says that the losses are acceptable since they were able to gain possession of a Luck Dial. Mu holds the Luck Dial. Kraak then tells Mu that their “cargo” killed a Green Lantern. We shift to Tox’s dead body. The green power ring flies off looking for a new host.
We shift to Chriselon’s spaceship. We see that the mole space pirate is holding another Luck Dial. The mole space pirate breaks free from the green orb he was trapped in. The mole space pirate frees the other two space pirates and then attacks Chriselon.
We cut to Hal Jordan on Earth and laying in the middle of a desert. A fighter jet flies overhead. The day then turns into night and Hal Jordan is still lying on the ground staring at the sky. Eve Doremus pulls up in a car. She pulls a grocery bag out of the car.
Eve says that she left five hours ago and Hal has not moved a single inch. Eve asks Hal to give her a hand with the groceries. Hal tells Eve that he lost his job pumping gas at the all-night 52-pickup. (A reference to the DC Multiverse having 52 multiple Earths.)
Eve says that Hal was a test pilot for Ferris. That being a test pilot is a big deal. It is a one-in-a-million job. But, since then Hal has been a traveling sales rep for a toy company and then an insurance salesman. Hal replies that his real job always came first.
Eve asks if Hal was fired for insubordination. Like every other time. Hal smiles and replies that he knows. Hal says, “I hate me, too.”
We then cut to Eve and Hal having sex under the stars. We see something that looks like a falling spaceship or meteors in the sky crashing toward the ground.
We shift to the next day. We see Hal walking down the side of a highway running through the desert. Hal stops and sits down and pulls a sandwich from his rucksack.
Suddenly, a crazy-looking homeless guy approaches Hal. The homeless guy speaks in odd English. Hal comments that English is obviously not the man’s mother tongue. The homeless man asks Hal if he is scared. Hal replies, “I don’t do scared.” (Goddman, I love Hal Jordan.)
Hal then says that he has been studying the man’s reaction to seeing the guacamole in Hal’s burrito. Hal says that the man reacted instinctually like a cat. Hal says that the man is not human. That he is a Horminth Collective from Cluster-World 3.
More homeless guys appear on the scene. The first homeless guy calls Hal a space cop and then tells the other homeless men to attack Hal. And with that, we have a braaaaaawwwl!!
Hal says that he likes fighting. Aliens, humans, it doesn’t matter to Hal. Hal says that he will fight any fool who is game. Hal says that since the homeless guy is actually an alien from Cluster-World 3 then that means he is a colony creature. That he is all one thing. That all Hal has to do is locate what passes for the alien’s brain.
Hal punches out one of the homeless guys and that unconscious guy transforms into a brain. The rest of the homeless guys collapse and transform back into the alien’s true form. Hal wonders how the hell the alien ended up here on Earth.
Hal surveys the terrain and sees a crashed spaceship in the distance. Hal comments on how this is deja vu. (Just like when Hal found Abin Sur’s crashed ship and then became a Green Lantern.) Hal enters the crashed spaceship and finds an injured Chriselon. Chriselon says that he was transporting three space pirates from Ventura to Oa. Chriselon says that the space pirates escaped and that they are the deadliest killers in the galaxy.
Hal replies that he will capture the bad guys and get Chriselon medical help. Hal looks at his power ring and comments that he is running on fumes and that the Guardians took his power battery for “repair and upgrade.” Chriselon responds by handing Hal Chriselon’s power battery. Chriselon says, “Then use mine, Green Lantern.” (Kick. Ass.)
Hal says this Green Lantern oath and powers up into his Green Lantern form in a rather dramatic fashion. (Love it.)
We cut to the three space pirates rampaging through the downtown of a nearby city. The mole space pirate has now grown to be human-sized. Green Lantern appears on the scene and says, “Nobody panic. Chill. I’ve got this.” (Yeah, this right here. This is why Hal Jordan is the best.) Green Lantern rescues the innocent bystanders. Green Lantern then takes out the robot space pirate.
Green Lantern faces off against the mole space pirate who has now grown into a massive size that is much larger than a human. Green Lantern asks if the mole space pirate has any demands. The mole space pirate says that they want a spaceship to get off of Earth. The mole space pirate warns Hal that he has a Luck Dial.
Green Lantern says that the mole space pirate is a Meganthrope who is accustomed to a much lighter gravity. This is causing him to grow rapidly in size. Hal says that one more step at the mole space pirate’s current size and he is going to snap his thighbone under the strain of all of his weight.
Suddenly, the mole space pirate breaks his leg. Hal says that this is a square-cube law. That some laws you don’t get to argue with no matter how hard you try. Hal turns ot the other two space pirates and tells them that he can mess them up in ways they would not believe. Or they can surrender now and get this over with.
Hal says, “You know who I am. Right? Still feeling lucky?” (Yes!!! Hal is bringing it like Clint Eastwood. Morrison is nailing why Hal Jordan is so damn awesome.)
The space pirates surrender. Green Lantern puts them in a large green guacamole jar. Green Lantern inspects the Luck Dial and says that the Luck Dial is a fake. That the space pirates simply have been running around on plain old ordinary luck. Hal says, “And guess what? It turned bad.” (I fucking love this.)
Suddenly, the Guardians contact Hal and tell him to report immediately to New Oa. Hal then takes off.
We cut to New Oa. A Guardian welcomes Hal to New Oa. Hal replies that he thought he was persona non grata. The Guardian says that Hal is welcomed back now. The Guardian says that Chriselon owes Hal his life. Hal replies that he was just doing his job. Hal asks what the Guardians want from him.
The Guardian says that the space pirates that Hal caught are part of a pirate gang that was hired to transport an unknown lethal cargo through Ventura to an unknown destination. That a Green Lantern was killed by a mysterious assailant.
Hal and the Guardian enter the Library which houses the Book of Oa. The Guardian says that during a recent review of the Book of Oa it appears that certain flaws, revisions, and amendments have taken place in it without the Guardians’ knowledge. Therefore, the Book of Oa may no longer be trustworthy. (That looks like Dr. Manhattan’s blue atomic symbol!)
The Guardian says that they must rely on that which is certain. That they are the Guardians of the Universe and that they are the Law. That from the Great Attractor at the heart of things, the Guardians overlook all that is. That they ask their Lanterns to withstand great fear and have the strength to fight to the death for what is understood to be right.
That they recruit Lanterns from the entire universe. From the lightless obsidian depths of the supervoids to the shattered Source Wall. That they have X-ray Lanterns, Radio Lanterns, Gamma Lanterns, and Microwave Lanterns. That the Green Lantern Corps’ reach extends across all scales and wavelengths. From the nanoscopic to the unspeakably immense.
The Guardian then reveals that there is a Green Lantern within their Corps that seeks to destroy them. A traitor within their ranks will shortly be uncovered. The Guardian says that they already know who it will be. The Guardian says that he and Hal need to talk.
We shift to deep inside of Asteroid X which is the headquarters of Controller Mu’s Blackstars. Mu and some of his officers walk down a hallway. Mu holds a Luck Dial in his hand. Mu says that they have successfully retrieved two of the five components necessary for the construction of their ultimate asset. Now they have the Anti-Matter Lantern in their grasp.
We see Mu and his officers enter a room. In the room is the Anti-Matter Lantern hooked up to some machine that has cut open his chest. Mu orders the machine to commence the extraction of the heart of the weaponeer.
The Good: Wow. The Green Lantern #1 was a fantastic read! Look, long-time followers of The Revolution know that I adore just about anything written by Grant Morrison. We all have writers that we are partial to and Morrison has always been my guy. I fully acknowledge that Morrison is not everyone’s cup of tea. Having said that, let me go into why Morrison is the perfect man for the job of bringing Hal Jordan into the Rebirth era of the DC Universe.
Grant Morrison already demonstrated his ability to perform phenomenal research into a character and become steeped in the most intricate details of that character’s continuity. Morrison’s run on Batman is proof of this approach. Morrison is able to honor the past, embrace a character’s continuity, celebrate that continuity and take details from a character’s continuity and then create something new, original and modern.
Morrison’s approach is the perfect way to update and freshen up a long-time character. Morrison’s approach is one that will please long-time readers as well as new readers. I love this approach so much more than simply strip-mining a character’s past and starting over in a totally random and different direction. New for the sake of new rarely works. Just look at the New 52 for proof of how that approach can fail in spectacular fashion.
Morrison is also the right man for the job The Green Lantern due to his influential role in shaping the DC Universe and the Multiverse in general. In fact, for my money, no modern writer has influenced DC’s Multiverse more than Morrison.
This is nothing new. Morrison never gave up on the Multiverse even after Crisis on Infinite Earths foolishly junked the Multiverse. Morrison continued to play with the themes of the Multiverse in his Animal Man title right after the conclusion of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Morrison then helped co-write 52 which heralded the dramatic return of DC’s Multiverse. Morrison then further examined some of his themes from his old Animal Man title as he continued to flesh out the new Multiverse in Final Crisis. Lastly, Morrison continued to flesh out DC’s Multiverse in his Multiversity title.
This is important since The Green Lantern is a cosmic title that will be dealing with some of the same grand Multiverse concepts that Morrison has dealt with in the past. The Green Lantern gives Morrison the proper platform to continue to examine multiple Earths, the Source Wall, and what lies beyond our universe. Morrison is a high-concept writer and The Green Lantern will be the perfect vehicle for him to explore these wild cosmic concepts.
Much like Morrison’s run on Batman, The Green Lantern #1 is an issue that possesses wild and crazy Silver Age concepts but is delivered in a modern style of storytelling. Morrison is incredibly adept at taking Silver Age themes and melding them into an original modern story that appeals to current readers. The Green Lantern #1 certainly follows that style.
There is so much to unpack from The Green Lantern #1 that it is hard to know exactly where to start. So, let’s start with the man himself: Hal Jordan. Morrison is tasked with giving Hal Jordan a refresh for this new Rebirth Era DC Universe. Hal is a classic Silver Age character who first appeared in Showcase #22 in 1959. There is no doubt that Hal is an iconic character that has an illustrious history. However, like many classic DC characters, DC did its best to ruin Hal’s character in the 1990s.
It all started downhill for Hal’s character once he was turned into Parallax back in 1994. DC then killed off Hal’s character in 1996. Hal then made a return in 1999 as the Spectre. Hal continued to operate as the Spectre until 2003. Then, a decade after screwing up Hal’s character, in 2004 DC decided to bring Hal Jordan back in all of his glory with Green Lantern Rebirth. Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern franchise experienced a renaissance from 2004 to 2010. However, Hal’s character is dogged by his actions as Parallax and his time as the Spectre. This made it difficult for writers to properly return Hal to his pre-Parallax stature within the DC Universe.
Things then got worse for Hal’s character in 2011 with the New 52. Hal Jordan was removed from the Justice League. Several new Earth Green Lanterns were added to the roster. Hal was then converted into a New 52 1990s styled “renegade” as he was no longer a Green Lantern and operated outside of the law.
All of this now leads us back to Morrison being tasked to take Hal’s character and return him to his roots. Morrison is also tasked with cementing Hal as the iconic Green Lantern and finding a proper place for him within the Rebirth Era of the DC Universe.
I have always been a fan of Hal Jordan’s character. Of course, that is because I grew up with Hal Jordan well before the 1990s came along and ruined his character. However, there are plenty of readers who started reading comics between 1994 and 2003 who do not know Hal’s character at all. Then there are the readers who started reading comics after 2003 who may not have any attachment at all to Hal’s character or even understand why he was such a big deal.
Morrison’s job with The Green Lantern #1 is to celebrate what is wonderful about DC’s iconic Green Lantern. It is no easy task, but Morrison succeeds with flying colors in just this one issue. I am so impressed with Morrison’s handling of Hal’s character and his incredible understanding of what exactly makes Hal Jordan so special.
What is amazing is that Morrison does not run from Hal’s character at all. Lesser writers would have taken the easy route by trying to reestablish Hal’s characters. The easy route would have been to largely ignore all of Hal’s past and basically reboot Hal’s character and make Hal “trendy” and “modern.” Instead, Morrison embraces the core character traits of Hal’s character and focuses on building Hal’s personality from that starting point.
Hal Jordan is a bit old school. Hal is tough and masculine. Hal is ballsy and cocky. Hal is quick to fight and will take great risks. Hal also has a strong sense of justice and has complete faith in his own moral compass. Hal projects a calm, cool, and collected exterior. Yeah, Hal Jordan is a bit like classic male action characters from the 1960s and 1970s. One in particular: Clint Eastwood.
Morrison understands this and plays to all of these strengths in Hal’s character. The result is that the reader gets treated to a unique style hero that is not seen that often in comic books these days. Morrison looks to Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry as a template for the type of lawman that Hal Jordan is. Morrison even has Hal dryly ask one of the space pirates if they are feeling lucky when given the choice to either fight him or surrender. It was absolutely perfect.
Morrison’s Hal Jordan comes across as cool and heroic. I love the direction that Morrison is taking with Hal’s character. But, Morrison does not stop with giving Hal Jordan a Clint Eastwood-styled personality. Morrison also puts a unique spin on Hal’s view of the world and the people around him based on Hal’s time spent in space.
Morrison stated that he looked to the astronauts as an inspiration for Hal’s view of the world around him. Hal spending so much time in space and around various alien beings should impact how he views Earth and humans. Daily mundane jobs on Earth seem utterly trivial and unimportant compared to his role as a Green Lantern.
Hal even views humans differently as well. Hal does not see people based on ethnicity, national origin, or religion. Instead, Hal sees humans much more broadly as just one species much like he broadly views alien species from other planets. Morrison plays off of Hal’s time in space brilliantly and it really impacts Hal’s worldview and how he interacts with the people around him.
The end result of Morrison’s work on Hal’s character is that he is able to give Hal a clearly defined personality that is unique and sets him apart from the other male superheroes in the DC Universe. Morrison’s Hal Jordan is a fascinating and cool character that immediately attracts the reader’s interest. For the first time in a long time, I find Hal’s character to be legitimately compelling.
I also enjoyed how Morrison handles Hal’s reputation. Morrison uses other characters to react off of Hal in order to impress upon the reader Hal’s reputation. Eve is used well in order to emphasize Hal’s reputation for being blunt, always stating his mind, and often clashing with authority. The space pirates are used well to emphasize that Hal is a badass fighter who few people want to cross.
Morrison even uses the title of this new comic book to further define Hal Jordan’s character. The title is THE Green Lantern. Morrison does nothing by mistake. Morrison is firmly saying that there may be a universe full of Green Lanterns that make up the Green Lantern Corps. And numerous other characters may be A Green Lantern. But Hal Jordan is THE Green Lantern. This helps to cement Hal’s iconic status in the DC Universe.
All right, now that our discussion of Hal Jordan is out-of-the-way, let’s turn our attention to what plot lines Grant Morrison delivered in The Green Lantern #1 and what we can look forward to going forward on this title. The Green Lantern #1 presents the reader with a highly imaginative story. The Green Lantern #1 is chock full of insane creativity, unchained imagination, and plenty of high concepts.
Morrison gives the reader an old-school Dirty Harry-styled police story that is mashed up high concept Science Fiction and also has a dash of magic and mysticism. This is something that I would only expect to get from Morrison! It sounds strange but it completely works thanks to Morrison’s unique style and imagination.
The Green Lantern #1 is not only brilliantly written it is also a ton of fun. This is an exciting issue that is certain to put a smile on the reader’s face. The Green Lantern #1 is a dense read. That is to be expected from Grant Morrison. There is so much depth and substance to this issue. The Green Lantern #1 demands several readings in order to fully digest all that Morrison is offering to the reader. I adore an issue that has so dense that I have to read it multiple times. It always makes me feel that I got more than my money’s worth.
The Green Lantern #1 is a technically well-written read. This issue is well-plotted and paced. The plotting is amazing. Morrison quickly installs multiple detailed and intricate plot lines in this issue. There is so many rich plot lines that the reader for the reader to digest. The amount of content stuffed into The Green Lantern #1 is a refreshing change of pace from the shallow and decompressed titles that are on the market.
The Green Lantern #1 is also properly paced. Morrison has a clear direction in mind with this story. Morrison wastes no time introducing multiple short-range and long-range plot lines in this debut issue. Morrison also knows when to speed up the story and when to slow things down. The Green Lantern #1 is a well-balanced read that offers plenty of action as well as dialogue-heavy scenes.
As always, Morrison does a brilliant job of world-building in The Green Lantern #1. The setting for this title is wonderfully detailed and pulls the reader deeply into the story. Morrison also does a nice job making sure that The Green Lantern #1 is new reader friendly. You do not need to know anything about Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern Corps, or the Guardians in order to enjoy this issue. Morrison succinctly explains Hal, the Green Lantern Corps, and the Guardians to the reader.
In fact, Morrison’s description of the Guardians and their mission as well as the Green Lantern Corps and their mission was flat our brilliant. Morrison does the best job that I have seen succinctly describing the Guardians, the Green Lantern Corps, and their mission in an effective and compelling fashion. Morrison also uses this opportunity to educate newer readers on the Green Lantern Corps to go ahead and place his unique and creative spin on the Green Lantern Corps.
Morrison reveals that the Green Lantern Corps is far larger than we had ever imagined. Morrison has the Green Lantern Corps boasting members that are not just physical alien species from various planets. We now have members who are nanoscopic, who are viruses, who are radio waves, who are microwaves, etc. We now have Lanterns who are from outside the known universe, from supervoids, and from sublime and non-dual omni-awareness. Expanding the ranks of the Green Lantern Corps to other layers of the universe makes perfect sense. It is logical that the Guardians would want Lanterns in every single layer of the universe. Plus, expanding the Green Lantern Corps to various dimensions plays into Morrison’s strengths which are his knowledge and love for DC’s Multiverse.
Expanding the Green Lantern Corps allows Morrison to roll out wildly interesting and unique characters like Floozle Flem. I absolutely loved this new Green Lantern. Floozle Flem is a combination of a wild idea with a perfect name. Morrison used Flem in a fun and exciting manner. I look forward to Morrison unleashing his imagination and delivering even more wild and unexpected Green Lanterns.
Expanding the reach of the Green Lantern Corps will also easily allow Morrison to investigate the Multiverse in the pages of The Green Lantern. Morrison gave the reader several characters and teasers in The Green Lantern #1 that clearly indicates his desire to deal with the Multiverse in his story on this title.
Speaking of the Multiverse, Morrison begins to weave aspects of the Multiverse into The Green Lantern #1. Morrison wastes no time introducing the evidence of the Anti-Matter Universe into the story. The Anti-Matter Universe is a concept that was first presented in Green Lantern #2 in 1960. Qward is located in the Anti-Matter Universe and has played a prominent role in the Green Lantern mythos over the year. The Weaponers of Qward have been frequent foes to the Guardians.
Morrison surprises the reader by rolling out a new character from the Anti-Matter Universe: The Anti-Matter Lantern. This was a fantastic surprise. Morrison even references the Weaponers of Qward by referring to the Anti-Matter Lantern’s heart as the heart of the Weaponeer. The Anti-Matter Lantern looks like Hal Jordan and is wearing a yellow and black uniform. The color scheme makes sense since yellow is the traditional opposite color to the Green Lantern Corp.
The Anti-Matter Lantern is such a cool idea. This is exactly what I would expect from Morrison. I am fascinated by this character and I am excited to see what Morrison does with the Anti-Matter Lantern. Hopefully, this character will play a larger role than simply being a pawn to Commander Mu.
The other Multiverse-related plot-line has to do with the mysterious individual who has revised and amended the Book of Oa without the knowledge of the Guardians. We see Dr. Manhattan’s blue atomic symbol in the middle of the Book of Oa. Geoff Johns had already revealed in Rebirth #1 that Dr. Manhattan caused the creation of the New 52 by rewriting events and aspects of the DC Universe. Morrison takes this idea and runs with it by revealing that Dr. Manhattan has also tampered with the Book of Oa.
This is a huge reveal. I am not surprised that Morrison is beginning to fold the events from Doomsday Clock into the pages of The Green Lantern. If there is a story to be told about the Multiverse then Morrison is definitely going to be a part of it. I am curious to learn more about what Dr. Manhattan has done to the Book of Oa and how it has impacted the DC Universe.
Morrison also teases the reader with the reveal that there is a traitor within the ranks of the Green Lantern Corps. Now, this could end up fizzling out if Morrison makes the traitor a Green Lantern that the reader does not know. Hopefully, the traitor is a character that is known so we get more impact with this reveal.
The Green Lantern #1 also sets up several mysteries surrounding Commander Mu and his Blackstars. First, the Blackstars appear to be a derivation of the Darkstars. The Blackstar officers wear uniforms that are quite similar to the Darkstar uniforms. The Darkstars are an organization run by the Controllers who are an offshoot of the Guardians. Again, this is Morrison taking Green Lantern continuity and then placing his own unique spin on it to create something new. I am certainly interested in learning more about the Blackstars.
Morrison also teases the reader with Commander Mu’s mysterious plans that involve accumulating five components in order to construct their ultimate asset. The first two items include the Luck Dial and the Heart of the Weaponeer. The Luck Dial is a cool cosmic concept and the type of imaginative device I would expect from Morrison. I am excited to see what interesting objects Morrison reveals with the remaining three components. I am also excited to see the reveal of the ultimate asset.
As a die-hard Legion of Super-Heroes fan I loved the Legion references that we got in this issue. First, Morrison rolls out the Luck Lords of Ventura. The Luck Lords are old-school Legion of Super-Heroes characters that date all the way back to Adventure Comics #343. The second reference is when one of the Luck Lords calls the other Luck Lord “Rokk.” This is a reference to Cosmic Boy whose first name is Rokk. I love seeing more and more Legion of Super-Heroes references all across the DC Universe as we head to the inevitable return of my beloved Legion. I am still holding out hope that either Scott Snyder or Grant Morrison get to write the Legion when they make their return.
Lastly, let’s deal with the teaser page at the end of The Green Lantern #1. We see a picture of Hal Jordan and Green Arrow together again. Hal and Ollie are an iconic buddy team. I love these two characters together and look forward to Ollie making an appearance on The Green Lantern.
We also get a panel with three female Blackstar members in it. I do not recognize any of these characters. So, these might be three new Morrison-created characters. One of them is a Durlan which makes me happy. Durlans are a Legion of Super-heroes creation. Chameleon Boy is a Legionnaire and is the most famous Durlan. As a Legion fan, I always get excited to see a Durlan.
There is also a panel of Green Lantern Power Battery that has been broken with a Guardian watching from the background. This probably has something to do with the traitor in the Green Lantern Corps.
The final panel is the coolest of the four panels. This panel shows us a bunch of Green Lanterns from across the Multiverse. The ones that I definitely recognize would be Abin Sur of Earth–20, Kair-Ro of Earth–12, Bat-Lantern Earth–32, Flashlight of Earth–36, Leonard Lewis of Earth–6, and Magic Lantern of Earth–47. There are possibly two that might be John Stewart of Earth–23 and Earth–50. And there is one more that I do not recognize at all.
This panel is pure awesomeness. This panel displays Morrison’s talent for performing intense research and plucking obscure characters out of history to weave into his stories. This panel also shows Morrison’s love for all things Multiverse and the fact that Morrison is absolutely going to be dealing with the Multiverse during his run on The Green Lantern. This does not surprise me in the least.
Liam Sharp has that distinctly British-style comic book art that I am not always a huge fan of. However, for the most part, Sharp does a solid job with the artwork in The Green Lantern #1. The fight scenes are dynamic and the dialogue-heavy scenes are well-delivered. Sharp delivers some panels that are simply stunning. The panel layouts are also interesting and well done.
I also have to mention Steve Oliff’s work in this issue. The colors in The Green Lantern #1 are brilliant. Some of the pages look like brightly colored skittles exploded on the page. The color in this issue is vibrant and adds a wonderful texture and look to the story.
The Bad: My only criticism would be that Sharp’s artwork is a bit uneven. While there are some fantastic-looking panels, there are also some panels that look odd and sloppy.
Overall: The Green Lantern #1 was an excellent read. Morrison delivers an issue that is wonderfully complex and dense with so many intricate plot lines. There is something for nearly any type of reader in this title. Readers who prefer complex reads will enjoy this issue just as much as readers who prefect action and adventure. The Green Lantern #1 absolutely offers a ton of content for your money. I have a good feeling that The Green Lantern is going to be a special DC comic book.
