[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writer: Jeremy Adams
Art: Xermanico & Amancay Nahuelpan and Kevin Maguire
Colors: Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Rosemary Cheetham
Letters: Dave Sharpe

Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd

Summary

Hal and company go to the United Planets to inform them about Thaaros…and it doesn’t go exactly as they plan.  On Earth, Carol Ferris makes a big decision!

Positives

While the conflict between the “renegade” Green Lanterns and Thaaros ramps up, perhaps the most interesting development in the issue is the final page cliffhanger with Carol Ferris.  Jeremy Adams wisely uses Carol’s history as a way of getting her involved in the proceedings on Oa.  Adams has been toying with the Hal/ Carol relationship since this series began.  It seemed Carol was completely happy with her current boyfriend and Hal was going to have to accept that Carol had moved on and their new status quo was going to be friendship.

With Green Lantern #11, Adams puts the focus on Carol’s desires as she forces the issue with her boyfriend convincing him to drive to Las Vegas to elope.  It’s a nuanced approach to Carol as it’s clear that while Carol is saying one thing, she is also having misgivings.  This leads to the final page surprise as Carol is confronted with another aspect of her past, an aspect that should prove to put her and Hal on equal footing.  This should force Carol to confront the truth of her feelings.  This was an unexpected though appropriate plot turn and a thoughtful examination of Carol’s character.

Positives Cont’d

It’s no secret that Thaaros isn’t automatically indicted by the U.P. Council.  Though expected, it does provide the continued tension between Hal and the renegades against the U.P. One wonders if this will lead to some sort of dismantling of the United Planets.  It would be a clever in-story way of resetting things for the U.P. to show up again in the future as part of a more traditional take on the legislative body as part of the world of the future Legion of Super-Heroes.  The United Planets as a contemporary entity has been an awkward take since Brian Michael Bendis introduced the idea during his ill conceived and executed runs on Superman and the Legion.

Like it or not, Adams also nails the Guy Gardner back up.  The art by Kevin Maguire is right on target, especially the facial expressions on Guy.  This is also seen when Carol gets her surprise on the last page.  Xermanico (I think) does a great job of communicating Carol’s misgivings throughout Green Lantern #11.  There’s a degree of subtlety here that is achieved at a high level.

Negatives

The flashback sequence with Hal and Carol as middle schoolers plays upon the long history the characters have.  Reflecting upon the childhood interest in bad boy Hal works against the more complex aspects of their relationship as adults.  The final page cliffhanger injects what is needed to bring it back around to the adult relationship between Hal and Carol.

Verdict

Green Lantern #11 takes a turn into the interior of Carol’s struggle.  The creative team does an exceptional job adding this layer to the storytelling by developing this subplot further setting it up for the next big part of this story.  Jeremy Adams continues to be the best writer at DC Comics these days understanding the balance of action-adventure and character.  

The post Review: Green Lantern #11 appeared first on DC Comics News.

[Editor’s Note: This review CONTAINS spoilers]

Writers: Jeremy Adams and Sam Humphries
Art: Xermanico and Yasmin Flores Montanez
Colors: Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Alex Guimaraes
Letters: Dave Sharpe 

Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd

Summary

Hal Jordan finds the end of the road Madame Xanadu set him on.  It’s surprise after surprise that gets Hal off of the Earth and on the trail of the mystery of the destroyed Power Batteries.

Positives

Green Lantern #9 suddenly ramps up the action and mystery with a couple of surprises.  They are big and integral to the plot so it’s hard to avoid discussing the spoilers.

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

Hal’s path leads him to Tom Kalmaku.  Tom relates an encounter he had with a Guardian, reminding him that he’s the last of the New Guardians (see Millennium).  This is a call back to a series over 35 years old.  It’s not fondly remembered, but it’s a deep cut into DC history.  Tom then reveals to Hal a power battery left on Earth by the Guardians of the Universe and a mission from them- the Green Lanterns of Earth are the safety back up if anything happened to the Guardians or the Green Lantern Corps.  These events tie things together and provide some clarity for the events of the past few issues.  It put Hal in a position he’s comfortable with…and he’s raring to go.  

Positives Cont’d

Adams plays off Hal’s characterization and the perception of Earthlings by the rest of the Universe.  It’s cleverly executed as it fits both character and story.  Adams also addresses Hal’s feelings for Carol.  He gives Hal some resolution and it indicates that Hal is too attached to his life as Green Lantern to give it up for a regular married life on Earth.  It’s not unlike a priest taking a vow of celibacy to tend his flock…Hal’s life as a Lantern isn’t as much a job as it is a vocation.  The art by Xermanico and Romulo Fajardo, Jr. is simply beautiful at times.  The locations sing!  They capture the fantastic wonderfully.

The second story, “The Trial of Jessica Cruz” serves to expand the story and the world in which it is taking place.  We get a bit of Jess’s history for those unfamiliar and enough to inspire some research.  It’s put together well and connected to Hal’s story in an interesting way.  It’s easy to see how things will come together soon.  This back up story in Green Lantern #9 adds an additional layer as well as additional excitement for what will come next for not only Hal and Jessica, but the status quo of the Green Lantern Corps in the DC Universe.  It’s especially intriguing as it addresses the role of the United Planets.  The back up even reveals the parties behind the destruction of the Power Batteries, or at least one of them.

Negatives

It’s hard to find a negative with Green Lantern #9.  It may be a bit odd to bring back Millennium, but it goes a long way in making the history of the DC Universe matter.  It feels like there’s a shift in direction with the series after the opening two issues that set up the characters so well.  Even though it makes sense for Hal to be able to resign himself to being done with Carol, it would be good to see him actually have that conversation instead of just running away again.

Verdict

Green Lantern #9 brings a number of plot ideas together.  It feels like the lynchpin to this series and everything will pivot off this issue going forward.  The deep cuts are really exciting, as are the potentialities suggested in this issue with the Green Lantern Corps, Jessica Cruz and the United Planets.

The post Review: Green Lantern #9 appeared first on DC Comics News.

Summary

Hal Jordan with the help of Razer of the Blue Lantern Corps, finally gets a break on the case of the wonky emotional spectrum.  Someone is destroying central power batteries.

Positives

Despite the quality of Jeremy Adams’ writing in the Green Lantern issues of the “Knight Terrors” event, there’s no doubt that the delay from the event has slowed the progress in many series, including Green Lantern.  Green Lantern #8 begins to bring together the bigger idea of the issues of the problems with the emotional spectrum and Sinestro’s reasons for being on Earth in the first arc of this series (issues 1-6).  

Adams continues to play with the Hal/ Carol dynamic in a subtle and nuanced way as well providing an interesting surprise at the end with some new antagonists.  The appearance of Madame Xanadu is also a fun component as she always opens a doorway to something unexpected.  As elements come together, revisiting the emotional spectrum promises to be a significant idea for exploration and piques excitement for what’s to come.

The back up story is an interesting callback to the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern series of the 1990’s.  Writer Ron Marz returns to the character as he takes Kyle back to his beginnings including a ring construct appearance of Alex DeWitt the character that inspired the phrase “women in refrigerators.”  It’s a nice touch that will bring back the memories for readers of those comics from the ’90’s.

Negatives

Green Lantern #8 doesn’t quite bring everything together as some parts feel like they would’ve been better to have played out as the action instead of flashback.  While the magic connection between Madame Xanadu and the power rings is intriguing, that association has been more in line with Alan Scott’s ring while the rings of the Green Lantern Corps have remained rooted more in science fiction as a device of alien science.   It raises some questions that one trusts Adams will address in this story arc.

Verdict

Green Lantern #8 is a solid read that promises a large drama that will unfold in this series.  There are a number of interesting moments in the issues and it really feels like something is beginning in both the stories.  

The post Review: Green Lantern #8 appeared first on DC Comics News.

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writers: Jeremy Adams and Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Xermanico, Scott Godlewski and David Lafuente
Colors: Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Tamra Bonvillain
Letters: Dave Sharpe and Rob Leigh

Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd

Summary

It’s mano y mano as Hal and Sinestro continue their confrontation with apparently the Earth at stake…as Sinestro wields RAGE instead of FEAR!

Positives

Since issue #1 of this series, Jeremy Adams and Xermanico have done the basics with the classic Silver Age Green Lantern extremely well, and as one might expect, issue #3 is no different.  Sinestro is undoubtedly Hal’s greatest nemesis.  Like the Joker for Batman, no one else quite does it like Sinestro when it comes to challenging Hal Jordan.  There’s a complexity to their relationship as it’s been developed over the years since Sinestro first appeared in Green Lantern #7 (no not next issue…Green Lantern #7 from 1961!).  And, that’s probably what makes Sinestro so significant for Hal.  Sinestro was Hal’s instructor in the Green Lantern Corps, and he’s been portrayed often in the past 20 years as much as an anti-hero as he has been portrayed as a villain.  Adams uses that in Green Lantern #6 to great effect as we see Hal trying to reason with Sinestro, appealing to a side of him he knows is there, even if it is often buried.

Adams also expands the use of the Emotional Spectrum as Sinestro wields a Red Lantern ring instead of his usual Yellow ring.  Hal saves the day, but he can’t stop Sinestro from escaping back to Korugar.  Adams seems to know how to use a character’s history and supporting cast to tell good stories that fit the main character well.  If only more comics were like this, DC would be getting more of my money.

Positives Cont’d

While the action in Green Lantern #3 is executed very well by Xermanico and Godlewski, there’s a static image of Carol on page 1 that is particularly striking.  Carol’s fear, concern and multitude of other thoughts are captured perfectly as she attempts to let Hal know what is going on.  There aren’t a ton of lines used, but it’s just the right ones that communicate these emotions around the eyes and shape of the mouth.

The “Wayward Son” back up story continues to build as Korg gets enough parts to try and launch his spaceship.  With the announcement of the upcoming Sinister Sons title, readers should pay close attention to what happens in this story.  You can tell Tomasi is building up to something as both Korg in this story and Sinestro in the main tale are headed for Korugar.

Negatives

With this first arc over, it’s still a little hard to tell how much the pacing was impacted by “Knight Terrors.”  It’s probably a good idea to go back and read all six issues in one sitting.

Verdict

Green Lantern #6 is just a really, really good comic.  It’s as simple as that.  The creative team exemplifies the “back to basics” approach.  It’s working extremely well for Hal and Co. and there’s no reason to think it will end.  Character comes first as it should!

The post Green Lantern #6 appeared first on DC Comics News.

Who are Jade and Obsidian?

Jennie-Lynn (Jade) Hayden and Todd (Obsidian) Rice first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25 cover dated September 1983 as part of a time travelling team of Justice Society of America characters who were mid controlled by the Ultra-Humanite to interfere with events during World War II.  Jade and Obsidian are twins and they make their most important entrance in Infinity, Inc. #1 when they along with other sons, daughters and proteges of the Justice Society burst in on the team and petition them for admission.  The pair believe that Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern is their father.  This storyline plays out over the first year and a half of Infinity, Inc. with the full story revealed in Infinity, Inc, Annual #1 from December 1985.

Alan Scott had married Rose Canton, the Golden Age Thorn who was operating under an alias.  On their wedding night the personality of The Thorn took over.  She disappeared that night not knowing she had become pregnant.  When Canton realized that The Thorn was a threat she put the twins up for adoption.  Alan Scott never knew what happened, including that the woman he married was in reality one of Jay (The Flash) Garrick’s adversaries.  The twins were adopted separately and each developed powers. Jade had a similar power set to the Green Lantern except that the green energy manifested directly from her body without the need for a ring or lantern for recharging.  It also caused her flesh to turn green when using the power.  Obsidian had the power of shadows and darkness much like The Shade.  He could engulf an opponent in the darkness terrorizing the individual.  He could also manifest a shadow self which was intangible.  

Jade and her father hit it off right away.  Obsidian and Alan Scott had a difficult relationship right out of the gate.  Marc Andreyko utilized this friction to expand on Todd’s character revealing him to be gay in the pages of Manhunter #18 in 2006.  The relationship between Alan Scott and his children was a long running subplot throughout Infinity, Inc. and subsequent JSA titles all the way up to the relaunch of the entire DC publishing line in September 2011 with the New 52 initiative. 

Where did they go?

At this point, Jade and Obsidian ceased to exist as there was no Justice Society in the New 52 and when the Earth 2 comic launched it was with new versions of Alan Scott, Jay Garrick and such on a new parallel Earth.  In this reality, because the elimination of Todd Rice as a representative of the LGBT community no longer existed, writer James Robinson wrote the Alan Scott of Earth 2 as gay in order to maintain representation.

At the end of Doomsday Clock the pre-New 52 JSA returned to continuity.  Around the same time, James Tynion IV penned a story for the Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100 Page Super Spectacular.  This story recounted Alan Scott’s origin from All-American Comics #16, but with a twist- he wasn’t just on the train when it crashed, he was hidden away in a car with another man having a romantic encounter and subsequently blamed himself for the man’s death.  This led to Alan Scott coming out to Jade and Obsidian in the pages of Infinite Frontier.  However, it did not address any other aspect of Scott’s past including his marriage to Rose Canton, or his second marriage, this time to Molly Mayne in the pages of the aforementioned Infinity, Inc. Annual #1.  It now seemed incongruous that Scott as a man in his ’60’s would enter into a second marriage when he married Molly Mayne if he was indeed, gay.   It raises lots of questions about Scott’s integrity and honesty.  It’s certainly believable that Scott would have tried to live as straight and marry Canton earlier in his life, but a second marriage as an older man when no one would have any expectations of him to marry at that age doesn’t really make sense.  Nor does it make sense that he would have finally come out at over 100 years of age, which is what we see in Infinite Frontier.

The New Golden Age

In November of 2022,  DC Comics finally brought the JSA back in a big way.  Under a banner of “The New Golden Age,” a mini-series, Stargirl and the Lost Children and the current Justice Society of America series were launched along with The New Golden Age #1 one-shot that served as an introduction to both titles.  Writer Geoff Johns introduced a number of new characters including a number of “forgotten” Golden Age sidekicks.  He also reintroduced the Golden Age Aquaman who hadn’t been seen since two brief appearance in All-Star Squadron #59 and #60.

Two of Johns creations were The Harlequin’s Son and the Red Lantern.  The Harlequin’s Son is exactly who he sounds like he is, the son of Molly Mayne, the Golden Age Harlequin.  Nothing has been revealed about his father yet, but some of the pertinent facts we have are that Michael Mayne is gay and that he used his mother’s gagets and he started out as a villain.  We also know that Sylvester Pemberton attempted to recruit him to Infinity, Inc. when he was forming the team.  This is not how it happened back in Infinity, Inc. #1, however, as that team was formed by Hector Hall and Lyta Trevor.  Pemberton was a member of the JSA at the time and sitting at the table when the youngsters broke in on the JSA meeting.  It’s not clear who else was recruited to this team now, but if Pemberton was doing the recruiting, it seems that Hector Hall and Lyta Trevor may not have been there at all.  The Harlequin’s Son’s Who’s Who entry in The Golden Age #1 also indicates that his relationship with his mother remains complicated.  

Johns also introduces readers to a new Golden Age arch-nemesis for Alan Scott- The Red Lantern.  In the early ’50’s the Red Lantern would have a daughter who would go missing.  This daughter is Ruby Sokov.  In Justice Society of America #1 we see that in the future, Helena Wayne as the Huntress along with Power Girl have resorted to recruiting villains to join the JSA due to dire circumstances.  We see Ruby and she appears much like Jade, only red instead of green.  Like Jade, Ruby manifests her power directly from her body.  Both she and her father are powered by the Crimson Flame, something similar to the Starheart which powered Alan and Jade.

As I wrote the review for the forthcoming Justice Society of America #7, I realized that Johns was playing with an element associated with Jade back in Infinity, Inc.  In this new comic, Johns is associating this relationship with a different character.  It got me thinking, and I realized Jade and Obsidian haven’t been seen for a while.  In fact, despite all the JSA characters that have been seen in this new series, Jade and Obsidian haven’t been seen at all.  I went back through The New Golden Age #1 and the first 6 issues of Justice Society of America to determine if I had missed a background appearance.  I  hadn’t.

post-Crisis– Iron Munro, Helena Kosmatos Fury, Flying Fox and…Helena Bertinelli

If they weren’t there, where were they?  As I pondered, it occurred to me that Michael Mayne and Ruby Sokov have some of the same energy as Obsidian and Jade.  Obsidian and Michael are both gay and both have had difficult relationships with the one parent they know.  Jade and Ruby are both powered organically though their respective father’s used a ring to direct their energy powers.  Also, both characters skin color is affected by the energy they wield.  Ruby and Jade are also names of precious stones that suggest the colors associated with their powers.

It struck me at this point that these new characters may have been designed to replace Jade and Obsidian in continuity, much like what was done with the Earth-Two Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and original Helena Wayne after the Crisis on Infinite Earths.  After all timelines were merged into one single Earth at the end of the Crisis on Infinite Earths,  some characters were deemed redundant and others simply couldn’t exist.  For doppelgangers, characters who were identical to their Earth-One counterparts like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Green Arrow, the Earth-One versions were retained.  Characters with unique identities like Jay Garrick and Alan Scott who didn’t resemble their Earth-One counterparts Barry Allen and Hal Jordan remained as the first generation of heroes from the 1940’s.  Helena Wayne could no longer exist because her father the Golden Age Batman no longer existed.  Helena’s best friend, Power Girl, was unique in her identity as to be unrecognizable as Supergirl and remained though she was given a new back story and origin unrelated to Superman (this truly is a separate story for another time!).

With these characters gone, there was an in-story void and energy that needed to be filled.  Roy Thomas came up with most of these replacement characters inserting Iron Munro for Superman, Flying Fox for Batman and Helena Kosmatos who would be the Golden Age Fury.  Helena Wayne was reimagined as Helena Bertinelli and retained the Huntress identity as well as a tenuous connection to the Bat-family.  Having thought it through, it seems like Michael Mayne and Ruby Sokov are taking the place of Obsidian and Jade in the new timeline.`

Despite the Pain…It Makes Sense

One of the biggest questions about the retcon of Alan Scott being gay was how it would affect his children and his history and his marriage to Molly Mayne.  It hurts to see Jade and Obsidian go, but in this new history with a gay Alan Scott it makes sense.  One can imagine that this time around Alan Scott has never been married.  This means he didn’t misrepresent himself and marry two different women under false pretenses.  The exact nature of his relationship with Molly in the Golden Age is still in question, but we do know that she still had a career as the Harlequin.  A close reading of the Harlequin’s Son’s Who’s Who page indicates she wound up on the side of the law eventually.

Eliminating Jade and Obsidian clears Alan’s past of any inconsistencies so that it is free to be explored without having to over explain what happened.  This has always been an issue in retconning Alan Scott’s sexuality.  It truly makes no sense if you keep his history, but you also lose what was there with the character if you rewrite the entirety of his history.  You lose Obsidian and the dynamic between father and son with whom through difficult years searched for common ground and a positive relationship.  It leaves Alan Scott as mostly a blank slate as all the character work done with him through the Bronze Age up to the New 52 just isn’t.  Without it, though- Who really is Alan Scott?  We get some glimpses in Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1 and his inclusion as a gay man is driving that series as even his membership in the JSA if forced by blackmail.  It’s certainly a different vibe than what Johns shows of the first JSA meeting in The New Golden Age #1 which while referencing Alan’s concerns subtly also shows him to be involved and cognizant of the magnitude of the event with no apparent misgivings.

I could be wrong.  I could be seeing things that aren’t there.  But, I don’t think I am.  

One clue that points in the opposite direction is the image on the Who’s Who page for The Harlequin’s Son.  One of the background images shows Michael Mayne in combat against Jade and Obsidian.  However,  when reading the page, it’s clear this could never happen.  The text explains that after being cleared of murder, he turned to acting and refused to join Sylvester Pemberton on Infinity, Inc. when Pemberton was putting the team together. Jade and Obsidian would have debuted at that time, so there couldn’t be an era in which Mayne was active as a villain and Jade and Obsidian were operating.  It’s not a friendly fight either as Jade and Obsidian are clearly interrupting him as he commits some sort of crime.  

RIP Jade and Obsidian.  Comic book limbo welcomes you.  

The post Have Jade and Obsidian Been Eliminated from Continuity? appeared first on DC Comics News.

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writers: Jeremy Adams and Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Xermanico and David Lafuente
Colors: Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Tamra Bonvillain
Letters: Dave Sharpe and Rob Leigh

Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd

Summary

Sinestro unleashes the drones and Hal must find a way to save both Washington, DC and Moscow…can he be in both places at the same time?

Positives

It would be easy to say Green Lantern #5 is a great action issue, and it is, but what really stands out is that Jeremy Adams drives that action with the characters in the story.  There’s already an interesting dynamic between Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris in this series, and as she has to rely on him to try and stop the drones, the push and pull appears to go back to Hal.  It’s not overstated, but it’s subtle.  Hal to his credit doesn’t lord it over her or anything narcissistic, but rather it’s present and the reader can feel it happening naturally.  Adams and artist Xermanico build up the tension effectively as Carol is on pins and needles waiting for Hal to save the day.  Carol needs Hal’s expertise in this moment.

Adams gives us a Hal Jordan that is great at his job as Green Lantern.  He shows what Hal is capable of doing.  He allows Hal to show off what his new ring can do as he tries something extremely difficult.  It’s a feat of multitasking and coordination any drummer would be proud of.  Green Lantern #5 shows why Hal is a great Green Lantern.  Adams leans into the key characterization of Hal Jordan: will power, confidence and willingness to take risks.  Since his first appearance in Showcase #22, the attributes that make Hal a great test pilot also make him a great Green Lantern.   Adams clearly understands what readers like about Hal and how to present that, as well as being able to deliver the nuanced approach to his relationship with Carol.

The second part of “Wayward Son” by Peter J. Tomasi and David Lafuente show Korg investigating his belief that Sinestro is his father.  Additionally, the Oliver Twist motif is expanded upon a bit.  The mystery deepens, though as he also learns something of his mother and his birth planet…Korugar.  This second feature is shaping up to be a compelling situation for Sinestro who manages to manifest something altogether new at the end of the main story.

Negatives

Hmmm…nope!

Verdict

Green Lantern #5 is a “how to”  balance character, story and action.  Not only does it focus on character, it get the character parts right.  These characters feel like the characters they are supposed to be, and that’s not something that’s happening enough in comics today.  Adams had a great run on The Flash and after escaping the distraction of Knight Terrors, it’s really coming together in Green Lantern, as well.

.  

The post Review: Green Lantern #5 appeared first on DC Comics News.

One can’t blame those writers for following the entertainment trends of the era, it only makes sense.  Except when it doesn’t; when the approach doesn’t fit the core essentials of the character.  Those writers were crafting tales that fit popular trends because it’s what they thought would sell, they were not, however, focusing on the elements that had made Batman popular to begin with.  And, this is where we are today.

It’s not hard to see how many of today’s comic book writers are  writing for the time and not for the character.  It’s not easy to always balance that.  You can’t write Batman like he’s still in 1940, unless it’s a period piece of course.  The trick is to keep the character grounded at his core while exploring relevant issues that make the story feel contemporary while losing nothing of what makes Batman who he is.  Unfortunately, it seems many writers in comics today are making these same mistakes.  DC Comics as a whole seems to not understand the difference at times.  There are some recent examples we can look at to see what’s going on as we explore what makes a character that character especially ones with a long publishing history.

Alan Scott, The Green Lantern  

There are different kinds of changes that can be wrought on a character, marriage, children, death of a loved one, loss of powers, etc…..  Sometimes, characters can be reinvented, though it seems that it’s rarely for the better as a reworking that eliminates the core elements of the character most likely will alienate fans of the character.  There’s a lot of this going on at DC Comics in a number of titles, and the most recent example is Alan Scott, The Green Lantern.  This is easily the most incendiary topic in this editorial.  It would’ve been such even had writer Tim Sheridan not gone on X (formerly known as Twitter) to essentially call anyone who did not support the book as a homophobe or bigot.  He has actually completely overlooked the larger issue, which is the topic here- Is Tim Sheridan actually interested in the character of Alan Scott and his 80 year history?

Alan Scott first appeared in All-American Comics #16, cover dated, July 1940.  That first story presents the origin of The Green Lantern.  While there was very little deep or nuanced storytelling during the Golden Age for the character, writers did eventually pair up Alan with an adversary, the Harlequin, a criminal who would not only match wits with the Green Lantern, but who was also interested in his romantic affections.  This should be familiar to readers as Batman and Catwoman have had a similar relationship since their first meeting back in Batman #1 (Spring 1940).  While Bruce and Selina never dated or got married in the Golden Age, the two flirted with Selina even trying to put aside her criminal ways at times .  Batman let her go on more than one occasion because he was so enamored with her, including that first appearance.  It wouldn’t be until the Bronze Age that Bruce and Selina got together, got married and had a daughter in continuity.  It was the continuity of Earth-Two, but it’s a very similar situation to Alan Scott and Molly (The Harlequin) Mayne.

Like the Bat and the Cat, Alan and Molly finally got married in the Bronze Age.  Both pairs of characters had a similar dynamic as hero/villain/love interest.  Bruce and Selina’s marriage resulted in daughter, Helena Wayne, the Huntress, but ended in tragedy as Selina died trying to protect her family after a false claim by a former confederate.  Devastated, Bruce was never the same and died in action a few years later.  Alan and Molly got married only after Alan learned that his first marriage had resulted in the birth of twins that his wife had hidden from him.  When Alan and Molly got married in their twilight years (Infinity, Inc Annual #1) they had a ready-made family.  Not to say it was always easy (Alan had to rescue her soul from Hell at one point), but the couple remained happily married until Flashpoint and the launch of The New 52 in 2011 when all previous DC continuity was restarted.

By the time The New 52 launched, fans of Alan Scott had more than a costume and power set to like about the character.  Heck, even more than just the fact he was a traditional hero!  During the Bronze Age, writers, chiefly Roy Thomas filled in the gaps between the Golden Age and “the present” to develop a more complex Alan Scott with compelling story elements in his long life.  Not only had Alan been duped into marrying Rose Canton (the Golden Age Thorn) but he’d fathered two children with her in their short marriage whose existence she’d hidden.  It was a surprise to Alan when he found out and it provided a whole new avenue of stories and character nuance to explore.  Alan’s relationship with his children Jennie-Lynn (Jade) Hayden and Todd (Obsidian) Rice were central to Alan’s character from the mid ’80’s until Flashpoint in 2011.  When Todd was revealed to be gay, it provided a whole other level to the friction between father and son that had been present since their first meeting.  Even if it wasn’t intended by creators Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway, it was a natural interpretation of his character that writer Marc Andreyko seized upon when he outed Todd in Manhunter Volume 3 #18.  This insightful reading of the character by Andreyko was not only a contemporary element for inclusion, but yet another addition to Alan Scott’s story that grew the character deeper and more complex.  Scott is a man of the 1940’s and homosexuality was viewed very differently than it is today, or in the ’80’s when Rice was first created.

Even outside those aspects of Alan Scott specifically related to his sexual orientation, he was shown in the Bronze Age and beyond to have a very close friend in Jay Garrick, the original Flash.  Their bonding extended to their respective wives as well.  This was 80 years of storylines and character development when all was seemingly thrown away when James Tynion IV retconned Alan’s sexuality in the Green Lantern 80th Anniversary issue.  

With the launch of The New 52, DC Comics presented a new take on the concept of parallel Earths and the multiverse which had played a significant role since its introduction in The Flash #123.  In Earth 2 #1 (2012) we meet Alan Scott, a young man unencumbered with any history as he is a brand new version of the character who has yet to become Green Lantern.  This Alan Scott is gay.  Writer James Robinson wanted to have a gay character since Obsidian had been wiped from existence with Flashpoint.  Making Alan Scott this new gay character makes sense in a metatextual way. 

The New 52 Earth 2 characters were last seen with any sort of significance in Earth 2: Society #22 in 2017.  In a matter of five years, the New 52 Alan Scott was obsolete as DC had already launched the Rebirth initiative with the promise that the original Justice Society of America would return “soon.”

After a time travelling appearance in Justice League #32 (2019), the Justice Society of America including Alan Scott and Power Girl (more on that later) returned not only to continuity, but the present in Doomsday Clock #12.  It would’ve seemed that the original Golden Age Green Lantern was back with his history and character intact.  It was then a surprise that raised many questions about Alan and his history and family when the aforementioned Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super-Spectacular retconned Alan’s sexuality.  

With the publication of Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1,  this mini-series serves to re-contextualize Alan’s history.  With that being the purpose, how much are DC Comics interested in the substance of the character of Alan Scott?  When you eliminate a character’s history and motivation, relationships etc, what’s the interest in the character then?  All that’s left is the superficial aspects, a name, a costume, a power set?  Is Alan Scott: The Green Lantern writer, Tim Sheridan actually interested in the attributes that made  Alan Scott a founding member of the JSA?  The stories that have shaped him?  The substance of his character as a founding member of the JSA and one of the first heroes of the DC Universe?  The established history with his teammates, and family?  Or, is Sheridan interested in the idea of Alan Scott?  Is he just a JSA character that can provide representation?  Is he invested in the established history and depiction of Alan Scott or simply writing the story of a gay man in the 1940’s?

If the substance of Alan Scott’s history and character attributes are changed is it really still the same character, or is it the substance of a new character wearing the superficial particulars we associate with Alan Scott?    We can’t see how much history has changed, because very little has been done with that so far.  We’ve seen Jade and Obsidian in Infinite Frontier, but there’s no guarantee they are still in play.  The same goes for Molly Mayne-Scott.  Is that marriage still something that’s part of these characters’ history?  In this recontextualization will we learn that Alan lied and misrepresented himself to both his wives?  Is this an heroic action? We’ve seen a retcon in Justice Society of America and The New Golden Age that indicates Molly had a son who has grown up into a character known as The Harlequin’s Son.  This is new, so what else has changed?  A quick examination of Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1 depicts what we do know has changed.

In this first issue, Alan is blackmailed by FBI head J. Edgar Hoover in joining the JSA.  This is a massive change from the established origin of the JSA.  The JSA formed when British Agent Intrepid asked The Flash, Green Lantern (and Batman in pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity) to help with a mission in Europe which was first told in DC Special #29 (September 1977).  It led to all the founding members coming together with a final save of Washington, DC from a special Nazi bomber and stopping the assassination of U.S. President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  Is this still the JSA’s origin?  If so, was Alan Scott involved?  

While some of the ideas that Sheridan introduces are compelling and fitting for the story of a gay man from the 1940’s, it doesn’t fit Alan Scott ‘s 80-plus year history.  Changing something about a character that fundamentally changes the character’s history and make up does not honor the substance of the character or engage the fanbase that’s built up around the character over the years.  For Alan Scott, that’s 80 years.  There have been so many stories with so much consistency in Alan’s portrayal, changing things doesn’t  genuinely fit.  He’s now a reluctant hero not that interested in using his power to fight evil and and is being controlled through blackmail.  It’s a change that seems to be there for other reasons and is not pertinent to the core of the character.  What if Superman was Superman only because he was being blackmailed over the fact he was an alien.  What if that was the mitigating factor in his decision to be on the JL and/ or to be a hero at all?

It’s this that raises my question about Sheridan’s interest and even DC Comics’ interest in the character.  It doesn’t make sense to move a character away from the aspects that brought the character appeal over the years.  Ignoring these established things in favor for traits that are topical would logically turn fans away as seen with Batman in the ’50’s and ’60’s.  It’s something we’ve seen recently with another well established character that has since changed back.

“Ric” Grayson

The reasons behind the “Ric” Grayson era of Nightwing may be different from the motivation for changing Alan Scott’s sexuality, but the results are the same.  When Nightwing was struck with amnesia he developed a new personality that severed all his relationships with the Bat-family- Bruce, Alfred, Barbara Gordon, his brother Robins, etc.  Not only were these relationships severed, but “Ric” forgot his history and his personality shifted somewhat.  Without Dick Grayson as part of the Bat-family, memory of his history or friendships and his past as a blank slate…he was no longer the character people liked.  He was no longer the character that appealed to readers.  “Ric” was a different character, with a different outlook on things and different relationships.  While this direction may have garnered new fans, and kept some, readers were ecstatic to have Dick return. 

Essentially, everything people liked about Dick Grayson was gone with “Ric.”  Dick is a character that has a long history and to eliminate that takes away what people like about the character.  It’s no different than what’s being done with Alan Scott.  The change to “Ric” was an in-story change, but the results were the same.  This situation is different when compared to Alan Scott because it doesn’t appear that DC or the writers didn’t care about him.  Instead, it felt like they wanted to either kill time or have a reason to change his name from “Dick.”  It’s important to remember, however, that like Batman before him in the 60’s, readers lost interest in Nightwing because he was divorced from the elements that had made him popular.  There are some other DC Comics characters that are suffering the same treatment as Alan Scott.

Power Girl … Paige Stetler ?

Alan Scott isn’t the only JSAer suffering an identity crisis that suggests the writer isn’t really invested in what made the character popular.  Power Girl has recently been relaunched in a new eponymously titled ongoing series from DC Comics.  Power Girl has been around for nearly 50 years, like Alan Scott, the New 52 resulted in a new version of the character.  Unlike Alan Scott, the New 52 version had minor changes to the character.  Especially notable is that Power Girl maintained her personality, attitude and a very similar history with one of the most significant aspects being retained, her friendship with Helena Wayne, the Huntress.  This is of course the New 52 version of the Huntress who managed to be very similar to her original incarnation with all the essential elements intact.  While there is now a third version of Helena Wayne appearing currently in Justice Society of America, it’s her bestie Power Girl who’s suffering at the hands of writer, Leah Williams.

The chief element of Power Girl’s characterization that fans point to for liking the character is her personality.  From the outset, she was portrayed as a brash, confident, outspoken young woman.  She’s always wanted to be her own and make her own way and not rely on her cousin, Superman.  More than anything this has defined her character.  Her history after the Crisis on Infinite Earths suffered, but her original origin was returned to her in 2005.  Through it all she maintained her personality that had won her fans.  It is very perplexing then that despite professing that the Power Girl in current continuity is this original version when the most glaring inconsistency is her personality in this new series by Leah Williams.  It’s diametrically opposed to what readers have come to love about the character.  It’s like seeing Batman as a snarky, wise-cracking, bombastic street acrobat.  It just isn’t who the character is.  Furthermore, the writing itself contradicts the stories that are referenced in the comics themselves as well as the official DC Comics blog that servers as a primer for readers on the character and this series.

The blog states that this version of Power Girl is the original pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths, Earth-Two version.  It references her first appearance in All-Star Comics #58, her changing back story and return to form in JSA: Classified.  What’s confounding is that while these new stories by Leah Williams reference her past, including the Karen Starr identity and supposedly her job as a Tech company entrepreneur, Williams doesn’t appear to understand the substance of them.  

In the back up stories from Action Comics #1051-1053, PG is being attacked by Johnny Sorrow.  He claims that he and Power Girl are the last two survivors from their universe.  If PG is from the original Earth-Two, this doesn’t make any sense.  It’s well established that Psycho-Pirate is the only other survivor from Earth-Two as well as the only one who remembered the Multiverse for decades after the Crisis on Infinite Earths wiped out the multiverse.  Furthermore, Johnny Sorrow was never an Earth-Two character.  He appeared in Earth 2: Society, but the blog makes it clear that the Earth 2/ New 52 Power Girl is a different character, and these new stories aren’t about her.  In fact, Johnny Sorrow made his first ever appearance anywhere in New Earth continuity (post-Crisis, post-Zero Hour) in Secret Origins of Super-Villains 80 Page Giant #1, (December 1999).  He would have no memory of any life on Earth-Two, since he never appeared in that continuity.

The blog explains that Power Girl was raised in a simulation on her symbioship, however the title scrawl from Power Girl #1 says she was sent to Earth to watch over baby Kal-L.  Both Kryptonians were sent as infants so PG could certainly not look after baby Kal-L as she was a baby herself.  Her ship took longer to arrive, and thus she was raised by it arriving on Earth as a young woman when it took longer than anticipated.

The blog states that she doesn’t wear the “S” symbol because she didn’t work long with Superman on Earth-Two.  This is patently false for a number of reasons.  Her reason for not wearing the “S” can be found in All-Star Comics #64, her 7th appearance ever as seen in the image below.

And interestingly, the blog clearly indicates that the All-Star Comics stories are part of her past, a past that did include time together plus she made the decision about the “S” BEFORE she revealed herself to the world.  Also, the title scrawl mentioned above claims she DID work along side Superman.  

One of the most curious and off-putting aspects of Power Girl’s portrayal in this series is her 180 degree personality shift.  The blog claims the biggest thing for PG is her identity:

“A Power Girl so far removed from her point of origin, so many worlds and continuities away, that anyone would have a hard time telling who she’s really supposed to be—much less herself. This is a Power Girl who needs to undergo some serious soul searching to find out what she’s really about, which is where we find her today.”

It’s not clear how PG got to this point.  We have the Karen Starr identity referenced so we know that part of her history is intact.  The blog says she has returned with the rest of the JSA during Doomsday Clock.  The quote from the blog above tries to make readers believe that she’s having some sort of identity crisis, but as it states elsewhere in blog, that was resolved in Infinite Crisis and the JSA: Classified storylines.  Leah Williams suggests these identity issues in her stories, but never explains how PG went from a confident, independent woman insecure, unsure of herself and dependent on Superman for an identity (she wears the “S” now).  When did that happen?  It’s diametrically opposed to how she’s always been portrayed.   It doesn’t make sense and it appears that Williams (and blog writer Alex Jaffe) isn’t aware of the substance of the character.  To Williams she’s just an alternate Supergirl, instead of a distinct character that has always behaved differently from the main universe Supergirl.  In fact, it appears that is the length and breadth of Williams’ understanding of Power Girl.

There’s another bizarre quality to Williams’ portrayal of Power Girl.  She writes Power Girl like she’s new to Earth, like her rocket landed, she met Kal-L and a few days later found herself lost and showed up on the main DC Earth.  She seems wholly unconnected with her past with the JSA which is currently on display in Justice Society of America which is currently publishing.  That book acknowledges Power Girl’s past and provides a depiction that is in line with her established personality.

The question remains: Is Leah Williams actually interested in Power Girl as a character?  Does she understand anything about her history or personality?  These are the elements that won Power Girl fans over the years.  Williams seems to be ignoring them outright, or she’s just ignorant of them to begin with and has made no attempt to make them make sense.  Either way, it points to a lack of interest in the character other than the most basic superficial description, simply an alternate Supergirl, like Sheridan’s Alan Scott, a version of the character that doesn’t utilize the history of the character and shows no interest in the substance of the character.

And, There’s More…

This situation isn’t confined to Power Girl and Alan Scott.  The new Wonder Woman series from Tom King’s pen indicates much the same.  King is known for his controversial takes on characters, more often that not bending characters to fit the stories he wants to tell.  The new Wonder Woman is no different, and in this case the intent from the outset seems less rooted in an interest in Wonder Woman, but a desire to tell a story that requires great leaps in status quo and characterization to make work.  When did all those Amazons emigrate to the U.S.?  Are there even enough Amazons on Themiscrya to be statistically significant even if they ALL moved to the U.S.?  Why would Diana sit by and wait if the killer was identified as an Amazon immediately?  Why wouldn’t she investigate immediately?  The real reason is that that is not the story King wants to tell.  He doesn’t even seem to want to tell the story from Diana’s POV as The Sovereign is narrating the tale.  Very little so far indicates that King is interested in Wonder Woman outside the broadest definition of her.

It’s not new though, Human Target depicted all the Justice League International characters wildly out of character except for Guy Gardner.  He was already broken so King didn’t have to break him.  Strange Adventures turned the hero, Adam Strange into the villain.  King does it in nearly all of his stuff, the most notable outlier being Superman, “Up in the Sky” which perfectly depicts the Man of Steel.  If a writer has to change the fundamentals of a character is his/her interest really in the character or the idea of the character?

Even the new Birds of Prey comic doesn’t seem to really be interested in the core concept of the Birds of Prey.  Kelly Thompson is approaching the book like the concept is just a team of women.  She isn’t including founder Barbara Gordon, or centering the series on the relationship between Barbara, Dinah (Black Canary) and Helena (Huntress) Bertinelli.  In fact, Dinah is the only one of these characters in the comic.  Combined with the fact that the series reads like Thompson was looking for an excuse to write Harley Quinn, a character who has zero business being involved with the Birds of Prey, it again appears that the writer isn’t actually interested in what the made the Birds of Prey concept popular to begin with.  Instead, it’s being rebranded as something else, which would indicate that this rebranding is what Thompson is actually interested in and not the substance of the concept as it was developed over the years.  For Thompson, Birds of Prey is just a team of women characters, and again that’s the absolute basic definition of the concept with no substance.

The Balance Between Character and Story … Both Matter

I won’t say that some of the the stories mentioned above don’t have compelling aspects.  However, the big question is whether or not they work for the characters with which they are associated.  At one point comic book writers understood they were writing characters.  Characters that had histories, personalities, ways of operating….  Readers were following these characters because of how they had been built up and developed over he years.  Readers followed the continuing stories because they were invested in the substance of the characters.  Like people in the real world, we are attracted to substance, not color, gender or any other superficial element.  It’s the person inside that matters, and if that changes, that’s when relationships break down.

Even Alan Moore when writing Watchmen created his own characters instead of using the recently acquired Charlton characters that he had originally intended to use.  That story would have destroyed them for further inclusion in the DC Universe.  And, that’s what a lot of these writers are doing.  Adam Strange can’t be used in the DC Universe if Strange Adventures is “in continuity.”  The same goes for the characters in Human Target.  Everything readers liked about Power Girl has been removed from her characterization.  Fans just want to forget this run already, especially since they are getting the Power Girl they love over in Justice Society of America.  Alan Scott is completely out of step with his history and characterization and Sheridan’s aspersions about the JSA make this series inaccessible to existing fans of the team and Alan Scott.  

Creating new characters is the best option if one is not actually interested in existing characters but just the ideas of the characters and not the substance of the characters that have been developed through the years.  There’s got to be a balance.  Create a new character if necessary to tell a story, but don’t destroy or bend existing characters unrecognizably in order to tell a story.  We can only hope that some of these takes get cancelled and return the characters who were beloved to begin with.  We can also hope that writers will have the opportunity and means to tell their stories in a manner that will allow them to be judged on their own merit.  With long standing characters it’s difficult to separate the quality of the story, the writing, the themes if they do not fit the character.  It’s a balance, and the pendulum is swinging away from the importance of the substance of characters to simply the broadest definitions of them leaving the stories that MADE these characters left out in the cold.

The post Are Today’s Comic Book Writers Actually Interested in the Characters They Are Writing? appeared first on DC Comics News.

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writers: Jeremy Adams and Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Xermanico and David Lafuente
Colors: Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Tamra Bonvillain
Letters: Dave Sharpe and Rob Leigh

Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd

Summary

Hal has to call on friend Barry (The Flash) Allen for some help which leads to some personal introspection and a nice appearance by Carol Ferris.  Oh, and Sinestro is there too!

Positives

Jeremy Adams seems to be reminding readers of Hal’s friends and enemies as he gets back in the swing of things.  Seeing Hal and Barry is wonderful.  It takes readers back to the Silver Age origins of Hal and Barry in the right way.  And, while it’s just the action, Hal and Barry get into an insightful conversation about Hal’s personal life and on-again/ off-again history with Carol.  Barry gives him some sound advice and it will be interesting to see how it plays out in future issues of Green Lantern.  

It’s easy to tell that Jeremy Adams enjoyed writing Barry Allen in this issue.  Adams references his engagement with Iris and ties it into Carol’s significance in the issue.  Barry remembers his times with Carol in the past and has a friendly reunion with her that ads to the emotional complexity of the issue.  Still, how are Barry and Iris not married if he remembers them being married?  Just what happened in Barry’s history?  Oh, wait, this is a Green Lantern review….

Sinestro proves to be more than just the villain as he apparently has a real reason for getting of of Earth and back to Korugar.  Sinestro has been characterized with a lot of different aspects in the last 20 years or so, he’s not simply a villain, although he can be easily be the villain.  From his perspective he is definitely the hero of his story.  It almost feels like Hal will have to help him at some point in this run, which is an intriguing proposition.     

Positives Cont’d

Xermanico’s art is a great fit for this series.  It has the right amount of expressive quality while also manifesting exciting super-hero action.  There are some close ups that highlight Xermanico’s draftsmanship, as well as wide angles to make the stakes impactful.

Peter J. Tomasi and David Lafuente begin a new back up series in Green Lantern #4.  This introductory chapter has a lot of potential especially with the reveal on the last page.  (Not worth spoiling that in a review!).  It may tie in to Sinestro’s comments in the lead story, but either way the basic idea shows that there is A LOT of possibilities with the myriad of Lantern Corps in the DC Universe.  A writer like Tomasi can see that and has jumped on it here.  

Negatives

Not anything in this issue to speak of, but I am reminded of the inconsistency in titles during the “Dawn of DC.”  While Green Lantern is definitely taking Hal back to basics, Adams isn’t ignoring what’s come before.  He’s working in current continuity and referencing what’s necessary while also acknowledging the events of the past.  How Hal got here is part of the story.  Some “Dawn of DC” books don’t seem to be able to do this effectively.  Green Arrow is doing a good job on this front, but the writers of Hawkgirl and Power Girl don’t seem to understand the character or the substance of the respective characters’ histories and personal development.  Green Lantern is pushing forward, while Hawkgirl and Power Girl seem to have regressed to an earlier stage.  This has led to questionable themes and outright mischaracterization.  Perhaps, more editorial oversight would help.  Adams clearly doesn’t need that.

Verdict

Green Lantern #4 improves a bit from last issue with a nice character focused issue that introduces some problems for Hal that should be addressed in coming issues.  Adams presents concerns that impact both the heroic and personal side of Hal’s life while also showing how both sides are connected.  The back up story is worth checking out, as well, as it suggests a lot more to come.

The post Review: Green Lantern #4 appeared first on DC Comics News.

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writers: Jeremy Adams and Alex Segura
Art: Eduardo Pansica & Julio Ferreira and Mario Foccillo
Colors: Luis Guerrero and Prasad Rao
Letters: Dave Sharpe

Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd

Summary

Insomnia strikes against Hal Jordan and the Emerald Gladiator must face his greatest fears…or at least his most obvious fears.  

Positives

Strangely, the biggest positive for Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1 is how seamlessly it flows from last month’s Green Lantern #2.  Jeremy Adams set it up very well as things felt very organic at the end of the issue.  In that sense, this could simply be Green Lantern #3 and it would feel like Adams’ story was just continuing.  It will be interesting to see how this Knight Terrors interlude ends and gets back to the same spot at the end of issue #2.  

Eduardo Pansica does a nice job delivering on the visuals as he delves a little into the horror and gives Hal some terrified looks as he faces down his … “fears.”  Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1 also contains a Sinestro story that appears to pick up from his surprise appearance in Green Lantern #1.  Sinestro also appears to be affected by Insomnia’s attack and he has his own fears.  There’s some real irony here as Sinestro is known for operating in fear.  At its core this back up seems to he more interesting than the lead story due to this irony and that there’s a lot more potential for revelatory storytelling with Sinestro.  Readers know a lot about Hal Jordan including the biggest obstacles he’s faced in his life.

Negatives

And that’s sort of the biggest problem with Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1.  We know the traumatic issues in Hal’s life are the death of his father, keeping his job at Ferris Air, conflict with the Guardians and his turn into Parallax.  It’s no surprise they show up here, but they are just sort of glanced over.  Parallax seems to be set up for a major conflict in next month’s Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #2, so there’s a chance for more development there.  

The death of Hal’s father has been done to death in previous stories as well has having to confront his past as Parallax.  I’m not sure all of these are really fears, though, especially, since Hal is supposed to be able to overcome great fear.  This doesn’t seem like a premise that should be that hard for Hal to deal with.  This contributes to a lack of stakes for the issue.  Part of that is also that Hal doesn’t understand what’s going on and that there are stakes as outlined in other Knight Terrors books.  Additionally, a reader who’s not buying those other Knight Terrors books doesn’t really understand the stakes either.  It’s no fault of the creative team on this issue, but this is a feeling that pervades this event. 

Negatives Cont’d

If this was a Justice League story arc that wasn’t interrupting almost every title, I think it would play better.  It could be an interesting and good JL story (maybe JL and JL Dark story), but it doesn’t seem to add anything to the crossover titles.  I wouldn’t even consider these “fears” of Hal to be fear.  They are mostly past trauma that he’s already dealt with.  When it comes to conflict with the Guardians, I don’t even think that’s fearful or traumatic for Hal.  I think he relishes confronting them.  Isn’t that sort of in line with his characterization of challenging authority?  And since he can create his own ring, the Guardians can’t even take that from him.  One “fear” does have some potential- inability to hold a job.

Does Hal truly fear not being able to keep a day job?  He’s had a number throughout his existence, test pilot, toy salesman,  Air Force pilot, and truck driver.  It’s touched on really quickly, but is this something Hal actually fears and hasn’t dealt with?  There’s story to be mined here.  It may not happen in this two-parter because it’s not sexy or sensational, but it would be a different angle to explore as part of Hal’s character.

Verdict

Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1 is ok.  It’s limited due to the scope of the event and that it’s not really clear what’s going on unless one is reading the entire event, or at least the introductory issue.  The event may bring you to all the tie-ins, but this issue won’t get you excited about the event.  Adams does his best to connect it to the main Green Lantern book, but it clearly veers off from Green Lantern #2.  The lack of stakes doesn’t help, nor does “fear” being the plot point since that’s what Green Lanterns overcome easily and regularly.  It’s Tuesday, right?

The post Review: Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1 appeared first on DC Comics News.

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writers: Jeremy Adams and Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Art: Xermanico and Montos
Colors: Romulo Fajardo, Jr. and Adriano Lucas
Letters: Dave Sharpe

Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd

Summary

Hal doesn’t let his failure stop him as he follows some advice from Kilowog and the mystery deepens for John Stewart and Guy Gardner.

Positives

Nostalgia can never be underestimated, but Green Lantern #2, like last issue, has a familiarity that is truly engaging.  Jeremy Adams not only gets Kilowog’s voice right, but also the way he interacts with others, especially Hal.  Additionally, Adams gets some personality traits that remind the reader of what’s likable about Hal as well as the complexity of the character.  And, just for kicks, Adams brings in an appearance of the Demolition Team who first appeared back in Green Lantern (Volume 2) #176.  (FTR- I bought that issue new off the stands!) And, where’s Rosie’s cigar?  This callback to the mid-’80’s reminds the reader that Hal’s entire history is in play including some of his lesser known adversaries.  The appearance of the Manhunter costume last issue functioned in a similar fashion, although the Manhunters are certainly adversaries with higher stakes than the Demolition Team.

In the same vein, Hal’s ability to utilize the Oan energy in the Manhunter to create a power ring connects this series to Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, the series in which he first fashioned his own ring out of energy.  As Adams uses Hal’s history and character to drive the issue, the same is true for his relationship with Carol Ferris.  Adams doesn’t try to convince the reader that they SHOULD be together, but rather approaches the situation with the same complexity as he approaches Hal’s character.  It’s easy to want Hal and Carol to be together, but as the history of that relationship it may not be the best thing for either of them.  Carol shows all the conflicting emotions that make this feel like a real relationship.  Will Carol’s fiance Nathan turn out to be a douchebag?  Only time will tell, but this may be a classic Silver Age love interest that is actually better off without the hero.

Positives Cont’d

Grant Morrison, in both seasons of The Green Lantern, approached the Carol question as well.  It’s not out of the question, but Hal and Carol could potentially end up as friends, maybe best friends and that would truly be unique and an additional layer to their relationship.  So far, this feels like it could tread new ground and not simply “ship”  the classic relationship.  Carol’s such a smart and capable woman it doesn’t fit that she would continue to go back to Hal when she constantly points out how he doesn’t hold up his end of a romantic relationship.  It makes perfect sense that this is an important subplot for this series.  Like Adams’ run on The Flash,  the personal life of the main character is just as important part of the series.  This grounds the book so that despite all the fantastic super-hero stuff that happens readers are able to have something very relatable.

Green Lantern #2 looks great, as well.  Xermanico captures both aspects of these stories both in the exciting Green Lantern sequences as well as the concerned Carol sequence.  Adriano Lucas provides some outstanding uses of color especially when Hal is flying in downtown Coast City and the page of Hal falling back to Earth he combines with Xermanico for a truly spectacular image.  Not to be outdone, Montos in the John Stewart second feature gives a clinic in faces as he makes John and his Mama feel real.  The reality of these expressions include the reader in their conversation in a fascinating way.  Furthermore, this John Stewart story, though moving slowly presents the reader with a couple of mystery that Phillip Kennedy Johnson is revealing slowly and so far it’s working.

Negatives

Like Adams’ The Flash,  it’s difficult to find a negative in Green Lantern #2.  The John Stewart feature is moving slowly, and that may not sit well with everyone.  Perhaps, there should’ve been some follow up with the appearance of Sinestro’s appearance last issue, as well.  Overall, these are very minor because what we get is so strong.

Verdict

DC Comics may not be smart enough to keep Jeremy Adams on The Flash, but at least they are keeping him on something!  Green Lantern #2 is only the second issue of this newest volume of Hal Jordan’s adventures, but it’s already proving to be the full package.  The beautiful art supports a character driven story that draws the reader in with its familiarity and attention to the complexity in Hal’s character and relationships.  

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