The Green Lanterns and Hal Jordan are back, still written by Robert Venditti. Is it good?
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1 (DC Comics)
The Breakdown
Let’s cut to the chase, because there’s really not much here. Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth is basically one of those free previews that would be handed out on Free Comic Book Day or would be put up online for no money to hype some new book. There is barely anything happening in the actual comic–it just tells us that Hal Jordan is coming back, briefly mentions the events of the last storyline Venditti wrote, and that Sinestro is up to something (the guy must have been really stressed out recently since he’s aged badly from the end of his solo series to this Rebirth issue).
It really lacks in content and doesn’t have much going on for it unlike the other Rebirth issues. It doesn’t have the intrigue of the Wonder Woman issue, the fun and excitement of the Batman issue, the heartwarming feelings and joy of the Titans issue, the action of Aquaman or some of the others issues, and it doesn’t even have a story per se like Justice League. It only acts as a summary the past Green Lantern run, who Hal Jordan is, and nothing more. It’s really disappointing.
There’s not much to Venditti’s writing, since there’s not much going on here in general. The dialogue and narration are alright, but they act mostly as tools to deal out exposition and explain what’s going on. There’s no action, no real character moments, the pacing is very quick and the whole issue goes by in a flash, and the comic ends right as it starts picking up. The only real notable thing about the comic is that the timeline is all screwed up and it’s confusing how it fits into everything. Sinestro is somehow extremely old, Baz is not on Earth despite him currently working with Jessica in Green Lanterns, and Kyle Rayner should still be involved with the incidents regarding the Omega Men. The comic is rather confused in that regard.
The only big plus to the issue is that long time regular Green Lantern artist Ethan Van Sciver draws the book. He feels sorely underused here admittedly, since he doesn’t get to draw any action or a lot of aliens, but his work is still quite good. He’s a got an amazing eye for detail, especially when drawing Warworld; the characters all look well and on point; the layouts flow well from panel to panel; and the big moments of the issue do have this sense of energy and awe to them. Honestly, I just wish there was more for him to draw and help give the book a bigger punch than it’s giving.
Is It Good?
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1 is the first real misfire of the Rebirth issues, that I have read at least. It’s pretty much the equivalent of a free preview that would you get for an upcoming book in stores, but it lacks any action, character drama, or suspense/excitement. It’s just incredibly lackluster and feels like it’s missing something that could really make it shine. More than any other book, this is the first Rebirth issue you could easily skip and not miss a single thing. Hopefully, the main book coming later this month is much better.
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