The only constant in the DC universe is change. Over the last couple of months, we have seen Future States, an Omniverse, a Linearverse, and now we’re exploring the Infinite Frontier. Continuity is in a state of flux to begin with, and when we add Grant Morrison to the mix, like in The Green Lantern Season Two, who knows what actually counts and what is just him flexing that wild imagination.
This entire run of The Green Lantern has taken Hal Jordan on quite the ride. It has been interesting to ponder where this fits in the canon, or if it even needs to worry about continuity, but what really matters is how this series relates to itself. I would strongly recommend you go back and read the first 12 issues from Season One, the three-issue Blackstars, and then this season two for a complete, fresh in your mind tour de force of willpower and imagination.
Last issue ended on a great cliffhanger that set the stage for a big battle of Hal and his friends up against evil with Hector Hammond and various villains. Unfortunately, this issue’s cover promises that “Hal Jordan faces final doom…on a world of living toys!” which really spoils that all isn’t real in this battle. With that in mind, I was a bit bummed, but then again relieved that it wasn’t really them because they did seem a bit off from how they have been built character wise over the past couple of years.
As for Hal’s new friends, it was interesting to see their fates explained to us via text over some pages. Liam’s style choice and coloring really reminded me of Frank Frazetta’s art, especially with the Knights battle armor vibe. Keeping with Liam’s style, there have been some wild visuals but it blends perfectly with Grant’s scripts; I really wonder who pushes the limits more, Grant or Liam? In the end it comes down to a final battle between Hal and Hector, which does have some wild visuals sprinkled in the panels, but it really is heavily loaded as a discussion battle.
The outcome leads to Hal pleading with Hector to realize that he is being played, which ties nicely to the blurb on the cover — in the end, we see the “Golden Ones” who were the masterminds behind it all. I like how it comes around to this ultimate feat in order to “save the universe,” but I really felt that it was more or less played via text instead of visually. While the pages are nice and some are very poster worthy, I do feel a bit cheated to see this feat Hal has to do not be “bigger.” It fell a bit flat for me.
Maybe with a complete read of the entire run and no monthly spacing this may have felt more special, but this first read of issue #12 doesn’t live up to the hype. There were some “quippy” moments and amazing visuals, but this felt more like a “to be continued” than a “the end,” and I don’t know where to look next.
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