Books : Green Lantern: Rebirth

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- An excellent starting point for a GL newb
I didn't know much about GL before going into this, but that has certainly changed! This comic is not only extremely informative (re: The GL mythos), but it is also an overall amazing read. I recommend it, not only to current Green Lantern fans, but also to anyone who reads comics at all! This is an absolute must-read!

Rating:

- REBIRTH is Decidedly the best DC comic I've read since Nightwing: Year One

Unlike a lot of people around here, I'm a big [ULTIMATE] MARVEL fan and was only recently sucked into liking DC comics because I got wise and decided to read my brother seven year old BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND and NIGHTWING comic books. 2005 recent anyhow. The Jeph Loeb SUPERGIRL series was also a big help in influencing my sudden liking for DC comics as well. I'm only familiar with GREEN LANTERN through television shows like SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (in which I was introduced to Kyle Rayner in the episode "Brightest Day." He's my all time favorite GL) and JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (Green Arrow). Whether or not the GL Mythos/storyline was correctly translated or not into television is no biggie to me, I know enough about the GREEN LANTERN CORPS. to be familiar with the material and characters I was reading about. I picked up "GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH" out of blue yesterday on a library trip, figuring it would be worth a go at reading. I just finished it today and I've got to say this is probably the best DC TPB I've read since "NIGHTWING: YEAR ONE." Plus, it's got Kyle Rayner in it, what more could I ask for?

That aside, Geoff Johns did an excellent job with the storyline concerning Hal Jordan's struggle with the unnatural (for him) feelings of fear and doubt in his very soul even after its supposed to have moved on to the next life. A figure called The Specter and a yellow entity named Parallax have taken control of him, one seeking vengeance the other seeking control and need to feed off of Hal's fears. Elsewhere in the deep reaches of space, Kyle Rayner learns of the evils that inhabits Jordan's soul, and returns to earth [in New Mexico] with the body Hal Jordan to warn the others and help out when it becomes necessary.

(He is said to be the only GL to have known what "true fear" really was, which baffles me to an extent.) In turn he is weak and badly injured, two men find him and care for him. Meanwhile in the city, John Stewart and Guy Gardner have a lukewarm conversation about their "deceased" comrade Hal and from there the situation spirals out of control when Gardners non-GL abilities go haywire and calamity befalls the city. Along the way, an old enemy returns to destroy with the body of Hal Jordan, Kyle Ranyer, and Green Arrow.

To be honest, I loved the storyline, the writer went to great pains to flesh out as much information as possible without losing the reader or the story in translation. Granted, it was a little soap-opera like when explaining the back story of Hal and his seemingly losing battle against The Specter and Parallax. But aside from those little annoyances, the characterization of each familiar DC superhero was right on par; Though I can't say I enjoyed how they depicted Batman when concerning John Stewart's blind devotion in Jordan or his supposed gripe with the man himself. It was almost like they tried to make him a sort of villain-type character your supposed to hate and ultimately take the GL's side in the debate. Ethan Van Sciver also did a beyond excellent job with the artistry in the comic book overall; None of the characters were over embellished with facial or body detail. Wonder Woman looked womanly, Batman looked frightening, imposing even, Superman was . . . Superman, and Kyle looked youthful enough to fit his quirky character personality.

All in all, if your looking for a good GREEN LANTERN-centric book then REBIRTH is defiantly the book you wanna pick up. Granted it leaves some things unexplained concerning character relationships --which gives the GL-fans the advantage in some manner--, but it explains plenty of background throughout the TPB to keep you out of the dark and in The Brightest Day. Highly Recommended. --- [a 5 out of 5]

Rating:

- Hal Jordan back on the job
I always liked Green Lantern. He was a pretty cool character with a pretty cool power. But I always liked the idea of Green Lantern more than the Hal Jordan character. I admit I never really read many Green Lantern comics but knew about Hal from guest appearances he did in other comics. I liked Hal don't get me wrong but I never really got a sense of who he was. And then Ron Marz came along. He had Hal go crazy in the Emerald Twilight story arc and become Parallax. Like I said I wasn't Hal's biggest fan but I thought this was a terrible way to treat the character and the fans that loved him. Why did Hal have to go nuts? There was more than one Green Lantern on Earth so why couldn't Hal retire after what happened to Coast City with Kyle as his replacement? But that didn't happen. But as I got to know Kyle I really liked him and started collecting Green Lantern for the first time. He was a great character and a great Green Lantern. With him we got to not only watch the development of this promising new character but got to see a Green Lantern doing on the job training. Kyle's artistic background and imagination led to the most inventive use of a power ring ever and it was a good read in the process. Also Kyle seemed more like a regular guy who had issues and made mistakes. After all his time away I thought Hal should stay dead so Kyle could keep on being Green Lantern. But I honestly enjoyed this collection. Johns wrote some great stories here. He tied up the loose ends about what Parallax really was, how it affected Hal and who was behind him. It wasn't perfect but it was very good. And Van Sciver's art was awesome.

Rating:

- Rebirth: Title says it all.
The story would be very good even if it didn't produce the happy effect of reintroducing a classic DCU character. Many Green Lantern fans were disappointed (if not horrified) at the treatment that Hal Jordan has received in the last fifteen years. This novel manages to undo the damage without seeming trite or contrived. Along the way, we get a good high-stakes story and explanations of some long-running questions. Why were the original rings ineffective against yellow? Why didn't Kyle's ring have that weakness? Why was Sinestro so easy for Hal/Parallax to kill? How do the various GLs actually USE their rings? And, most importantly, what was up with Hal's 'touch-of-gray' hairstyle? (ok, maybe that's not all that important, but it was a curiosity). All answered in this volume. My only fault with the story was one interaction between Hal and Batman. I didn't object to the characterizations, but Batman having worse reflexes than Hal was a little unbelievable. A minor quibble for a great book.

Rating:

- Very good, but not great.
Yes, to many (myself included) Hal Jordan IS Green Lantern.

Sure, there have been stand-ins on Earth and there are a lot of GLs out there in space, but for Earth, for the bulk of DC stories, Hal IS THE Green Lantern.

He's been gone for a while, and now he is back.

If you don't know how he died, why he died, and what all the hype is behind the return of Hal Jordan, a lot of what makes this TPB special will be lost on you.

The art is amazing. There are parts of this story that will stick with you for a long time after reading it and some scenes will replay in your mind - the art is that good!

However the return of Hal Jordan, for all the importance it should have, is somehow not all that big a deal in the end.

The reason WHY yellow itself was the one thing the rings of the GLC were immune against is bigger, in my mind, than is Hal's return, both of which are featured in this tale.

A must for GL fans, a good read for serious DC fans, and a sample of great art for others.

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