TNI Comic Book Review: Green Lantern: Rebirth Issues 1-6

Green Lantern: Rebirth
The Return of Hal Jordan


Warning: Possible Spoilers





If you don’t read comics or have been living under a rock, Rebirth was the dynamic return of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern. Ever since his death there have been some fans that have been pissed about his death and demanded justice. While I had no problem with his replacement, Kyle Rayner, it wasn’t enough for those die hard Hal fans.
So DC heard the cries and said enough was enough, they took the risk and brought back the fearless Green Lantern and you know what, I loved every page of this series.

For those who don’t know the story, here is the short version. Hal Jordan was considered one of the greatest Green Lanterns of all time. When Coast City, his home, was destroyed, he went mad and tried to bring it all back. The Guardians refused to let him do this which led to Hal destroying the Green Lantern Corps and taking all the power for himself.

Hal became Parallax, a powerful yet evil person who was in control of unspeakable power. With his new abilities, he tried to set things right in his eyes which led to him battling many of DC heroes. In the end, he died a hero as he gave his life so that the earth may live.

Hal’s Journey wasn’t over yet, he may have died but his soul was attached to the Spectre. From then he became the spirit of vengeance.

When Rebirth was first announced, I was not 100% for it. I figured why Hal gets to come back when he was the one who “turned” evil and destroyed just about every Green Lantern. I was also a fan of Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern and I didn’t want him to get thrown in comic book limbo.

By the time #1 came out, I was hyped. I figured Geoff Johns had a master plan here that would not disappoint. He has never really let me down in the past when it has come to his JSA, Hawkman, Teen Titans, or Flash comics. So let’s talk about the overall story.

Rebirth was just incredible; I will start off by saying that. This title had cliffhangers at the end of each issue, fantastic art, and so much more.

The great thing about the title was Hal’s return felt right. The way they brought him back almost freed him of what he did in the past. We find out that Hal and Parallax are two separate beings. Parallax was a yellow being which terrorized the universe before the Guardians trapped him within the Central Battery, which gives a better explanation on the yellow weakness. This creature needed a way out, so it hid within the greatest Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. When the Coast City incident happened, Parallax used it as a chance to fuel his rage and influence his actions and somewhat taking control.

That is something I can be cool with, There was a lot of thought put into this to the point you can’t really have a reason to hate Hal anymore.

The overall story was great. We have moments like where Batman tries to stop Hal, Hal and Kyle “first” meet, Hal vs. Sinestro, and more.

The characters were dead on, Johns has a great understanding for just about the whole DC Universe.

I have to really give Geoff Johns his props, this was just simply fantastic. You can tell he put his heart and soul into this title. He has a burning passion for each character he writes and you can enjoy his books simply because he loves these characters so much.

I like the fact Kyle is not just simply sidelined, he still plays a huge role within this mini and in the Rann/Thanagar War. I expect him to be just as huge for 2005.

Ethan Van Sciver really impressed me, this was my first exposure to his art and honestly I loved it. I want to see him take on other DC Characters in the future.

I highly suggest this when it comes on trade. I put this up with Identity Crisis. I hope you all try the ongoing book coming out this May.

This book this a perfect 10 out of 10.

Credits
writer: Geoff Johns Pencils: Ethan Van Sciver
Inks: Prentis Rollins & Mick Gray Colors: Moose Baumann Ast. Editor: Harvey Richards Editor: Peter Tomasi

You can contact me to leave comments or anything at the following:
xtreme_cannoball@yahoo.com
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