The Secret Origin storyline being run within the Green Lantern issues reached its fourth part this month. Being written by Geoff Johns, you can pretty much expect a good story, and so far, he’s been really hitting the mark. It was interesting to see, what essentially is a “Year One†storyline done within the pages of Green Lantern. Add on to that the total ret-conning that he is doing for the upcoming Blackest Night storyline in GL, and you have a gem of a series.
Or so you would think.
Green Lantern #32
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert
OK, I’ll say it right here, I’m not totally hating on this issue. The art was great, as always, but the storyline just sort of ground to a devastating halt. It seemed that Johns was told recently he had to extend his storyline, or something.
I tend to treat Wikipedia’s comic histories and “fictional character biography’s†a bit more reverently than I treat their scientific consensuses. My thinking goes, that the obsessive tendencies of the Wikipedia editors who dedicate themselves to ensuring that everyone attributes everything, will also ensure that any comic fallacy is quickly erased.
So a quick perusal of the history of one Hector Hammond, quietly confirms my utter confusion as to his involvement in this Secret Origin story. And the first four pages of issue 32 only continue to confuse me, as I am left totally baffled as to how Carol Ferris’s boyfriend is also being somethinged by a meteor that, apparently, lets him hear peoples thoughts.
I did like the inclusion of Thomas Kalmaku so early on in this series, as he has often been one of the very few non-superheroes to know of Hal Jordan’s secret. He is that Jimmy Olsen character to Hal Jordan’s Superman, and a worthwhile taker of that position.
The confrontation between Hal and Carol was equally confusing as Hector Hammond’s involvement, and I have no idea why people walked out on Carol. I thought it was her father that people didn’t like, but apparently I was wrong. However, Carol is drawn really well by Ivan Reis. The scenes where she is sitting by herself, alone, so perfectly capture the situation that the need for words is totally unnecessary.
The scenes with the red villain, the prisoner Abin Sur was transporting, are – I think – a nice reference to the future Blackest Night storyline. The recital that comes from the fire is suitably written that you know immediately it is a bastardization of the Green Lantern code. It is this ret-conning of the Green Lantern origin, the original Green Lantern origin that I love so much. That was why last month’s issue with GL training on Oa and the silent conversation between Ganthet and Sinestro were so good.
But this diddling around with Hector Hammond has totally thrown me for a loop. Add to that the totally weird introduction of Sinestro in to the picture, and I’m not sure what to make of this issue. It just seemed to grind the whole story to a gigantic screeching halt.
I’ll say again, the art was great, and possibly worth getting if you just want to look at pretty pictures. Add to that the ret-conning, which speaks to the greater Green Lantern war that is brewing, and this is a passable issue. But it confused me, and I don’t like to be confused. I don’t get confused a lot when reading Green Lantern issues, and that baffled me, leaving me confused and baffled. I give Green Lantern #32 3 out of 5 Stars, mainly for the art. Add it to your collection if you are collecting them, but if you aren’t, just wait for the TPB and skim through this issue when you get to it.
