Everything is going wrong for the Green Lantern, but that’s not to say that it can’t get worse! Your Major Spoilers review of Green Lantern #2 from DC Comics awaits!
GREEN LANTERN #2
Writer: Jeremy Adams/Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Xermanico/Montos
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr./Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Paul Kaminski
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: June 13, 2023
Previously in Green Lantern: Hal Jordan’s homecoming is off to a rocky start! Carol Ferris is this close to firing him from the job he’s only just begged his way into, his power ring isn’t exactly working right, and off in the shadows, Sinestro, the architect of Hal’s current crisis, is waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Plus, the Guardian John Stewart and the Watchtower find themselves under siege by unknown foes!
THE OL’ “BUST UP THE GLC” TRICK, EH?
After the disappearance of the Guardians of Oa, the United Planets have taken control of the Green Lantern Corps, leading Hal Jordan and Kilowog to quit and return to Earth. But, thanks to a makeshift power ring that he created out of sheer will, Green Lantern is once again protecting Coast City. We start with a flashback of Green Lantern fighting a few villains, including the Demolition Team, then testing out the power ring. This leads to him plummeting thousands of feet to a certain death. Cut to the present, with Jordan returning home from work to complain that Ferris no longer seems to fly aircraft, and instead assigned him to the mailroom. Of course, being the man he is, he doesn’t stay there long, and by the end of the issue, he’s the co-pilot of Carol Ferris’ official jet. (He also uses it to mess with her fiancé, which is a real dick move, but less so than most of the things Hal has done since 2005.) Elsewhere in the omniverse, John Stewart finds himself as the last remaining Guardian, living a dual life and working with the last Green Lantern.
VERY PUZZLING
This issue features two stories, neither of which feel particularly complete, and both of which feature cliffhanger endings entreating us to pick up a different comic to follow along. One of them doesn’t even come out for four months, which makes the pacing here even more infuriating and puzzling. The fact that the Dawn of DC initiative just kicked in, Green Lantern just relaunched, and now the series is being interrupted for two months’ worth of Knight Terrors issues is questionable, but putting out an issue this fragmented right before that break is just ridiculous. Xermanico’s art on the Jordan segment of the issue is quite attractive, especially on the more mundane parts of the story, but the coloring is another matter. Leaning heavily on pastels and overwhelming orange (presumably to make the green constructs pop more), the palette washes out everything, especially the lead character’s face. Montos’ art on John Stewart’s half of the issue is better served by the coloring, but I still can’t quite parse out the whys and wherefores of what’s going on.
BOTTOM LINE: I DON’T QUITE GET THIS ONE
Every big relaunch brings with it uncertainty, but Green Lantern #2 isn’t quite successful on any level, with coloring that doesn’t jibe with the art, story that doesn’t serve lovely art, and a general lack of context for the goings-on, earning a right-down-the-middle 2.5 out of 5 stars overall. Maybe when we return to regularly scheduled programming in September, Green Lantern might go somewhere, but this issue doesn’t give readers a whole lot of reason to spend their five bucks.
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GREEN LANTERN #2
Hal's situation feels very retrograde, while John's is so strange and out of the ordinary that I can't quite figure any of it out yet. Add in inconsistent art, and I just don't know who this is for.
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Writing3
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Art6
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Coloring5
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