When we last saw Hal Jordan, he was falling to an almost certain doom, with no power, no backup, and no hope of a last-second save. Your Major Spoilers review of Green Lantern #3 from DC Comics awaits!
GREEN LANTERN #3
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: September 12, 2023
Previously in Green Lantern: Hal learns more about his mysterious Green Lantern ring while Sinestro makes a deal with the mysterious Guild to launch a full-scale attack on Ferris Air. The Green Lantern is now faced with the realization that his greatest enemy is back on Earth and undoubtedly up to no good.
NEW RING, WHO DIS?
Falling to his death with a dysfunctional power ring, you might expect Hal Jordan to be a bit bothered, perhaps even panicked. But, then again, you and I aren’t fearless. Calmly thinking his way through the situation, he realizes that his new ring hasn’t been following any of the rules, and thus might not need to be recharged at all. A sudden burst of willpower cranks it up once again, just in time to avoid going splat. He quickly discovers that it has other abilities that the standard-issue Oan power ring does not, including the ability to create realistic multi-colored constructs, and possibly even channel other parts of the emotional spectrum. Smash-cut to the present day, after the Knight Terrors crisis has been dealt with, as Hal continues to get used to his new status quo as Carol Ferris’ personal pilot. And that’s when Sinestro returns. Elsewhere, John Stewart and Guy Gardner have a meaningful conversation about what it really means to be a Green Lantern, and whether John is really willing to give it all up to stay with his ailing mother.
STILL FRAGMENTED, STILL KIND OF A MESS
The Dawn of DC initiative felt like a sorta/kinda reboot in the style of DCYou and Rebirth, but seems to lack a cohesive gimmick to pull it all together. This series is an enigma in that sea of uncertainty, giving us a very retro Hal Jordan returning to his original costume, with much of his original supporting cast, and a new ring to make him feel like a newbie again. The art of Xermanico is quite good in these pages, but its ill-served by the coloring. When Green Lantern begins testing his ring by trying to fool a herd of antelope, the storytelling is good, but the overuse of orange and brown washes everything out. The same can be said of the is issue’s second feature, where the over-rendered greens and purples have the same effect. John Stewart’s story is also still confusing with its premise of shifting back and forth from the present to a still ill-defined future era where John is some sort of Guardian
BOTTOM LINE: VERY HARD TO GET INTO
After a nearly 3-month hiatus, Green Lantern #3 jumps right back into the teases, hints, and allegations that made it so difficult for me to engage with the first two issues of the book, with the art that constitutes the best part of the book overwhelmed by coloring that distracts, earning 2 out of 5 stars overall. The split book format has left both Lantern Jordan and Lantern Stewart underserved as characters, with barely and issue’s worth of story spread over three individual comics and six months of real time.
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GREEN LANTERN #3
Even having read the first two issues, this one feels like its short on context, and the long break for Knight Terrors has only made things worse. This comic feels like the last third of what should have been the first issue.
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Writing2
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Art7
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Coloring3
