Without the Corps… without the ring… without the willpower. What’s left? Your Major Spoilers review of Absolute Green Lantern #1 from DC Comics Review awaits!

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #1

Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Jahnoy Lindsey
Colorist: Jahnoy Lindsay
Letterer: Luca Gattoni
Editor: Andrew Marino
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: April 2, 2025

Previously in Absolute Green Lantern: Without the Corps… without the ring… without the willpower, what’s left is the Absolute Green Lantern!

WITHOUT FEAR

Hal Jordan stumbles along on the side of a highway in the Nevada desert, as a strange alien voice tells him to be without fear. The trouble is, Hal is far beyond scared… He’s in mortal fear for his existence, having just experienced the most harrowing moment of his life. As a highway patrolman pulls up, Hal can’t get it all together, leading the cop to worry that he’s suffering from heat sickness, then that he’s on drugs, and finally, that he’s hiding a weapon. The last turns out to be true, and while we don’t see what happens to the poor policeman, we do see the aftermath and a crater that might be the man’s mortal remains. Flashback to earlier the same day, as Hal has lunch with his friends John Stewart and Jo Mullein, intercut with the present-time Hal’s arrival at a secluded diner. When a strange glowing green construct crashes to Earth in the five-hours-ago, the three friends rush out to investigate, where they find Abin Sur.

THE OL’ SWITCHEROO

Though the lovely cover gives away part of the twist, the reveal of how the strange cosmic phenomenon affected Hal and Jo did contain at least one surprise for me. It seems clear that Ewing is taking a horror-inspired approach to Absolute Green Lantern, as he did with Immortal Hulk, and that leads the narrative to places that I didn’t necessarily see coming. Lindsay’s art is actually quite good at conveying the terror in Hal Jordan’s face, though it goes a little bit broader/more cartoony than I would have preferred. I’m also not a fan of the coloring, the work of Jahnoy Lindsay, which feels like it’s lacking in contrast. There are some really good moments in these pages, including the arrival of the Green Lantern in Nevada, but the colors chosen feel oddly muted and one-note. The final page that fully reveals the new Green Lantern is really wonderful stuff, though.

BOTTOM LINE: THIS ONE IS NICE

All in all, Absolute Green Lantern #1 is a lovely comic where the story and art mesh quite well, but I still like the script a little bit more than the visuals, thanks in part to coloring that doesn’t resonate with me, but even so, the total package clears 4 out of 5 stars overall. While I appreciate all of the Absolute titles to date, this is the first one that really speaks to me and feels like something I want to continue reading as more than a What If?-style diversion.

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