Sojourner Mullein’s whole life has been upended by recent events and revelations. But, how did she get here, and what are the things that shaped her? Your Major Spoilers review of Absolute Green Lantern #8, awaits!

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #8

Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Jahnoy Lindsay
Colorist: Jahnoy Lindsay
Letterer: Lucas Gatton
Editor: Andrew Marino
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: November 5th, 2025

Previously in Absolute Green Lantern: After her encounter with Abin Sur, her introduction to the powers of the colors, her rescue of Hal Jordan, and the events that happened in Evergreen, Jo is on the run and has appeared on the doorstep of her ex-wife.

HOW WE GOT HERE

Absolute Green Lantern #8 begins with a young Sojourner “Jo” Mullein riding with her father to the small town of Evergreen, after her mother divorced him. Several years later, Jo has become a cop in this small town along with the other deputies, Guy Gardner, Mark Shaw, and Renee Montoya. Not long after, Jo discovers that the chief of police is running a protection racket, and when it’s clear she’s not going to get any assistance from anyone else, she quits and moves to Coast City. There she meets Cameron and the two become girlfriends soon after, then get married. The marriage has its obstacles, and during this time, Renee shows up again. Things go worse from there, leading to Jo having to return to Evergreen, just as the arrival of Abin Sur happens.

DESPERATELY NEEDED BACKSTORY

Absolute Green Lantern, as a series, had, until the last two issues, been dragged down by frustrating and uninteresting ambiguity with its storytelling and character development. The previous issue did a lot to establish the mythology of this series, and Absolute Green Lantern #8 finally gives us the deep dive into the main character. What works well with this origin story is that there isn’t a single traumatic moment that pushes Jo to become a hero. Instead, we get a snapshot of most of her life and how these events have shaped her. This is done via a clever narrative device by giving the reader four panels upfront, each one representing one of the colors that are key to this universe’s version of the Green Lantern mythos, and as the story goes on, we see how these panels slot into her story in important moments. But, there’s also an effort to put in moments when some of the other key panels could have been part of specific moments of her story, suggesting a sort of cyclical nature to her life, and an omnipresence of the character traits associated with the different colors. The plot moves quickly, and we get a lot of story very quickly, but it doesn’t come off as rushed, and there’s enough connective tissue to be cohesive.

COLOR IS THE KEY

The visuals in Absolute Green Lantern #8 are the same anime-influenced art we’ve seen so far from Jahnoy Lindsay, but without much in terms of action or space powers to be seen, we get a lot more focus on the characters in quieter moments, and it seems like this is where the art excels. Also, Sojourner Mullein remains one of the most stylish characters DC has to offer, even in this Absolute universe. It’s the colors, though, that put in the most work here. While there are some panels that have obvious color filters for obvious reasons, there are also hints of black, green, red, and yellow, the important colors to this title, all over this issue. It’s subtle, but it enhances scenes in ways that make comics a unique medium.

THIS SERIES NEEDED THIS ISSUE

Absolute Green Lantern #8 is a big turnaround for this series. While there have been some interesting things going on, it has been the weakest of all the Absolute titles, partially due to its refusal to simply say or effectively allude to what was going on. But here we get a straightforward story and some much-needed background on Jo and others. This issue moves quickly and utilizes a lot of narrative devices and the best art of the series to turn a basic origin into something far more interesting and complex. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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