Convergence: Green Lantern Corps #1 Review

Guy Gardner never asked to be Green Lantern, but now without it, he struggles to find purpose in his life.

CONVERGENCE: GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1
WRITER: DAVID GALLAHER
COVER ARTIST: TONY HARRIS
PENCILLER: ANDE PARKS
INKER: STEVE ELLIS
COLORIST: HI FI DESIGN
LETTERER: DAVID SHARPE
PUBLISHER: DC COMICS
COVER PRICE: $3.99

Previously in CONVERGENCE: PTSD should probably be expected with the superhero gig, but knowing that doesn’t make dealing with it any easier. Guy Gardner has spent the past year under the dome in Gotham of Earth One trying to come to terms with what Sinestro did to him in the Phantom Zone, and what Hal Jordan almost did out of it.

STIR CRAZY

There are some cases that no psychologist is ever prepared to take. Guy Gardner knows he needs help, but superheroes go places where no one has gone before, including in cases of trauma. The best his psychologist can do is try to find an approximation of a real world analog if treatment is to even be possible.

And, really, the roots are nothing new, even if Guy gave his time in the Phantom Zone a new flavor to it a new flavor to it. Then the dome went up and they were cut off from the world, and his Green Lantern ring doesn’t work. His mental fortitude is fraying by the start of the issue, just waiting for the right moment to fall apart.

Meanwhile, Hal Jordan has gone MIA, and Jon Stewart knows where he is. The Green Lanterns are trying to watch out for each other and do their jobs, but each of those shown has a different idea of how that’s supposed to happen. And before the Green Lantern Corps can decide on the best way to resolve who will get the power battery, the dome drops.

In DC, I’ve never really had much interest in anything related to the Green Lanterns or the Lanterns in general. It’s not that I disliked it, but it was more of “that thing over there that never really caught my eye.” But this issue made me interested in checking out more about Guy Gardner and Jon Stewart, on a character level. And with what may or may not be a dick move on Hal Jordan part at the end of the issue, I’m interested enough to pick up issue #2 to find out what move it ended up being.

I do appreciate the playful joke at the number of Green Lanterns. Well done meta jokes in the story are always a joy to see, and even better when a company is comfortable enough to make fun of itself.

If the answer at the end of an issue or volume to the question, “Do I care” is “yes,” then I think the issue did something successful. Bonus points for David Gallaher because I knew barely anything about Green Lantern Corps or cared before going in.

My only real critique is dealing with Potential Hal Jordan Manpain by throwing in a scene with Carol, his fiancee, and not really seeing any concrete growth for her. It fell even more flat, because none of this helped make Hal Jordan relatable or likeable.

ONLY ONE BATTERY

I’ve been feeling out of my depth with reviews for Convergence, since so much banks on nostalgia. Steven and Matthew hit on this topic in the “Uncle Scrooge #1” episode of Dueling Reviews, and how the older a previous event being referenced in the current one has diminishing returns on the audience’s familiarity with them. But, I guess I’m a great example for the site of someone almost brand-new to the comics side of DC, wondering what in the world is going on when I come in at an event.

Because I’m new to this, there will be plenty of references lost on me with the art. I don’t have the nostalgia to go off of. That said, I liked it. The art wasn’t going for pretty, and that’s what really helped the story along. I wouldn’t call it “rough,” but it suited the more gritty feel of this particular story. It’s not the sort of art I’d favor on a regular basis, but once in awhile it’s nice.

My favorite aspect of the art was the use of the atmosphere to delineate different moods. Understandably, the issue gets darker as the issue progresses. The inking was bold, but it didn’t draw too much attention to itself.

BOTTOM LINE: HERE FOR IT

I wasn’t expecting to buy more of Convergence, but now I’m too curious to miss the next issue. I understand the nature of this issue is a sausage-fest, but I still would have liked to have seen better development with Carol. I’m interested to see how all of the Green Lanterns play into this, especially with the development at the end of the issue. This is a must-have for the completionist, and I encourage the unsure to at least check out the first few pages.

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