Green Lantern: Rebirth by Geoff Johns

Title: Green Lantern.
Volume: 0
Story-arc: Rebirth.
Universe: The New 52.

Writer(s): Geoff Johns.
Penciller(s): Ethan Van Sciver, Darwyn Cooke (Flight).
Inker(s): Prentis Rollins, Ethan Van Sciver, Marlo Alquiza & Mick Gray.
Colourist(s): Moose Baumann & Dave Stewart (Flight).
Letterer(s): Rob Leigh & Jared K. Fletcher (Flight).

Publisher: DC Comics.
Format: Hardcover – Deluxe Edition.
Release Date: December 17th, 2019 (first published October 12th, 2005).
Pages: 224.
Genre(s): Comics, Science-Fiction.
ISBN13: 9781401295271.

My Overall Rating: ★★★★☆.

What transpires from acts of heroism are emotions. From joy to fear, many heroes embody these states and allow these emotions to take a life of its own through the people that are saved and those who are witnesses to these acts of justice. Others live off these emotions and attempt to create them, turn them into an omnipresent condition for their cities. Take Batman, for example, who establishes fear in all those who dare to defy the law, or Superman, who’s charisma allows happiness to bloom within all those who notice him save the day. And then there’s Hal Jordan, the iconic Green Lantern, whose willpower is beyond this world and infuses confidence within everyone who has the chance to stand by him. As part of the New 52 reboot, writer Geoff John sees to the return of fan favourite Hal Jordan into the DC Universe and begins one of the greatest comic book runs as the hero’s lore takes a refreshing twist for the better.

What is Green Lantern: Rebirth about? First hailed as the greatest Green Lantern of all time, now known as the one who brought an end to the Green Lantern Corps, Hal Jordan’s history is overshadowed by a capital failure on his end that led to the corruption of his soul. This episode led to his disappearance until an apocalypse threatening Earth brought him back to make the ultimate sacrifice. Unfortunately, this act drew the attention of the Spectre, a supernatural embodiment of the wrath of God, who then utilizes Hal Jordan’s soul for his latest form. While trapped inside the Spectre and condemned to a life of resignation and regret, his fate is not yet sealed as life has other plans for the astral avenger. Collecting the six-issue mini-series, writer Geoff John’s original series proposal, his full script for the first issue, sketches and promotional art drawn by Ethan Van Sciver, and the short story “Flight” drawn by the legendary artist Darwyn Cooke, this deluxe edition presents fans with an exciting entry point into the New 52’s Green Lantern Corps.

Although at its core, this is a tale centered around Hal Jordan, the story doesn’t solely look into reestablishing the hero as a prominent and active character in the canon continuity. Green Lantern: Rebirth also looks into the other classic Green Lanterns, from Kyle Rayner to Guy Gardner, as writer Geoff John builds a beautiful and robust mythology around the Green Lantern Corps. The story thus begins by pitting the Batman-led Justice League against a Spectre-manipulated Hal Jordan as the reader is slowly led to understand the imminent resurrection of Parallax in the midst of all the trouble and confusion. This allows us to understand the rich and colourful history of the Green Lantern Corps while also exploring the various heroes and villains who seek to utilize the Central Power Battery on Oa for their own personal plans of world domination. Through hardship, this tale ultimately sheds some light on Hal Jordan’s allies and foes, as well as what fuels this man with fearlessness and makes him such a special hero and leader.

To accompany the excellent world-building and impeccable character development, this graphic novel also contains some of the best artwork to illustrate the unique lore. Artist Ethan Van Sciver breathes life into these heroes through beautiful penciling and ends each issue with a stunning splash page that contributes to the intrigue as you progress through the story. The panels also follow an untraditional formatting as they play around with their position and their size to either accentuate certain character’s presence or to emphasize on the action sequences. After all, when things start to heat up, everything starts to get chaotic and creative, since the Green Lanterns utilize their imagination to conjure things at their will. It is also worth mentioning that the colouring and inking are incredible, with very vivid colours despite the darker tone of the story. The artwork thus serves these characters justice and allows the story to thrive and speak for itself. It wouldn’t even be wrong to understand this graphic novel as the rebirth of one of the most original material over at DC Comics.

Green Lantern: Rebirth is a dramatic and epic revival of the illustrious Hal Jordan as the fabled and commanding Emerald Crusader through a transformative tale of redemption and heroism.

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Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy for review!

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