The outlook is bleak, as Sinestro maneuvers his Death Star-like planet “Warworld” to the center of the universe – once home to the now MIA Green Lantern Corps. Meanwhile Hal Jordan battles to overcome the effects of Krona’s Gauntlet, a prototype lantern weapon that he stole from the Corps in an attempt to take the fall for all the wrongdoings the universe had blamed on them. Once the protector of Sector 2814, Hal Jordan must now battle for his very existence, and to regain his position as a Green Lantern in [easyazon_link identifier=”B01EGRPT76″ locale=”US” tag=”bounintocomi-20″]Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1[/easyazon_link].
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Robert Venditti continues his run with the Corps, having written both Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps since 2013, teaming up with veteran artist Ethan Van Sciver, who has himself worked on various Green Lantern titles in the past. There’s not much action to speak of in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1. It reads much like a brief history of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps. It does, however, re-introduce us to many of the major characters throughout the Green Lantern universe and sets the stage for Hal Jordan’s return to the Corps.
Van Sciver’s artwork is impressive and runs the spectrum of panel layouts. There are several splash pages, multiple borderless panels, and the framework of panel tiers varies based on the characters which they include. Panels that include Sinestro, for example, tend to have diagonal frames, while panels that focus on Hal Jordan tend to be built using more standard horizontal frames. This variation of layouts keeps the eye guessing and moving around the page, yet is not so unnatural as to be a distraction.
The hues of color artist Jason Wright tend to bounce from extreme to the other as well. On the one hand, much of the story takes place in deep dark space, on a dead planet. This means most of the backgrounds are colored as various, drab shades of grey. On the other, while revisiting characters throughout the Green Lantern universe, brightly colored hues are employed; i.e. Sinestro’s yellow, Larfleeze’s orange, and, of course, Hal Jordan’s green.
The Verdict
[easyazon_link identifier=”B01EGRPT76″ locale=”US” tag=”bounintocomi-20″]Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1[/easyazon_link] is a good re-set to the Green Lantern universe. It sets the stage well for Hal Jordan’s struggle to return to the Corps, his personal mission to locate the remaining members of the Corps, and his inevitable showdown with Sinestro. Throw in the quick history lesson and cameos by many of the key players of the Green Lantern universe, and Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1 makes for a good starting point for Green Lantern veterans and newbies alike.