(no subject)

[dewinged]

Okay, I have just two issues left to review before I'm caught up. As a note now, the books are Green Lantern: Rebirth #'s 2 and 3. So, there's spoilers.

And, one note for samy: Turn Back! Don't look! I want you specifically to read these issues when you get them, without being spoiled from this. Trust me. I want to get an idea of your pure, gut reaction to all of this.

Anyways, home stretch.



Green Lantern: Rebirth #2:
Green Lantern: Rebirth #3: I was leery of this when it was all first announced. A lot of the buzz about came under the idea of 'Because H.E.A.T. whined and bitched and didn't let up for ten solid years, Hal Jordan is coming back as Green Lantern in an All New Series!"

I know I sound bitter, but I deal with Legion fandom, where the Exact Same Thing just happened. Because of the new Legion, I want an LJ Icon that says 'My Fandom doesn't know what's good for them.' But that's so besides the point, here.

A lot of questions started to crop up? How was Hal going to be seperated from the Spectre? Hey, didn't Hal go nuts and kill everybody? What about John Stewart, and so on and so forth.

Most of them revolved around the fate of one Kyle Rayner. Would he die? Would he lose the ring and be pushed to the wayside (the latter, because of a nifty little popular Justice leagie Cartoon, has already happened, mind.) What was going to happen to him?

Now, to trace back what I've found: At the end of the most recent Green Lantern series, Ron Marz was brought in to write the final six issue arc. In an interview on Newsarama, DC Editorial told him: "Okay, write a story. Break up Kyle and Jade, break up John and Merayn, and at the end make sure Kyle goes off into space."

I'm guessing Geoff Johns was told by editorial: "Bring Hal Back as Green Lantern."

And it's been widely told, one story. Ten years ago, DC Editorial sat Ron Marz down and told him: "Make a new Green Lantern, and get rid of Hal Jordan."

I'm not supporting or denouncing anyone. I merely point out parallels and patterns.

I reread all three issues that are out so far of this, to have a better memory of it in my head for this. I'm still...trying to puzzle out what's going to happen. Is it good? I think so, and I'm not even a real huge Hal fan.

But Geoff Johns wants to get a lot of things back to where they were, and he's pulling out every stop he can to do it, and has done a damn good job of covering his tracks so far. I've been reading issues and have questions during it, which are usually answered within three pages or so.

I actually like this. I like the idea of an actual reason why the GL rings couldn't effect yellow (an impurity in the form of an entity of primal emotion bound into the Central Battery, named Parallax). The Parallax thing...doesn't quite excuse Hal Jordan of everything he's done. The Spectre chose Hal (mind: Johns wrote Day of Judgement where that happened) to try and drive Parallax out of him. The Wrath of God couldn't do it. I try and not think about it, really.

Ethan Van Sciver has the right style for this: his explosions and fight scenes look appropriately epic, his Hal scenes are creepy and semi-existential in a good way, and aliens like Kilowog (!!!) look /alien,/ rather than 'humans with some extra face putty.' Kilowog, Sinestro at the end of issue 3 (Oh, who else cheered at that?)...just yow.

And Van Sciver puts in neat little touches. In one scene, the 'in case of emergency GL ring' that Hal gave Ollie long ago duplicated itself in the Watchtower, flew across the room, and attached itself to a now-fully-human-again Guy Gardner.

This being Guy Gardner, the ring slipped onto his Middle Finger. Perfect. So, SO Guy Gardner.

I like this, still. Maybe Arisia will come back to life. And why would Editorial tell Marz to break up John and Merayn? Maybe a Katma Tui is in the future? We will find out later, along with what Hector Hammond has to do with this, what will happen to Black Hand when he reappears, and assorted other little vingettes.

Johns could have done this as a 'glory to Hal in the highest, screw the rest' kind of story, but he doesn't. He brings in John Stewart and the League, Carol Ferris, Guy, Kilowog, Zatanna, and doesn't ignore much of anything in between.

One of my questions was if the Hal fans were going to have their revenge? Bring Hal back, kill Kyle instead, turn the tables around completely? Johns said on the message board on his website that he liked Kyle, though Hal was always his favorite. So, I found my lack of faith in other people...well, you know how I am, there.

What Johns has done here, is made almost everyone happy. Hal is going to come back as GL. And from the way the story develops...the Impurity/Parallax? It's essentially a god of Fear, infecting the rings. Those who know fear, know of Fear, can fight it off.

Kyle knows Fear. That was established LONG before this. Like, Morrison's JLA run before this.

John Stewart? Corrupted by parallax. Guy? Same. Kilowog? Yep. Hal? He's got a whole boatload of problems. Even Alan and Jade have something brewing, tangentially connected to the Oan Lanterns (Alan's ring and the Starheart are not of the same nature, which is why Alan's weakness is wood. Heh heh...he said 'weakness is wood' Hehehehheheh.) Aaaanyway, Parallax is 'winning' per se, affecting John, Hal, and Guy, who are without fear.

The only Lantern so far not affected is Kyle, who Ganthet sent to get Hal's Body out of the SUN (which is why Kyle crashes to Earth at the beginning of issue 1). Johns writes kyle as more mature (Ollie, shut up for a minute and let me finish), with balls of solid rock, turning what most folks saw as his weakness (knowing fear) into the strength that keeps him from being corrupted.

This story is about bringing Hal back, but it's not about Kyle-hate either. Or John-hate, or Guy-hate...Johns is celebrating the strengths of all of them, allowing each to have their moments, and I have a lot of respect for writers who show a lot of respect in their writing. :)

I'd say give it a whirl. It's halfway done, and there's a lot going on.

And speaking of done, my reviews are caught up. Thanks for listening, and I should be doing this week's comics by the weekend at the latest.