Gabriel Hardman, Corinna Sara Bechko
Green Lanter: Earth One Volume 1 is a re-boot of the Hal Jordan origin story. When I first read the blurb for this new release, my immediate response was an eye-roll and a "Another fricking origin re-boot'' huffy under-my-breath snark moment. But....then I took a deep breath, and let my gray matter catch up with my knee-jerk decision.....wait a minute....maybe Hal Jordan needs a re-boot. He's a bit of a douche, and let's be frank.....the Green Lantern storyline could use a refreshing. Then the kicker: IF IT'S DONE RIGHT.
And you can't decide if it's done right if you don't soak in the art and the plot from start to finish.
So I sat down with my handy-dandy advanced readers copy of this book.....and really kept my mind clear of pre-conceived notions and here-we-go-again-prepare-to-be-underwhelmed auto-response.
And....you know what?
I like this reboot! With a couple minor concerns, I really enjoyed this book. I recant my eyerolls and snarky remarks.
Things I like:
Hal Jordan is decidedly less douche-y. In this re-boot, he isn't superior, and the ring didn't choose him. He found it...pure and simple. No reason to grow an oversized, cocky ego. He found it, and didn't even know what to do with the ring. Puts him on a totally different playing field....and I like how the story, and Jordan, develops in this reboot.
I love the artwork! Lots of action. Lots of Kabooms and Kapows with classic comic book flare. Alien worlds. Alien species. But, also some classic manhunter action, and classic GL style artwork. Much of the action is in space and on alien planets, so the art does have a tendency to be dark, but let's be real here -- space is dark, the story line is dark -- dark is kinda a necessity here. All in all, nicely done! The front cover art is awesome!
I like this story as an introduction to a new Green Lantern story arc. It flows well and introduces the new info, rebooted Jordan and new characters quite well. I did not roll my eyes and exclaim negatively about much of anything while reading this. And that doesn't usually happen when I'm reading an origin reboot. The authors did it right. Kudos!
What I didn't like:
The ring does not choose the wearer. Jordan finds the ring and puts it on. End of effort. This means ANYONE can find and wield a GL ring -- even evil people. While that is an interesting way to bring about some action-packed story lines in the future.....it's a change I'm not sure I'm comfortable with. There are several really evil entities in the GL universe that I would not like to see wielding a ring. *Shivers*
Manhunters. Or just large, pissed off robots in general. While they are formidable opponents and I enjoyed the action scenes in this book......this concept has been done to death. Trope, trope, trope through the alien tulips. Oh no! Large robots coming to attack the GLs. How did I not see that coming? Irk. Harumph. Meh. In a new origin story I was hoping just a little bit.....well, more than a little bit....that it wouldn't be just another big battle with Manhunters. They are intrinsic to the story....but I wanted something new. New origin.....new action, right? Nope. Same action. But....while I did find it a familiar plot....it was enjoyable and had some great fights. I guess this point shouldn't be labeled that I "didn't like'' it....more like I felt mild disappointment.
All in all, I was impressed and surprised by this origin reboot. As usual, this reboot is aimed at bringing in new readers. I hope many read this and enjoy the story and art like I did, and take a fresh look at Green Lantern. I'm going to let my husband read this ARC next and see what he thinks. Oftentimes as a more classic fan of comics, his opinions are sometimes harsher than mine. But this reboot keeps the feel of the original quite well.....I think he might also like this one.
A thumbs up from me!
**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from DC Comics via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
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