Posts: 1099 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Joined: 29.07.05
by Nathaniel Ruff (aka Binker on Newsarama, and Nate on BYTB)
GREEN LANTERN #29
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert
Edited by Eddie Berganza
PLOT:
Witness the beginnings of one of the bravest Green Lanterns who's ever lived as the "secret origin" of Hal Jordan is revealed in a whole new light! While Hal begins his career another Lantern, the greatest of all time, uncovers the mystery of Abin Sur's death and his obsession with the prophecy of "the Blackest Night."
REVIEW:
Here's my newest title in my review stack: Green Lantern! This is not the first time I have gotten this book. During my Comics Boom in 2006, when DC's One Year Later started, I bought Green Lantern with #10 with the "Revenge of the Green Lanterns" storyline. But, I don't know if it was a money issue or something because I was getting anything I wanted to get, but I didn't get the "Wanted: Hal Jordan" arc, but I did resume with #18-20 with the Star Sapphire three-parter. Then, I missed the special and first issue of the Sinestro Corps storyline. So that became another storyline I missed out. Yes, I didn't get the talk about Green Lantern event of 2007. And since the Alpha Lanterns three-parter was an epilogue to Sinestro Corps, I skipped that until the title had a story that was either a good jumping on point, or it was the first issue that would lead into the next event: "In Blackest Night". Well that issue is #29, and it happens to be both of a jumping on point and probably the first that ties into the "Blackest Night" event of 2009. So let's get into my first review of the Emerald Crusader of Green Lantern #29!
Like any other origin story, you must start at the beginning. Batman is somewhat an exception, because you can either begin at the very beginning, or sometime before Bruce Wayne establishes his crime fighter identity, or when it already has. This arc on Hal Jordan's origin as Green Lantern goes to the very beginning with Hal and Carol Ferris as kids watching what will lead into late Mr. Jordan's death. This has been seen before under Johns writing, with Green Lantern: Rebirth that started this now current ongoing series. Sadly, I didn't read that or anything before #10, so reading this under Johns' writing was a first for me. But despite that, I think I knew enough to know that Geoff Johns is expanding all of that, almost all of everything, of Hal's origin from the previous retelling to now with this.
The rest of this issue goes from there to the breakdown of his family and how he views his brothers and mother following his father's death up to when he's, around 20 maybe, and it all concerns Hal's dream: to fly jets. The thing between Hal and the rest of his family is that, and he notes it in the narration, that he doesn't understand them and neither do they understand him. To put it simply: Hal doesn't understand why his mother would not want him to accomplish his dream, and his mother doesn't understand why Hal would want to become what his father was, and what ultimately killed him. It is very easy to understand why his mother wouldn't want him to fly jets, but no matter what situation you in, or what situation you're seeing; there are always different points of view from each side. Hal wanted to become his dream, his mother's fear was the possibility of what happened to her husband could happen to her son, Hal's brother Jack wanted Hal to not do anything that could upset their mother, even when she was dying of cancer, and their little brother Jim was caught in the middle. It's clear to say that this was a sad family following Mr. Jordan's death.
Overall, this issue provides us with a good start to the "Secret Origin" arc that will retell how Hal Jordan became Green Lantern. I already read and saw Hal's origin in Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier, so I want to see how much Geoff Johns will carry while still having things that are his own in this now new version of the origin. I did say that there was going to be something from "In Blackest Night" in this origin retelling, and there is. While this was happening to Hal, Abin Sur visited aliens by the names of Qull and Atorcitus. To learn from them the prophecies that they all knew, including the "Blackest Night". See? A speck, tiny but there, on that event is in this issue. Oh, by the way, I didn't know if this was the case before, but our pre-Green Lantern Hal Jordan happens to meet a pre-Green Lantern John Stewart, when they and their air force and marine buddies have a bar fight. So another Green Lantern appears. Looks like I was right; #29 was a great issue to begin my Green Lantern reviews!
RATING: Yay
Next Issue: Hal & Carol: Young Romance!
You don't get it, boy... this isn't a mudhole... it's an operating table.
(crack!)
And I'm the surgeon.
- Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
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