Green Lantern No. 2
—Overview by Kevin Miller
—Back to Comix Index
Apologies to Mr. Johns...?
Okay, Comic-Con has come and gone, and it’s time to get back to business. After sounding off about the dearth of talent in comic publishing today as well as the absence of any sort of innovative storytelling in the first issue of this series, do I have better news this time around? Keeping in mind that my good friend Maurice Broaddus may be listening, I will try to keep the following review as positive as possible…
Issue two picks up where that last issue left off. The Terminator-type alien blows up a busload of people while Hal Jordan hits it off with the test pilot babe he just rescued. Of course, doing so brings him smack into contact with his past—I’m beginning to think the entire first part of this series will be about Hal Jordan coming to terms with his past—in the form of General Stone, who received a strong left hook from Jordan the last time they met. Turns out the plane the test pilot was flying employed alien technology, but Stone won’t tell Jordan where it came from.
As Jordan tries to get to the bottom of things, another alien threat appears, a Manhunter no less (a 3.3 billion-year-old android created by the Guardians of the Universe prior to the formation of the Green Lantern Corps.). Of course, it immediately attempts to destroy Hal Jordan. Just when things are getting ugly, the Terminator-wannabe shows up, blasts the Manhunter, and then goes after Jordan’s scalp himself. In the end, it is revealed that this creature is a Manhunter as well, although he looks like a new and improved version. More info to come in future issues, obviously.
I have to admit I didn’t despise this issue nearly as much as the first one, however, it still reeked far too much of melodrama for my liking. The story just moves so slowly with nothing really happening. It’s something I’m noticing in a number of comic books these days (and George Lucas’s films, for that matter). Writers tend to draw things out far longer than they should. The art is also journeyman stuff, not even attempting to take things beyond anything we’ve seen before. I guess that is my main beef with this series (which I only plan to stick to until issue three, which will complete the three-part opener). It’s just so darn (yawn) conventional. Johns is hitting all the right notes, I suppose, but I just don’t feel any soul coming through.
Spiritually speaking, something I found interesting this time ‘round is Jordan’s struggle to resume his role as Green Lantern. While Hal’s brother Jim is glad to have Hal back (see the mini-series Green Lantern: Rebirth to find out where Hal was), he isn’t too crazy about him flying around trying to save the universe again. But Hal remains dedicated to his role as Green Lantern, despite Jim and other temptations to the contrary.
Hal’s devotion to his higher calling as well as the opposition he faces from those around him is familiar ground for anyone who has ever attempted to live out his or her faith in a serious way, whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish or otherwise. People of faith are always a threat to the status quo, because they tend to live life according to a different set of values and goals than the rest of the pack. Sometimes those values and goals are in alignment with those of society, and sometimes they challenge them outright. While it is often tempting to buckle under the pressure of those who seek to discourage us, Hal Jordan’s situation is a good example of why this is a bad idea. Hal may not fit the mould, but were he to lay down his ring for good, earth would be left defenseless in the face of alien attack (barring the intervention of Superman or some other DC hotshot, of course). Hal can see this, even if the other people can’t, and that higher reality is what keeps him going.
In the same way, if people of faith were to abandon the pursuit of truth at the slightest sign of trouble, there is no telling how that would imperil the earth. As people who have also glimpsed a higher reality, it is incumbent on us to act on that information rather than give in to the shortsighted opinions and fears of those around us.
So take a page out of Hal Jordan’s book, folks. Don’t worry about what other people say, just put your ring back on and get out there. But please, please aim to make your own life story far more innovative and compelling than Mr. Johns has depicted Hal Jordan’s. (Sorry, Maurice, but I tried really, really hard to be nice…)
—Overview by Kevin Miller
—Back to Comix Index
—Back to Comix Index
Apologies to Mr. Johns...?Okay, Comic-Con has come and gone, and it’s time to get back to business. After sounding off about the dearth of talent in comic publishing today as well as the absence of any sort of innovative storytelling in the first issue of this series, do I have better news this time around? Keeping in mind that my good friend Maurice Broaddus may be listening, I will try to keep the following review as positive as possible…
Issue two picks up where that last issue left off. The Terminator-type alien blows up a busload of people while Hal Jordan hits it off with the test pilot babe he just rescued. Of course, doing so brings him smack into contact with his past—I’m beginning to think the entire first part of this series will be about Hal Jordan coming to terms with his past—in the form of General Stone, who received a strong left hook from Jordan the last time they met. Turns out the plane the test pilot was flying employed alien technology, but Stone won’t tell Jordan where it came from.
As Jordan tries to get to the bottom of things, another alien threat appears, a Manhunter no less (a 3.3 billion-year-old android created by the Guardians of the Universe prior to the formation of the Green Lantern Corps.). Of course, it immediately attempts to destroy Hal Jordan. Just when things are getting ugly, the Terminator-wannabe shows up, blasts the Manhunter, and then goes after Jordan’s scalp himself. In the end, it is revealed that this creature is a Manhunter as well, although he looks like a new and improved version. More info to come in future issues, obviously.
I have to admit I didn’t despise this issue nearly as much as the first one, however, it still reeked far too much of melodrama for my liking. The story just moves so slowly with nothing really happening. It’s something I’m noticing in a number of comic books these days (and George Lucas’s films, for that matter). Writers tend to draw things out far longer than they should. The art is also journeyman stuff, not even attempting to take things beyond anything we’ve seen before. I guess that is my main beef with this series (which I only plan to stick to until issue three, which will complete the three-part opener). It’s just so darn (yawn) conventional. Johns is hitting all the right notes, I suppose, but I just don’t feel any soul coming through.
Spiritually speaking, something I found interesting this time ‘round is Jordan’s struggle to resume his role as Green Lantern. While Hal’s brother Jim is glad to have Hal back (see the mini-series Green Lantern: Rebirth to find out where Hal was), he isn’t too crazy about him flying around trying to save the universe again. But Hal remains dedicated to his role as Green Lantern, despite Jim and other temptations to the contrary.
Hal’s devotion to his higher calling as well as the opposition he faces from those around him is familiar ground for anyone who has ever attempted to live out his or her faith in a serious way, whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish or otherwise. People of faith are always a threat to the status quo, because they tend to live life according to a different set of values and goals than the rest of the pack. Sometimes those values and goals are in alignment with those of society, and sometimes they challenge them outright. While it is often tempting to buckle under the pressure of those who seek to discourage us, Hal Jordan’s situation is a good example of why this is a bad idea. Hal may not fit the mould, but were he to lay down his ring for good, earth would be left defenseless in the face of alien attack (barring the intervention of Superman or some other DC hotshot, of course). Hal can see this, even if the other people can’t, and that higher reality is what keeps him going.
In the same way, if people of faith were to abandon the pursuit of truth at the slightest sign of trouble, there is no telling how that would imperil the earth. As people who have also glimpsed a higher reality, it is incumbent on us to act on that information rather than give in to the shortsighted opinions and fears of those around us.
So take a page out of Hal Jordan’s book, folks. Don’t worry about what other people say, just put your ring back on and get out there. But please, please aim to make your own life story far more innovative and compelling than Mr. Johns has depicted Hal Jordan’s. (Sorry, Maurice, but I tried really, really hard to be nice…)
—Overview by Kevin Miller
—Back to Comix Index
2 Comments:
*sigh*
I'll try harder with issue 3!
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