Writer: Robert Venditti / Artist: Ed Benes / DC Comics
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps has mostly been a strong book, unquestionably the strongest of its franchise. Robert Venditti has certainly redeemed himself from any sins committed during the previous Green Lantern title he worked on. However, the book is not infallable. It still has a tendency to stumble and fall from time to time in some major and minor ways.
I can see what Venditti is going for, interchanging his central character focus from issue to issue and I appreciate Hal’s brief reunion with Abin Sur, but if I’m being honest, I prefer John Stewart and the rest of the Corp’s struggle to escape Brainiac’s miniature stronghold. The Corps having to ally themselves with the yellow lanterns, the tug-o-war about who’s in charge, Kilowog mouthing off to their captor… all of this makes for fun, worthwhile, compelling Green Lantern lore compared to a plot that is essentially, let’s face it, yet another confirmation that Hal Jordan is the legendary all-time greatest Green Lantern ever in the history of comicdom and the rest of the Corps would wither and die without him for some reason.
I know there’s a lot of legacy in his fandom and all, but with such a large cast to play with, it’s aggravating that the story always seems to default back to the Impossible White Man as if it’s an unconscious muscle reflex. Visually, Ed Benes is a wonderful addition to the art team on this book. His scenes centered around Hal and Abin Sur journeying through Green Lantern Heaven Or Whatever convey an air of mystery but also an appropriate amount of emotion to do Venditti’s script justice. Getting the nod from his predecessor so many years after replacing him is infinitely fulfilling to read.
Bottom Line: This is a good book. No debate there. It’s a far better book when it’s not following through on its obligatory duty on DC’s part to perpetually validate Hal Jordan’s existence.
Reading Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps? Read other reviews of the series here.
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