Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1 (September, 2016)
"Forged"
Writer - Robert Venditti
Artist - Ethan Van Sciver
Colorist - Jason Wright
Letterer - Dave Sharpe
Assistant Editor - Andrew Marino
Editor - Mike Cotton
Group Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99
Hot damn but that's a long title. Doing some "for fun" catch up here today. Thus far I have bought every single DC Comics with the word Rebirth on it. Got a killer deal on the bundles at Discount Comic Book Service... hell, been using them since the dawn of the New-52! So, what this means is I've got more books to read than minutes in the day to read them. There are entire series' that I haven't touched yet... including the one we'll be discussing today.
When DC Comics announced the first run of Rebirth-branded books I was pretty annoyed not to see a straightforward Green Lantern title, instead we've got two... Green Lanterns and this one. Anyone who knows me knows I'm almost unbearably attached to my "full runs" on books... so when Green Lantern (vol.5) was relegated to the dump-bin, I wasn't entirely sure which new title would be the one I considered the "real" Lantern book. Hell, I still don't know which one's real-er, but that's on a count of my not reading them.
Gonna start fixing that today.
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We open in Space Sector Zero where we see the floating remains of Oa. Suddenly the bits are pelted with yellow energy, and we see the planet remake itself as not the home of the Green Lantern Corps, but the Sinestro Corps. On Warworld, an aged Sinestro is approached by Lyssa who informs him that everything is his to command, so spake the Book of Parallax. We learn that the Green Lantern Corps has vanished, leaving Sinestro without much of a satisfying "win" here today.
We shift to Space Sector 563 where floats a dead planet. We get a monologue from Hal Jordan as green energy swirls and crystallizes. Then we see him... and he looks quite a bit different than the Green Lantern of old! I will concede that I only skimmed the last two issues of the preceding volume of Green Lantern. I was so let-down by the promise of a Hal vs. Parallax Hal battle in issue #50 that I kind of zoned out for the capper. Hal as an energy-being is wholly new for me.
From here we get a bit of a Hal Jordan/Green Lantern Corps history lesson... from Hal's father's death to the recent Green Lantern Renegade/Gauntlet of Krona story arc. We next learn that the Corps is in fact missing in action... this is follow-up from the Green Lantern: Lost Army and Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion miniseries'.
Hal produces a chunk of glowing green rock from the energy glut and places it down on a construct of an anvil. He then forms an energy hammer, and prepares to wield it. When he does, it reverberates throughout the universe... the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians, the White Lantern, and the newest Green Lantern Jessica Cruz are seen reacting.
Back on Warworld, Sinestro descends down a long and winding flight of stairs to greet an old ally... Parallax itself. Not Hal-as-Parallax... the actual giant yellow fear bug. He asks it to grant him a final wish... everything. Least he's realistic, right?
While this is going on, Hal continues his hammering. Members of the Indigo Tribe, Larfleeze and Carol Ferris can feel Hal's presence. When he is done, what he has left is a Green Lantern ring... one he forged himself, which is a feat previously thought impossible. He's also no longer an energy-looking fella... he's back to flesh and bone. And so, he tosses Krona's gauntlet and slips on his new piece of jewelry.
He says the Green Lantern oath and is now seen in costume. He knows he's got a lotta work to do... but he's confident. He looks into the nothingness of space and thinks it's about time he got back to raising a little hell.
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I really quite liked this... and boy is it gorgeous to look at!
This did a really good job of making me interested in this franchise as well as Hal Jordan. I gotta say, I was just barely holding on during the DCYOU Renegade stuff... and was really only reading it for the Parallax circa-Zero Hour bits. Those were what really kept me interested. We were promised a confrontation in issue #50... which was, ehhh... underwhelming, to say the least. Really poorly handled, though, to be fair... I'm guessing the pending onset of Rebirth may have had something to do with all that.
I didn't know a whole lot about Hal as an energy being, and to be honest, I had (and have) zero interest in anything of the sort. I'm glad that was (apparently) done away with here. I'm happy to have Hal as Green Lantern... but, whatever that gauntlet-wearing see-through dealie was, I want no part of that.
Now, had I been a new reader... I think I would have been "comfortably lost". I feel like we get enough here to bring us up to speed... at least as "up to speed" as we need to be at the moment. The flashback page here was really well done in that it picked and chose its moments to highlight... Martin Jordan's death, Abin Sur handing over the ring, the Green Lantern Corps, and the Renegade bit. That's all we really need to know at present... nothing confusing... we don't need to mention the patchwork Mosaic world, or Emerald Twilight here... not to say those didn't matter, it's just not necessary for this issue.
Overall... very pleased with this, and I'm looking forward to trudging my way forward through the series... at this rate I'll get through the first storyarc by the Fall. Since this is a new(er) book, it is available digitally, and has been collected. Can't speak to the quality of subsequent issues, but I definitely dug this opening chapter.
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Teen Titans (vol.3) #½ (2004)
"The Ravager"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Penciller - Ivan Reis
Inker - Marc Campos
Colors - Sno-Cone
Letters - Comicraft
Associate Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Not gonna be a big preamble today... spent most of the day between the Emergency Pet Hospital and family vet with our Pug. We were afraid he had a stroke which caused him to lose motor function in his hind legs, however, they feel it's more likely that he slipped a disk. Had some blood drawn to rule out "valley fever", and will proceed from there. As I sit here typing, he appears to be in high spirits, and is acting more like his old self... though he is clearly annoyed to be locked up in his crate.
Anyhoo... after bumming us all out, let's take a look at another fabled "one half" issue from our friends at Wizard Magazine.
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We open with a flashback some eighteen years ago in Cambodia. We are with Slade Wilson and his team while they attempt to escort a young woman named Lilian into Thailand. As they proceed they walk into a hail of bullets, one of which grazes Slade's head. The scene then shifts to a quick and dirty history of the Teen Titans, including events such as the original Ravager's death, the Titans Hunt, the Superboy clone, and Bart Allen being kneecapped by the Terminator.
Next up we join Rose Wilson as she shares a meal with her foster parents. It would seem as though she's had a pretty rough day at school as her folks received a call informing them she'd been in a(nother) fight. She claims the fella whose arm she broke had it coming for being a pervert. The parents agree, and Rose hugs her mother... who winds up getting shot in the head. A moment later, her dad gets one too.
Turns out Rose has an assassin tracking her. It's a man using the Ravager name who claims to be Slade Wilson's brother... Wade. Wait, Wade... Wilson? Nonono, this is Wade DeFarge.
Just then the Teen Titans crash through the wall of the house. Certain members seem to be quite happy in light of the grave situation... lookin' at you Robin and Kid Flash. They take down the new Ravager with relative ease... all the while destroying Rose's home, not to mention burying her foster-folks under the debris of their own house. Before the Titans can detain the Ravager, an arrow whizzes into the window in what must be the only wall still standing. The arrow leaks gas, kayoing the Titans.
When the teens come to, they have a somewhat contentious conversation regarding whether or not Rose is worth saving. Superboy is especially adamant against it, claiming that all the Wilsons are beyond help. He then rattles off past members of the team who should never have been recruited, including Raven, Duela Dent, and our old friend Terra. This is a nice little scene, though, c'mon Kon, at this point you've been a Titan for about twelve minutes.
We catch up with Rose Wilson as she wakes up on a couch in what looks like a rundown warehouse. Before her stands her father, and her would-be captor is off to the side tied to a chair. Slade hands her a gun, with which he expects her to kill his brother Wade. Rose refuses... well... she refuses to do it with the gun, and instead requests Deathstroke's sword. Uh oh.
We wrap up with the Titans considering calling off the hunt as they haven't been able to track Rose down... this scene bleeds into one where Rose and Slade are hugging... and Deathstroke has one helluva satisfied smile on his face.
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Now this is more like it. When we discussed the one-half issue of Flash yesterday, I mentioned that I thought it should have been written with at least a bit of an eye toward the new reader... while still moving the story ahead for the seasoned fan. While I feel Flash struggled, Teen Titans excelled. We were able to get a bit of expositional dialogue which would certainly help get a curious Wizard Magazine reader interested in following the monthly exploits of these Teens. For long-time fans such as myself, I feel there was some decent character work here that justified the purchase/sending-away for.
The story is a bit, and I'm not sure if I can make this make sense... shallow. It's an action bit with some conversational catch-up placed in the background of a Rose/Slade story. I say "shallow" because I feel that while the issue notes that the story within falls between issues #- and #- of the ongoing Titans series, I do not feel like you lose anything if you read it "out of order". That is to say, even if this mail-away issue arrives after you've read the "bookend" issues, you won't really lose anything. This can be read as having taken place in the present, or the past. I think that's the best way for a one-half issue to shoehorn itself into a series.
Johns' dialogue and storytelling is pretty great all throughout. I think most people feel he was born to write Green Lantern, but I'd argue it's books like this he's best suited for. His (relatively) contemporary Titans work can stand up among the all-time greats. The art here is pretty great, however, perhaps a bit too "posy" for me... especially in the two-page spread. I'm looking at Kid Flash "making love to the camera" while bursting through a wall of a house wherein Rose Wilson's foster-family was just shot dead. I don't think any of the Titans should be smiling at that point... but what do I know. right?
Overall, this is a great "extra" issue of Geoff Johns' Teen Titans. Ain't never gonna be anything wrong with that. I'm shocked to find that it is available digitally... and has been collected as part of the Teen Titans omnibus and trade paperback.
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Flash (vol.2) #½ (2004)
"Rogue Wars, Prologue: Tricksters"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Penciller - Justiniano
Inkers - Walden Wong & John Livesay
Colorist - James Sinclair
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Michael Siglain
Editor - Joey Cavalieri
I'd forgotten about the Wizard "one-half" issues. Was doing some organizing in the library today... which is a Sisyphean task at best, when I came across this bugger. I recall a lot of folks being annoyed by these... especially this one. Ya see, it acts as a prologue to the much-hyped and long-awaited Rogue Wars story arc. Not only did you have to buy a copy of Wizard Magazine to get this... you had to mail away for it! Six-to-eight weeks later (if you were lucky), you'd finally have your hands on your book. I'm tellin' ya, this was a crusher for completionists like me. Hell, I would send away for "one-half" issues on series' I wasn't interested in... just in case I one day became interested!
So crazy to think of, considering where the industry is now... just about anything you might wanna read is readily available online. Don't need to leave home or even lick a stamp. Funny to think this wasn't all that long ago too!
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We open as the new Trickster is fleeing from the police. He covers his tracks by dropping a few smoke bombs, and after using his x-ray specs to check out a buxom apartment dweller, he is nyoinked by the fasted man in the world, Wally West... the Flash.
The pair tussle for a bit, with the Trickster trying to use his bag o' novelties against the Flash, including a super-charged joy buzzer... which is actually pretty effective. Of note, this Trickster claims that the "reformed Rogues" are far worse than he is.
It's no matter though, Wally has had just about enough of the Trickster's crap... and so, he grabs him in a headlock and bee-lines it to an Iron Heights cell. Unfortunately, this cell happens to have a mirror. A boomerang comes flying out the mirror and cuts Wally's hand. Amid the confusion, the Trickster escapes through the Mirror Master's reflective portal.
Flash stands there alone... surprised that he didn't catch the boomerang. He knows something's up... it came at him too fast. He is approached by Warden Wolfe, who he chews out for allowing mirrors to remain in the cells... and, ya know, the man's got a point. Wolfe blames the presence of a mirror on "the liberals".
We rejoin the Trickster with the Rogues, Captains Cold and Boomerang along with the Weather Wizard. Captain Cold is polishing the Stanley Cup, which is pretty neat. The Captain Boomerang here is Digger's son, Own... and the Trickster has arrived with news about the whereabouts of Digger's body.
We shift to Chicago and meet with the Reformed Rogues... Heatwave, Magenta, Pied Piper and their leader... the old Trickster, James Jesse. It is pretty much said outright that they either have possession of... or have at the very least have done something with Digger Harkness' body.
Jesse gets a call to inform him he has a visitor...and it is the Flash. James Jesse, when he's not in costume, works for the F.B.I.. Wally is interested in seeing whether or not he has any info on the new Trickster. We learn his name is Axel Walker, and he took the Tricky-mantle when he found a bunch of Jesse's old gimmicks. Wally's not entirely sure he can trust Jesse...
We wrap up with Linda Park-West as she is getting ready to roll on a hot story about Goldface's expanding of a union. Suddenly there is a burst of light... and then, Zoom. He informs Linda that he "still knows". This is likely a reference to Wally's secret ID having been public until a mind-wipe dealie around issue #200.
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They're not kidding calling this a "one-half" issue... story only runs for a dozen pages!
But, I digress...
It's been a long time since I reread the Johns run on Flash, so I can't say with any certainty that that is "required reading". I mean, to a completionist nut like me it's "required owning", but for normal comics fans, I'm not sure how essential this issue is to the narrative. That is to say, everything that happens here could be (and might be) condensed into a single page of exposition in Part One of Rogue War in Flash #220.
The new Trickster always kind of annoyed me, though, I'm sure that's kind of the point. Something I have sort of mixed emotions on is Johns' treatment of the Rogues during his run. He humanized them... really fleshed them out, especially Captain Cold. It made it kind of hard to root against them... they were far too likable. Enter: Nu-Trickster, he ain't likable at all.
I was sort of expecting this to be a more new-reader friendly issue... and it's not. That's both a good and bad thing, I suppose. I know I appreciated it not being a "Flash 101" type of thing back when it first came out... though now, a dozen years removed, I could've used a bit of a refresher course. Even a single page "here's where we're at" would have been nice.
I can't imagine I was satisfied with this back in late '04 or early '05 when I got it. Imagine spending upwards of eight weeks to get a twelve page story... then again, I was also reading plenty of late-shipping short-delivering Marvel back then too... ba'dum-tish.
Anyhoo, certainly not something I would recommend reading in a vacuum, however, if you're in for the long-Rogue War-haul, it's harmless... and you'll likely get something out of it. It is part of the Rogue War trade paperback collection (which is pretty spendy on Amazon right now), so if you snag that, you'll get this. The only thing you'll be missing is the Wizard Certificate of Authenticity.
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