Written by Gerard Jones
Art by Pat Broderick; Bruce Patterson; Albert De Guzman; & Anthony Tollin
Cover Art by Pat Broderick & Mark Nelson
SUMMARY:
Entitled “Down to Earth,” this 32-page series re-launch was published by DC Comics for June 1990. Now sporting gray temples, a disgruntled Hal Jordan grimly reflects on what fifteen years as Green Lantern has personally wrought upon him. Reaffirming his decision to start over from the ground up, Hal’s visit to Batman’s Justice League confirms that Guy Gardner is Earth’s highest-profile Lantern for now.
Hitchhiking and train-hopping cross-country, Hal revisits a rural West Virginia coal-mining town years after he, Green Arrow, and Black Canary had intervened in a local labor dispute. He takes a non-paying farm job at widowed Rose Lewis Hardin’s home. Bonding with Rose and her young son, Hal is heckled by an unimpressed Guy Gardner.
Elsewhere, a despondent John Stewart rages over the intergalactic tragedy he inadvertently caused, setting him off to investigate the ruins left of planet Oa.
REVIEW:
First, let’s keep in mind that Hal’s first series had recently ended with a whimper at # 224 in 1988. By overloading the cast with seven(!) Green Lanterns, the post-Crisis series Hal and John Stewart now co-headlined was begging for cancellation. With this new Issue # 1, DC Comics appeared ready to advance Hal’s character … with a variation of the same mistake. again. The only difference is that John Stewart and Guy Gardner are regular supporting cast members.
That this world-weary Hal was replaced fifty issues later by Kyle Rayner shouldn’t be much of a shocker – that is, based on this opener’s equally-tired premise. Opting to juggle Hal, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner, writer Gerard Jones hedges his bets, as if believing none of them could carry a solo title anymore. Jones’ embittered Hal is initially plausible, but this concept rapidly weakens (i.e. an ultra-clichéd mutual attraction re: Rose). Are readers supposed to believe that he is traveling cross-country (again! – much like Bill Bixby’s TV David Banner) and seek some peace of mind one issue at a time? Further, by specifying that Hal has been Green Lantern for fifteen years now, wouldn’t that mean, just for continuity’s sake, his contemporaries (i.e. Superman, Batman, etc.) would also be in their early forties to mid-forties, too?
While Hal’s Justice League visit is well-played, it only reinforces Gardner’s depiction as a Yosemite Sam-style buffoon. In comparison, at least John Stewart’s angst-riddled sub-plot suggests a direction worth pursuing (i.e. he has something meaningful to do).
As to the art team’s faded B-caliber visuals, some images are gems (i.e. Hal’s transformation into Green Lantern after a seemingly suicidal clifftop dive). Their takes on John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Batman are also well-illustrated. The cover image is even better, particularly as it depicts a 1990’s Hal Jordan. The problem is that some good artwork won’t hide Jones’ ‘realistic’ and humor-free script. Hence, this blah new direction for Green Lantern reinforces why Hal & John’s pre-Crisis solo series was far more engaging to readers.
For that matter, this sluggish Green Lantern # 1 is more early proof why 2004-2005’s exhilarating Green Lantern: Rebirth under Geoff Johns’ command finally became necessary to reinvigorate this iconic franchise.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
None.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5 Stars
