Written by Jim Owsley (Issue # 1 only); Keith Giffen; & Gerard Jones
Art by M. D. Bright; Romeo Tanghal; Keith Giffen; Albert De Guzman; & Anthony Tollin
Cover Art by Alan Davis & Mark Farmer
SUMMARY:
Released by DC Comics in 2003, this 144-page paperback compilation reprints the six-issue mini-series from 1989-1990. The individual issue titles are: 1. “The Sign.” 2. “The Trail.” 3. “The Ring.” 4. “The Corps.” 5. “The Test.” and, finally, 6. “The Dawn.” With Green Lantern’s post-Crisis-on-Infinite-Earths popularity waning, DC Comics sought to tweak Hal Jordan’s legendary origin tale.
Pumped up on hero worship for his daredevil dad, young Hal witnesses test pilot Martin Jordan’s fiery demise at Ferris Air. Several years later, perpetual screw-up Hal is a newly demoted Ferris Air pilot and recently broken up with supervisor/ex-girlfriend Carol Ferris. Responsible for a D.U.I. crash injuring three others (including one of his brothers), Hal initially evades taking responsibility for the incident.
Summoned by a dying Abin Sur, Hal is his chosen replacement as Sector 2814’s new Green Lantern. Even if a bewildered Hal doesn’t, Sur trusts his power ring’s judgment.
After already killing several Lanterns (Abin Sur, among them), the alien entity known as Legion now vengefully pursues Hal. Enduring Kilowog’s rushed training regimen on planet Oa, Hal joins the Green Lantern Corps. Protected by yellow armor, Legion invades Oa to attack the Guardians of the Universe. The fate of the Corps may rest with this raw human rookie, who is far more unpredictable than any of his fellow Lanterns imagine. Ultimately, Hal must live up to his potential, both as a Green Lantern and as an error-prone mortal back on planet Earth.
Notes: Emerald Dawn I subsequently propelled Jordan into his second ongoing series in mid-1990. With Issue # 50, that title was inherited by Kyle Rayner. The 1991 sequel, Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II (revisiting the origin of Jordan’s feud with Sinestro), is available in paperback form.
REVIEW:
Legion’s expendable presence as the villain isn’t Emerald Dawn’s biggest disappointment. That distinction dubiously belongs to the whiny, self-pitying Hal that readers are stuck with throughout most of this storyline. Scenes where Hal (likely suffering from a concussion) actually blames a roadside billboard for his D.U.I. crash and then later attacks it as fitful payback are pathetic lows in his newly revised origin.
Instead of already being honest and fearless, this self-involved, jittery Hal faces some uphill work to attain such obligatory Green Lantern ideals. Late in the game (Hal vs. Legion – Round 3, no less) is when fans finally see the Green Lantern they expect. Even then, such euphoria is short-lived, as the lukewarm plotting resumes pitching Hal as a career loser in need of heroic redemption. Such misguided storytelling diminishes Emerald Dawn as a satisfying read for those preferring Hal as a brash Top Gun-like jet pilot.
Even so, this project’s interior visuals are excellent for the era; they’re much better than the uninspired cover images. It’s a shame that the appealing artwork doesn’t support a more entertaining plot. Emerald Dawn, unfortunately, is a blah experience that misses the point of why Hal’s mythical destiny is so awe-inspiring. Geoff Johns’ energized 2004 Green Lantern: Rebirth (as well as, for instance, his 2008 Secret Origin arc) far, far surpasses Emerald Dawn re: why Hal, in the right creative hands, is DC’s definitive Green Lantern.
Lifting new backstory material that book-ends Emerald Dawn, Johns also better develops the concept of Hal recklessly following in his father’s doomed footsteps as a hotshot pilot. In that sense, Emerald Dawn should best be construed as a source from which some superb 21st Century Green Lantern tales would be derived from.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
The original mini-series’ Assistant Editor, Kevin Dooley, presents a single-page introduction. Full-page reproductions of the covers are included.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5½ Stars
Note: Beyond Johns’ “Secret Origin” story arc, there are two other recommended takes on Hal’s origin tale. One is Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier imagining Green Lantern’s origin amidst the ‘Space Age.’ Both the comics version and its faithful animated adaptation are outstanding. The other thumbs-up is 2009’s animated Green Lantern: First Flight. Aside from actor Christopher Meloni’s miscasting as Hal’s voice, this film is terrific.
