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DC Comics
Written by: Geoff Johns, Sam Humphries
Art by: Ethan Van Sciver, Ed Benes
How many Green Lanterns is too many? It seems Geoff Johns is always willing to ask this question and push the boundaries of Lantern over-saturation as he continues to expand the Green Lantern universe faster than light. Green Lanterns: Rebirth #1 much like the other Rebirth issues is setting us up for the new status quo going forward, and out of all the Rebirth issues I have read so far Green Lantern appears to be the most promising.
Featuring two Geoff Johns creations, Simon Baz and the newest member of the Green Lantern Corps, Jessica Cruz, our story opens with a slight reintroduction into who these characters are. These scenes are especially important for Baz as I can image a lot of fans may have forgotten he was still around. Johns and Humphries move from introducing our characters to introducing our premise as these two lanterns are called to a nearby crash site. It is here we learn that Hal Jordan has a plan for our rookie Lanterns as he merges their batteries into one and thus we have the buddy cop Green Lantern comic we have all been longing for.
Johns and Humphries present and intriguing direction for this new GL book as, of course, we have had this situation before but never in the form of two rookies who couldn’t be further apart in style and personality. Unfortunately like much of the Rebirth issues, Green Lanterns: Rebirth leaves us with a lot of nagging unanswered questions. Like most importantly, why does Earth of all places in the universe require 6 Green Lanterns and while we get a somewhat unsatisfying reason as to why Hal won’t be around, where the hell are the other 3 and what role will they play in this universe? Plot holes aside, I am excited to see where the creative team takes this premise while the opening and closing pages set up some potentially exciting storytelling for future issues.
Even though our set up is a bit all over the place, the art of Green Lantern: Rebirth #1 is out of this world. Ethan Van Sciver and Ed Benes create a colorful and vibrant universe worthy of the Green Lantern title. Jessica Cruz’s character design is especially striking as it’s sleek, sexy and you’ve got to love the blazing lantern eye patch. Van Sciver and Benes prove they belong on the GL creative team as their stunning detail and deliberate lines add a bright detail to each page.
Green Lanterns: Rebirth #1 is a decent introduction to our two rookie lanterns and their future adventures together. Its set up was unfortunately hampered by Johns’ need to expand a Green Lantern universe that maybe doesn’t need expanding. Only time will tell if Johns and crew can continue to keep the colors from bleeding together as we rocket into the new age of DC comics and Rebirth.
