Ron Marz returns to the title he helped transform into a major force in the 1990s for DC Comics, and the title that made his name in the industry. Turning Hal Jordan, a character with a 30-plus-year history and a rabidly loyal following, into a villain and replacing him with a newbie was a controversial move, but it paid off. Kyle Rayner has really grown into a strong and grounded character in his own right, easier to understand and relate to than Hal ever was. It's been quite a while since Marz has tackled the character, though, and I can't say I'm wild about this opening chapter in the new story arc. There's still an ironically down-to-earth tone to his take on this cosmic hero, but the story seems to ignore previous growth and developments in Kyle's life. There's a redundant tone to the plot and a generic quality in the art.
Green Lantern Kyle Rayner has finally returned to Earth, and there's only one thing he's missed more than good ol', regular human food, and that's a certain green-skinned lady love. Kyle arrives, ready to pick up where the relationship left off before he undertook his lengthy mission in deep space, but he's surprised that his enthusiasm isn't mirrored by Jen. A visit to the Justice League Watchtower yields a less than overwhelming sense of welcome as well, as Kyle learns that his friend John Stewart has impressed his heroic colleagues with his performance as the planet's ring-bearing protector.
Luke Ross's artwork brings some impressive visuals to the book. The flashback, double-page spread featuring the Green Lantern Corps is fantastic, a must-see for any longtime GL fan. The thing is that such strengths don't add anything to the story itself. The art throughout most of the book is merely capable, and the backgrounds are often lacking. That works against the realistic, grounded tone of the script. Ross's depiction of a female inmate on the final splash page is laughable; why a uniform would hug a prisoner's curves and spotlight her nipples is beyond me. Moose Baumann's colors in the first Watchtower scene don't work either. There's a light blue that permeates every panel. Perhaps he was trying to mimic the glow of the monitors, but the effort falls short of such a goal.
Is Kyle Rayner's entire life going to be defined by the breakup of relationships? It seems so here. I'm getting tired of seeing the same scene in Green Lantern comics. Marz's script is thankfully accessible, though. One needn't have followed Judd Winick's or Ben Raab's stints on the book in order to follow along.
What's most frustrating about this script is that it seems to rob the title character any of degree of growth. If this series, since Kyle Rayner's introduction, has been about anything, it's been about the character's effort to mature. One would never know, though, given his self-pitying behavior. Out of context, his emotions are ones we can relate to and the script is down to earth. But Whiner Kyle isn't a character I'm terribly interested in reading about.
