DC FIRST: GREEN LANTERN/GREEN LANTERN #1
"Tomorrow's Hero"
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Ben Raab
Pencils: Pete Woods & Jamal Igle
Inks: Rick Burchett & Andy Owens
Colors: Tom McCraw & Digital Chameleon
Letters: John Workman
Editor: Michael Wright
Price: $3.50 US/$5.75 CAN |
As far as I can tell, this is the first of the DC First specials that's actually based on a first-meeting story featuring the title characters. Raab doesn't just tweak the first Silver Age team of Hal Jordan and Alan Scott, though; he tears it down and builds from scratch again, focusing on how the characters feel as opposed to what they're doing. Unfortunately, there's not an accompanying balance between characterization and plot.
Alan Scott reflects back on his first one-on-one encounter with Green Lantern Hal Jordan. He remembers feeling old, useless and not nearly as powerful as he used to be, and Jordan doesn't help with his quick dismissal of his elder counterpart. Alan Scott finds his powers enhanced and probed by an alien force, and it draws him into an age-old conflict between the Guardians of the Universe (the beings who gave Hal Jordan his ring) and an age-old enemy.
When matched with Rick Burchett's inks, Pete Woods's pencil work reminds me more than a little of the style of Paul (Negation) Pelletier, and that lighter style suits the more innocence, simpler time that the story tries to elicit. Igle's more detailed, realistic approach reinforces the notion that the Alan Scott/Kyle Rayner scenes take place today. Unfortunately, beyond differentiating between time periods, the art doesn't really rise beyond simply capable. There's nothing off-putting about the visuals, but nothing really grabs me either.
While I appreciate the emphasis on characterization, now the problem seems to be that the plot is glossed over. Raab seems to count on the reader's familiarity with the Silver Age source material, or with Krona and GL history in general. Well, I am familiar with all of those elements, and I was still left scratching my head. I was also at a loss about the references to Alan Scott's career failures as a broadcaster; I could have used more background information.
Shifting the focus to character-driven elements was nevertheless a smart move on Raab's part; I just wish we would have seen something a little less played out. The old hero's sense of impotence, of being cast aside, is something we've seen time and time again, just as much as the young guy's foolish lack of respect for the voice of experience. In the end, Raab and company deliver a fun, light super-hero story, but little else.
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