[Comics] Green Lantern: Rebirth

As a sort of direct consequence of the events of Day of Judgment, writer Geoff John continues the task seemingly assigned to him to bring Hal Jordan back to the side of good.

Given the initial fan reaction to the events of Emerald Twilight, where Hal Jordan turned into the villain Parallax despite previously being known as perhaps one of the greatest Green Lanterns of all time. To have such a noble hero fall from grace in that way and take so many lives of other heroes in the process seemed almost unthinkable for a hero of his caliber.

Thankfully (?), the comic book world often gives in to fan pressure, as long as it impacts revenue or the bottom line.

Image via Wikipedia Green Lantern: Rebirth is a six-issue limited series that follows the story of how Hal Jordan returns from the dead in the form of the Spectre, the spirit of vengeance, to resume his place amongst the living as the hero Green Lantern. As a consequence (and a way to justify many of the changes), more information is eventually revealed about the nature of the Green Lantern Corps, their power rings and why they were unable to affect objects of the color yellow.

What was most striking for me beyond the tricky yet skillful writing needed to pull off what was essentially a major retcon to revive a lost hero, but the art of teh series as a whole as crated by Ethan Van Sciver. many of the pages were stunning artworks in their own right, especially when given the challenge of presenting the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians of the Universe and other essential elements of the Green Lantern universe in all their glory.

In terms of the story, I found this to be a much better tale than some of the prior Green Lantern story arcs and given the monumental task of trying to bring Hal Jordan back as a hero, the writing was rather exceptional and managed this significant feat without overly sacrificing the quality of the core story itself. I often complain about how many DC crossovers and epic stories tend to be more deliberate, forced and crudely constructed to achieve a particular editorial goal but this was one of those cases where it was handled masterfully and the best that could be done with the story was achieved.

In addition, it also set the stage for a much larger "trilogy" of sorts for the Green Lantern Universe that goes on to further explore the nature of the willpower-driven power rings of the Green Lantern Corps in comparison to other power rings and objects of a similar nature such as those used by Sinestro and his fellows.

The story also made sure to care for the other major lanterns past and present such as Guy Gardner becoming a full-fledged Green Latern once more and for Kyle Rayner to still have a role in the universe given Hal's return as well.

Admittedly, I became more of a Green Lantern fan when Kyle Rayner entered the picture and thus I didn't necessary start with the same fearsome level of devotion to the original Lantern as fulfilled by Hal Jordan. However in the course of my reading and due to stories like this one, the folks at DC certainly solidified my fandom and my appreciation for Hal Jordan's brand of emerald light and I'm sure this book must have brought in new fans for an old favorite.