Absolute Green Lantern #1 is written by Al Ewing and published by DC. Artwork, main cover (left) and colours are Jahnoy Lindsay and letters by Lucas Gattoni.
Absolute Green Lantern #1 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
Without the Corps…without the ring…without the willpower, what’s left is the Absolute Green Lantern!
Review
Absolute Flash and Absolute Martian Manhunter, two brand-new titles that DC released last week as part of the Absolute lineup, were both fantastic additions to the universe, offering a fresh perspective on characters we’ve been familiar with for a long time. This week we’ve got another new addition, which is Absolute Green Lantern, and once again, the Absolute universe proves itself worthy of being an entertaining, mind-bending exploration of these characters.
While the comic opens up on Hal Jordan, the main character of this comic is Jo. It’s pleasant to have another Black character lead a DC comic, as currently the company hasn’t got much of that going around, especially after Black Lightning’s performance leading it to end after just five issues. Jo has been a favourite since she first appeared in Far Sector, and since then hasn’t really made much of a significant impact in the DC universe. She’s finally been given that chance in the Absolute universe, and while this issue doesn’t give her much to work with just yet, it does an excellent job of building up this mystery.
So far, Al Ewing has written Absolute Green Lantern in a way that is to be expected from HBO’s Lanterns, which is currently filming and releasing next year. The issue opens up with Hal Jordan confronting a police officer with his hand hidden within his pocket. After being asked to show what he’s hiding continuously, we quickly discover a dead police officer at the hand of Hal Jordan (pun fully intended).
We get to meet Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Jo Mullien in this issue, all three characters who are Green Lanterns in the mainline continuity. There are similarities, but these are very much new characters that we’ve never seen before. Green Lantern is one of the few DC properties where I have the least knowledge, and Ewing manages to attract a new audience with this take on the Green Lanterns while also offering something for hardcore Lantern fans.
There’s a lot that goes on within this first issue. A giant Green Lantern symbol in the sky, Abin Sur providing Hal with what seems to be the power of the Black Hand and Jo, who seems to be wielding the power of the Green Lanterns. It’s clear that Hal very much has no control over the Black Hand and doesn’t want to kill innocent people, which makes it a possibility that we’ll either see him turn into the villainous Black Hand later on in the run or maybe he learns to control it. Either way, it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen Hal Jordan in a villainous role, as he’s been known as Parallax in the past when he was possessed by the entity.
What’s most captivating about this issue isn’t the mystery that surrounds what happened with Abin Sur in Evergreen but Jo’s relationship and what led her to leave Coast City and return to Evergreen. We get word of the ring on her finger and Hal questioning why she still has it on just for John to respond with “SOMETIMES THE SYMBOL REMAINS WHEN THE REALITY HAS PASSED”, which, if I know anything from Al Ewing’s writing, is going to hold a lot more meaning later on in the run.
Jahnoy Lindsay’s art feels like a great complement to Al Ewing’s writing, and they’re able to showcase the darkness that Hal is fighting, which is shown greatly in the comparison between the flashback and the present day. Lindsay’s art makes it feel like we’re seeing two completely different characters, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the Black Hand further gets displayed within not just the writing but the art as well.
Verdict
It’s a solid start to Absolute Green Lantern, with roles being reversed and a mystery being brought into the fray of things, which seems to be a common factor with a few of these Absolute titles. If the next few issues can give us details on what took place in Evergreen, Nevada, then I believe this will easily be an Absolute title that stays a favourite.
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