The start of something new. Something special. Something epic? We’ll find out. There’s always growth in the second season right? Lets hit the jump to find out if Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp and Steve Oliff have made their own jump. You know the drill…Spoilers ahead!
Liam Sharp is one of those artists that is obviously ridiculously talented. You know how Bryan Hitch has this amazing skill of drawing destruction on a massive scale and it feels epic? Or how Phil Jimenez just fills an entire page with gorgeous characters, beautiful scenery and striking poses? Well, Liam Sharp is on that level. Season 2 issue #1 gives us a great look at all the things Liam excels at. His dynamic camera angles and bold line work have always provided greatness for my eyeballs, but here he shines (with many thanks to Steve Oliff on colors) as his crowd shots rival Jimenez, his action panels sincerely draw fear even when the gist of the situation is still playing out to the reader. Did I mention that Oa crowd shot already? Jeeeeez, what a spread! I particularly loved seeing the aftermath of the Young Guardians arrival. Kilowog has his arms crossed much like many jaded of readers, Hal grows increasingly frustrated with just three simple panels, and while I’m scanning the background for familiar faces, it dawns on me that the background is still fleshed out with detail. Not a space wasted. If the devil is in the detail and then The Green Lantern: Season Two #1 is satanic. Bravo to the art team. Bravo.
Maybe I’m dumb. Dumb may be too harsh. Lets say, I’m a sucker. At the very least, I have to be somewhat gullible because its just now dawning on me how much of a plot twist guy Grant Morrison really is. I’ll fight anyone who says issue seven of season 1 wasn’t one of the best twists ever. I completely fell for Hal Jordan being a Blackstar loyalist too. And still, I let Grant fool me into thinking we won’t be having Hal on Earth. I was too busy admiring how genius the Guardians were for having Planetary simulations being run on Maltus to see the setup and punchline to Hal being forced to move back to Earth. F***. Damn he’s good.
Now, that’s not to say he’ll stay there. Highly unlikely. I’m definitely down for the ride, obviously, but is this the right path? I’m doing the Kilowog arm fold right now while I ponder if we’ve been here before. Baby Guardians would have definitely been retread territory so at least its not a bullseye for my ire. While I like Hal on Earth, it made perfect sense for him not to be there. As much as I like my lead characters being tormented, I’m not sure this is the best way to kickstart a season. Then again, who knew the Controllers would lead to an universal war with Superman leading every hero he could find to wage war against a Blackstar peace group led by Hal and his Vampire bride? I’m going to bet that this sucker doesn’t have a f***ing clue what’s to build from this premise.
The Green Lantern: Season Two #1 earns a 4 out 5