The holidays are finally here! After trudging through our own grueling lives, it’s this time of year where most of us go home or spend time with loved ones in some fashion and be thankful for what we have. By sheer coincidence Hal Jordan is actually coming back home as well. Many of us leave the comfort of home, and our journey morphs. It’s fair to say that Hal’s recent encounters with Black Hand and the disappearance of the corps has forced Hal to see if is home planet is still safe. Outside of that it’s just a normal trip home, right?
Given that since Venditti’s run started back in summer of 2013, Hal Jordan (at least in this book) has been away from Earth for quite some time. Because of the long absence from his native planet, the return home actually feels special. Simply seeing Hal interact with his younger brother is a nice change of pace. Despite the fact that I’ve enjoyed Hal’s new supporting cast, changing up the characters Hal interacts with every once in a while is not terrible idea.
Outside of the opening and ending sequences (more on those in a bit). This issue had a very relaxed vibe to it, with the exception of the gigantic explosion at the end of the issue, which felt a tad unnecessary considering what Venditti has on the horizon. It came off as forced drama, a terrible justification to keep Hal on Earth for the remaining arc. I understand the nature of the superhero’s and that excitement is part of why people read a book like Green Lantern, it was just too jarring from the relaxing tone established in the first half of the issue. Which is most likely what Venditti’s goal was. So in the end it all comes down to personal preference.
Now if you were lucky enough to not have this issue spoiled for you, then the last page should send chills down your spine. Yes it’s the typical final page reveal of character X and every single reader is expected to know who that is but knowing that this in fact Parallax makes the final page all the more intriguing. Granted Venditti only gives us a sliver of action and dialog from Parallax, but it’s pretty clear that this isn’t the bug Parallax that Geoff John’s forced into existence.
This is the original idea of Parallax, the demented version of Hal Jordan determined to “fix” everything. The beauty of Parallax’s introduction is how minimal it was. A small taste of whatever shenanigans Parallax has in store. Double credit to Martin Coccolo as he perfectly captures the aura that Parallax had for years.
Speaking of Martin Coccolo, his art for this issue felt more smoothed out instead of the slightly scratchy look previous had. His storytelling is solid, he doesn’t over do it in terms of layouts or action on the page but the job is executed well. The highlight for Coccolo was the zoom in on Hal’s face as he realizes what just occurred. The pain and anguish, but more importantly the sheer feeling of helplessness, something we all experience in some fashion
Outside of the Parallax revelation this issue was set up for something larger, but no real clue on what that is. The first half was more engaging than the second half of the issue, hopefully something interesting plays out.
Green Lanterns #47 earns a 3/5
That is truly cool green lanter story and it great one as well.
Being that I’m new to GL (I fell in love with The Animated Series and am now in full swing through Omnibus 2!), I really like this “first” issue and believe this next story arc will slay! I love that Hal got back to his roots, it’s nice not to have everything on Cloud 9 all the time (though of course I like that too).