It’s everyone’s favorite time of the year! The weather starts to cool down (well in your neck of the woods it might be), and people across America start decorating their houses will frightful objects and adults buy bags of candy only to consume it for themselves. We here at the Green Lantern Corps are well aware of what fear can do to a person, and this issue brings the fear right to you. Talk about perfect timing. As per usual they’re will be spoilers going forward, you’ve been warned.
If you ask a veteran comic fan what their biggest pet peeve when reading current comics, is the lack of continuity for the entire line of comics. I’m personally not the biggest advocate because to me, referencing something that has nothing to do with the current comic you’re reading is utterly meaningless and as the years go on those references don’t have the punch most likely because the reader isn’t reading them on a weekly basis and won’t have a connection to the zeitgeist. However in this instance I’m perfectly okay with continuity between two different series as it’s handled as well it could be handled.
This scene only works because if you’ve been reading this series then you already know that Sinestro is alive and well, but it does make me a bit disappointed that Sinestro’s first outing since it was revealed he was alive wasn’t in a Green Lantern book, but at least Venditti made sure to recap the events through Superman and wove that issue into this comic. If you’re wondering if you should pick up Superman #29 I would say only if you wanted to. It’s not needed for this issue at all, think of it as bonus material.
Even though the cover spoils the bait and switch moment when Superman “transforms” into Parallax the actual execution of said moment was phenomenal. Venditti made the reader feel absolutely comfortable, after all it’s Superman and Green Lantern meeting together like old friends. Reading this scene felt like something ripped right out of Nightmare on Elm Street, no I didn’t jump when I saw Parallax but it did catch me of guard enough to pause for just a moment. What made this issue worth it was how Venditti ended it, making the reader believe that Hal is losing is mind that Parallax resides in Superman is pure genius. It even left me wondering.
Patrick Zircher comes on as the guest artist for this issue and I love his art style and it fit perfectly when you factor in the context of the issue. Yes when you look at Zircher’s art it has a classic feel to it, so when Superman warps into Parallax the effect that is intended is more potent. While Zircher won’t be considered the flashiest among current artists working today but his storytelling is top notch, even during chaotic fight scenes between Hal and Superlax (dumb name but I needed something) read smoothly. I won’t lie but I am in love with the opening page because of it’s simplicity and says more about Hal Jordan as a character without the use of words. A fine start to a new arc.
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #30 earns a 4/5