Review: Green Lantern Rebirth #1

Green Lantern Rebirth #1
DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ethan Van Sciver

I didn't really start reading many DC Comics titles until after Hal Jordan became Parallax. The destruction of Coast City and the crowning of Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern were familiar to me, but I didn't really know Hal Jordan in comic books like many readers did.

Eventually, I read the story where Hal Jordan goes crazy, becomes Parallax and allows Kyle Rayner to become Green Lantern. It seemed pretty well done, although I can understand why fans of a character wouldn't want to see that character become evil. Since then, it seems like Kyle Rayner has come into his own as a hero. DC seems to have developed the character well and managed the evolution of Green Lantern in a pretty satisfactory way. On the other hand, I thought the movement of Hal Jordan to the Spectre was mismanaged. The Final Night story, where Parallax redeems himself was pretty well done, and other attempts to get Hal Jordan "back" into stories were enjoyable (like when Kyle Rayner goes back in time and meets Hal), but the Spectre evolution seemed strange.

Now, on to Rebirth. I never really liked stories where the outcome is known. In this case, we know that Hal Jordan will be back as Green Lantern. It sort of reminds me of X-Men: The Search For Cyclops, where after Cyclops had died and we knew he'd be back, by the end of a four issue limited series. In some sense, it bugs me. It also bugs me that Kyle Rayner will probably be gone after this story. He seemed like a pretty good character who would still function well in the periphery. Maybe he will, but he might be gone. It's even been suggested that Kyle Rayner will be the Identity Crisis killer. Not so sure if I buy into that.

In the story, lots of mysterious things are happening and they all seem to revolve around Hal Jordan. The other heroes don't know what's happening but they know that Hal is somehow involved. The story is well set up and I wonder in what direction all of the elements will go.

Ethan Van Sciver's art is quite good. I enjoyed his work on New X-Men, and maybe that's why it seems like it has a "Marvel" style to it (despite the fact that books rarely have a style now that all the artists move back and forth). The art is very detailed and very kinetic. This book is an interesting start to the mini series with the predictable ending. Let's hope that it does not disappoint.

Oh, and one question -- does anyone know whose sinister reflection appears in the power battery being held on the cover?