Green Lantern: Rebirth Deluxe Edition

With the year end Comixology sale, I felt it was a good time to start collecting and reading up on highly praised DC runs. Geoff Johns Green Lantern was one such run. Just want to share, I've never read GL, previous experience with him only happened while reading Justice League and also Tom King's Omega Men (another highly rated book). So my review here builds on this caveats. With that said, many have told me that Rebirth requires you to know some GL history. I won't dispute that. But all I knew beforehand was that Hal Jordan turned evil, died and became another character Spectre who supossedly is the human embodiment of God's judgement. Even with this limited knowledge, I managed to enjoy this book. The story is entertaining and exciting, you get a lot of action and some level of drama, the dialogue is nicely written with a lot of depth. And the best part? It is just the start of Geoff Johns run. I'm excited to continue. In closing, I think if you are a fan you've probably read this if you're not yet a GL fan then I would say it depends. Are you ok to start something new? GL I feel has the biggest mythos as the stories bring in the space element, something that can be very vast. Also, you could also wait around a bit for sales and then decide. After reading the this book and the next 2 volumes so far, I was glad I picked this run up, I have been hooked. In terms of new reader friendly, I would give it a 7, with 10 being totally friendly. It would enhance your experience if you had some history of Hal Jordan.

Geoff Johns does it again with an epic story for the ages, by far one of the best stories i ever read, he take his time telling you every detail there is to know and why things are with the greatest green lantern ever. Not only does the story run smoothly but the art work is in a place of its own category the emotions on the charaters faces are priceless and to see batman (SPOLIER ALERT SPOLIER ALERT) get PUNCHED in the face was probably for me the greatest moment in my life and in this story, that tells you how i feel about that guy lol. But overall its well rounded story that anyone can jump into old or new to this Dc world. The only bad thing about this story is that you will never want to read another charater other than Hal Jordan The Green Lantern the greatest GL of all time....

He turned evil and tried to destroy the world. He was killed by his closest friend, but came back even more powerful -- and more evil -- than before. He had a last-second change of heart and sacrificed himself to reignite the sun. His spirit was used to drive the earthly manifestation of the Wrath of God in a war against injustice. And he was replaced in his old job by a younger, hipper hero. And yet, Hal Jordan's return as Green Lantern was always inevitable. The question was how -- and how well -- it would be done. Geoff Johns succeeded admirably in "Rebirth," a book that neatly reconciles the various personae of Hal Jordan in one man -- the one he was always meant to be. "Rebirth" isn't just another chapter in the ongoing story of the Green Lantern Corps. It's an in-depth study of the mythology of the Guardians, the rings of power and the entities that bear them. It is a dazzling portrayal of personality and conflict, not just of Jordan and his immediate circle of friends, but of many familiar DC characters. And, it's a much-needed reinvention of Jordan himself -- the hero he was and, for many readers, always would be. The art by Ethan Van Sciver is ultra-realistic, his lines are crisp, clean and startlingly expressive. Johns' story flows from the pages in bright colors and shadows, and the glowing green light of Lantern's power will dazzle your eyes with blinding intensity. It's a brilliant story, artfully written and packaged, of incredible scope. "Rebirth" is truly one of DC's finest.

If you're a Hal Jordan Green Lantern fan who didn't like how the character was handled over the past few years, you have to read this book. It's a return to duty and glory for Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps that's long overdue, highly recommended!

Green Lantern: Rebirth ties up loose plot lines and reveals answers to questions that have plagued Green Lantern fans for decades, such as what really is the story behind the power ring's impurity and its vulnerability to yellow, as well as some startling new information about GL's arch-enemy Sinestro. No one re-tools their major characters like DC, due in part to their own lack of confidence in the character often times. And no one has had a bumpier ride in recent years than poor Hal Jordan. Seeing Coast City destroyed Hal tries to recreate it leading to a conflict with the Guardians, and Hal's usurping the power of the central battery to become Parallax, destroying most of the Guardians and other Green Lanterns, before finally sacrificing himself to save Earth's sun. Hal would then become bonded with the Spectre as the new Spirit of Vengeance. All of the surviving Green Lanterns play a role in the book including Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Killowog, and yes, even Guy Gardner. While off at the edges of space Kyle learns finds an alien race living in terror. His ring translates the name "Parallax". Kyle returns to Earth as he and the other Green Lanterns soon come under the influence of a menacing influence. Guy Gardner even has his body turned inside out as he's taken for treatment to the JLA and Mr. Terrific. Meanwhile Hal is having his own problems controlling the Spectre's thirst for vengeance which is growing more and more aggressive, literally turning the hand of the villain "Black Hand" to coal. The Justice League is growing suspicious of Hal as well, particularly Batman who has never had a great affinity for Jordan to begin with. Soon the appearance of Ganthet, the last of the original Guardians, brings some startling revelations about the history of the Guardians, Parallax, the power rings, Sinestro, and the source of the impurity. I won't play spoiler and reveal and of this, but the words astonishing and shocking come to mind right off the bat. You know of course that Hal returns as Green Lantern and has his first formal introduction to the man who replaced him, Kyle Rayner. He also has a long overdue confrontation with Batman who still doesn't trust him. In many ways, this is Kyle Rayner's finest hour as he provides the first warnings about Parallax, and takes on a supped-up Sinestro on his own...just in time for Hal to return, not to mention Guy Gardner. Long time Green Lantern fans are sure to be ecstatic about the return of one of the original Silver Age icons as they never really took to Rayner or Stewart and Gardner was generally only good for a few laughs. How DC handles Hal (not to mention the Spectre) from here on out becomes the new question. The story wraps up nicely and for a change we have a story that doesn't leave issues dangling. The Story was written by Geoff Johns, one of the most stalwart and reliable scribes in comics today. The art by Art by Ethan Van Sciver and Prentis Rollins was very solid without being too "showy". The hardcover book also provides background information and creator commentary on various aspects of the story which also serve to help tie things all together. A gallery of alternate covers is also included. Green Lantern: Rebirth is without a doubt one of the most important storylines from DC in recent years. Reviewed by Tim Janson

Geoff Johns is an excellent comic book writer, especially when it comes to Green Lantern

The saga of Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern borne straight from the Space Age of the late 1950s and early 1960s, has always been an elusive one to get right. One of the greatest achievements of legendary literary agent/DC editor Julius Schwartz, the Silver Age Green Lantern owed as much to the peace-keeping space rangers of SF fame (from "Doc" Smith's Lensmen to Edmond Hamilton's Futuremen) as it did to the endless array of trouble-shooting 1950s mavericks who gleefully fought for Justice while subtlely tweaking the sensibilities of McCarthy era demagogues whenever the chance arose. Yet, after the glory days of author John Broome, contributing author Gardner Fox, and pioneering artist Gil Kane, the star-hopping ring-wielder became the foil for any podium which cropped up. The early-1970s classics from Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams inadvertently began the damage, making steel-willed Hal Jordan a slack-jawed straight -man for born-again liberal Oliver (Green Arrow) Queen's every indignant epithet. While the latter segments of that series corrected this initial error, the idea of Jordan being a puppet for any writer's whimsical fixation became a problem over the ensuing years. Perhaps the most grievous damage to the Hal Jordan storyline occurred by the 1990s, ironically after the early-mid 1980s saw author Steve Englehart and artist Joe Staton produce the finest GL chronicles since the Broome-Fox-Kane originals. By the 1990s, those stories were callously tossed aside in favor of giving Hal Jordan the "Top Gun" treatment. Suddenly, Jordan was an alcoholic with white sideburns and a limp characterization to match. Worse, when DC saw the box they had written Jordan into, their clever solution was to not to set it straight, but to totally foul the mythos up. Jordan goes mad, destroys the GL Corps, all but wipes out the Guardians, and becomes a nefarious menace. About the only good aspect of all that -one which fanboys despise- is the conception of a great character in Kyle Rayner. Without the help of the Guardians, young Rayner learns the responsibility of wielding the ring, and the weight that comes with it. Frequently aided by the original Green Lantern of the 1940s, the new kid becomes a formidable champion. Unlike any GL before him, Kyle knows fear and faces it for what it is. It is the factor of Rayner's particular courage which propels this exceptional Sequential novel from author Geoff Johns (JSA, HAWKMAN, INFINITY CRISIS) and illustrator Ethan Van Sciver. Van Sciver's illustrative touch is sterling, paying homage to the best of GL's past illustrators while imbuing Johns' tale of redemption and reclamation with a searing style all his own. Striking deep with an engraver's depth, Van Sciver is breathtaking to experience. As for the writer who's propelled the JSA to the pinnacle of super-team chronicles with his winding character interplay, the task of putting another one of Comicdom's most mishandled grand mythologies back on track must have posed one walloping challenge. Even HAWKMAN, which Johns helped to unknot after years of similar editorial confusion, must have seemed child's play compared with the mess that shifting, fickle tastes had left the GL storyline in. The resulting saga is a masterpiece. Picking up on threads skillfully placed by authors Joe Kelly (2002's GREEN LANTERN: LEGACY) and Judd Winick in the last few years of the Kyle Rayner GL title, Johns weaves a work of genius. Effectively utilizing every faux pas of the past few decades, a springboard is constructed for one of the most effective cleanups this reviewer has ever seen. Every stitch of bad editorial judgement past is confronted, resolved, and turned around into a grand reforging of mythology and fortitude. Even the quizzical usage of The Spectre is given a deeper purpose here, as Jordan comes to grips what what has been missing for too long - one of the strongest personalities in the Sequential field, one which needs no second-guessers to set his path. When Hal, and long-time readers, learn the actual reason for Jordan's fall, it's bold enough to make you pause, and simple enough to make you say "of course". What's done with it, and how this plays in the ever-growing DC folklore, is why REBIRTH stands as a very endearing piece of strong narrative. Perhaps best of all, the restoration of Hal Jordan places a whole new vitality upon Kyle Rayner, the resurected GL Corps, and so much more. As pointed out by author Brad Meltzer (IDENTITY CRISIS) in REBIRTH's introduction, what this saga poses is not a climax, but a crucial beginning. One long overdue.

Unlike a lot of people around here, I'm a big [ULTIMATE] MARVEL fan and was only recently sucked into liking DC comics because I got wise and decided to read my brother seven year old BATMAN: NO MAN'S LAND and NIGHTWING comic books. 2005 recent anyhow. The Jeph Loeb SUPERGIRL series was also a big help in influencing my sudden liking for DC comics as well. I'm only familiar with GREEN LANTERN through television shows like SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (in which I was introduced to Kyle Rayner in the episode "Brightest Day." He's my all time favorite GL) and JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (Green Arrow). Whether or not the GL Mythos/storyline was correctly translated or not into television is no biggie to me, I know enough about the GREEN LANTERN CORPS. to be familiar with the material and characters I was reading about. I picked up "GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH" out of blue yesterday on a library trip, figuring it would be worth a go at reading. I just finished it today and I've got to say this is probably the best DC TPB I've read since "NIGHTWING: YEAR ONE." Plus, it's got Kyle Rayner in it, what more could I ask for? That aside, Geoff Johns did an excellent job with the storyline concerning Hal Jordan's struggle with the unnatural (for him) feelings of fear and doubt in his very soul even after its supposed to have moved on to the next life. A figure called The Specter and a yellow entity named Parallax have taken control of him, one seeking vengeance the other seeking control and need to feed off of Hal's fears. Elsewhere in the deep reaches of space, Kyle Rayner learns of the evils that inhabits Jordan's soul, and returns to earth [in New Mexico] with the body Hal Jordan to warn the others and help out when it becomes necessary. (He is said to be the only GL to have known what "true fear" really was, which baffles me to an extent.) In turn he is weak and badly injured, two men find him and care for him. Meanwhile in the city, John Stewart and Guy Gardner have a lukewarm conversation about their "deceased" comrade Hal and from there the situation spirals out of control when Gardners non-GL abilities go haywire and calamity befalls the city. Along the way, an old enemy returns to destroy with the body of Hal Jordan, Kyle Ranyer, and Green Arrow. To be honest, I loved the storyline, the writer went to great pains to flesh out as much information as possible without losing the reader or the story in translation. Granted, it was a little soap-opera like when explaining the back story of Hal and his seemingly losing battle against The Specter and Parallax. But aside from those little annoyances, the characterization of each familiar DC superhero was right on par; Though I can't say I enjoyed how they depicted Batman when concerning John Stewart's blind devotion in Jordan or his supposed gripe with the man himself. It was almost like they tried to make him a sort of villain-type character your supposed to hate and ultimately take the GL's side in the debate. Ethan Van Sciver also did a beyond excellent job with the artistry in the comic book overall; None of the characters were over embellished with facial or body detail. Wonder Woman looked womanly, Batman looked frightening, imposing even, Superman was . . . Superman, and Kyle looked youthful enough to fit his quirky character personality. All in all, if your looking for a good GREEN LANTERN-centric book then REBIRTH is defiantly the book you wanna pick up. Granted it leaves some things unexplained concerning character relationships --which gives the GL-fans the advantage in some manner--, but it explains plenty of background throughout the TPB to keep you out of the dark and in The Brightest Day. Highly Recommended. --- [a 5 out of 5]

I have to admit I loved the whole Emerald Twilight - Zero Hour - Parallax storyline, because I was fairly new to the DC world then, having joined the death of Superman bandwagon (still on it though) and had no problem with what they did to the Hal Jordan character. Great superheros going bad is I think a fascinating plot line to explore. However, I know many of the die hard Green Lantern fans hated the way the character was dealt with and how the whole Green Lantern back story was trashed, along with the Corps and the Guardians. Either way, this should keep both sets of fans happy, as the story follows the Parallax story to it culmination, with interesting twists along the way and serves as a springboard to bring back not only Hal Jordan as Green Lantern No. 1 but the Corps and the Guardians as well. Back to the way we were then, but, hey, what a ride it has been in the meantime!! Excellent book.

Geoff Johns and co. do a brilliant reboot of everyone's favourite Green Lantern. Brilliantly written and inked. The copy I received was in the condition described, and this did not make the story any less enjoyable.