DC Comics
Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Hal Jordan
By Josh Dean
Jul 7, 2011 - 21:49

DC Comics
Writer(s): Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Donald DeLine, Adam Schlagman
Penciller(s): Jerry Ordway, Tyler Kirkham
Inker(s): Jerry Ordway, Batt
Colourist(s): Gabe Eltaeb, Randy Mayor
Letterer(s): Carlos M. Mangual
$2.99 US

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This is a tough one. I imagine that no one in their right mind is going to read this except hardcore Geoff Johns fans like me. As a tie-in to a movie that even its most ardent supporters label as “adequate,” there is not a huge market for this issue. While Johns’ work on the main Green Lantern title is great, this is not that. Movie prequel comics (like the awesome Star Trek Countdown) have their place, too, when they are filling in vital backstory. This isn’t that either.

Taking place while Hal is suspended in nothing but his skivvies (or in studio terms “the shot to draw in the ladies”), Tomar Re and Sinestro engage in the same debate they have throughout the movie- is Hal worthy of being a Green Lantern? A large chunk of the narrative is given over to scenes that are in the movie (the death of Hal’s father and a collage of images from the film rendered with care by the always awesome Jerry Ordway). At only 14 pages, this really does nothing to fill in the story except explain why Hal was kicked out the Air Force (a slightly different version than Johns presented in Secret Origin) and feature a Guy Gardner cameo they couldn’t squeeze into the actual film. The last 6 pages of the comic are devoted to introducing yet another member of the Green Lantern Corps with a really slight story.

Seriously, this is not worth the cover price. All the pertinent backstory on Hal is readily available in the movie or in better comics than this. Ordway was brought in to make use of his very specific ability to make comics based on actors (He did the first Batman adaptation in 1989 if I recall correctly). His style is well suited to this task but it is a thankless one. Tyler Kirkham, doing art chores in the backup feature is another of the Image generation who seems to be a lighter version of Jim Lee. His images are pretty enough but nothing groundbreaking.

I can’t really recommend this for anyone.
Rating: 2/10

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