The cover says it all: “Dark Nights Metal Tie-In.” That means the real story is wandering around through other DC titles, and this is merely another link in a much larger chain. If you’re a Hal Jordan reader and are not following the Metal storyline, save your money. Don’t even bother picking this up.

Hal Jordan is pitted against Dawnbreaker, a variant Batman type of figure from somewhere in the 52-world Multiverse. They battle in the dark, pitting will against fear, while apparently other variations take on the other members of the JLA.

DC tries to appeal to Green Lantern fans by featuring Ethan Van Sciver artwork, but three or four pages of the story is a big cheat. Hal puts his ring on a strobe effect, blacking out every other panel and effective filling have of that sequence with black. I can’t justify paying $3.99 for that.

When DC decides to publish these line-wide event storylines, I would be a much happier reader if they would confine them to a single story, rather than cross over into random issues of its library. If you’re reading the story, it’s not indicative of that particular title, so it’s not likely to make you want to start reading it. If you’re reading the ongoing series and not the event, it becomes a giant commercial for something else.