You think killing off a character in comic books is a flawed idea? Try bringing them back. Other than, I think, the revival of Colossus in Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, Green Lantern: Rebirth is the only ever resurrection-centric story event I’ve ever enjoyed.
Generally, these types of comic books tend to be contrived, and although Green Lantern: Rebirth requires the reader to buy completely into the mythos of the character in order for them to be swept along, the characterisation in this excellent book is so spot-on, by the end you’ll be hunting down Geoff Johns’ complete works of the character.
Essentially, Green Lantern: Rebirth charts the revival of the Green Lantern Corps, but more notably, the Silver Age iconic version of the character, Hal Jordan. Made evil in the Nineties as part of the ‘controversial’ (and in the grand scheme of things, I mean that loosely) Emerald Twilight storyline, the character had long been in the wilderness before writer Geoff Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver teamed up to revive the entire Green Lantern line.
The storyline is a celebration of Green Lantern lore, featuring the diverse iterations of the character (John Stewart, Guy Gardner and the unfairly disparaged Kyle Rayner) as they restore the Corps and beat villain Sinestro into a pulp.
It’s an enjoyable roller coaster of a book, buoyed by a blockbuster feel – even if you have no prior knowledge of the character before reading Green Lantern: Rebirth (I didn’t know much about the franchise when I read it), this will have you caught up and ready to read up on the character’s history.
Green Lantern went overnight from being a vanishing blip on the comic book radar to a Batman or Superman-level DC property, rightfully Geoff Johns’ reward for generating such interest in the character. Bravo.
Green Lantern: Rebirth is available from DC Comics in the US or Titan Comics in the UK.
