Tony Black reviews Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #1…
“SINESTRO’S LAW” Chapter One
With no backup and only his ring and battery to keep him alive, Hal Jordan streaks toward battle with the Sinestro Corps, while his greatest foe prepares to wipe the last Green Lantern of them all out of existence!
The Rebirth issue of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps seemed to be lacking in something almost undefinable, but writer Robert Venditti is able to move past those uncertainties with part one of ‘The Last Lantern: Sinestro’s Law’, no longer burdened with Hal having to rediscover his Green Lantern mojo and very much out there now determined to bring balance back to the universe, immediately kicking some alien smuggler arse as he begins a major search for the rest of the Lanterns, banished from existence by his nemesis Sinestro. Jordi Tarragona draws one of the biggest space operas in the DC universe, set out very far into deep space, a series already festooned with a bevy of alien species and extra-terrestrial concepts which already make this a serial which very much appeal to fans the science-fiction angle of DC.
In actual fact, we don’t spend an awful lot of time with Hal in this issue, given Venditti is just as much concerned in establishing the heroes opposite: Sinestro and his Corps. It’s an interesting concept – a direct opposite to the Lanterns, a core dressed all in yellow who espouse order, retaining order in a universe where chaos is considered the alternative, when the Lanterns are all about free will. It’s democracy versus autocracy, and as Sinestro manages to revive his fortunes on the Death Star-esque Warworld base, he decides on a new path: order will be maintained by fear, turning the Sinestro Corps into a dictatorship, one Sinestro’s daughter Soranik is visibly concerned about – she believing her father’s order would lead to a universe for good. Her naïveté may lead her into Hal’s path as he finds a way to overcome that grasp of fear and fight back against the Corps – and given how Venditti ends the first issue, he may yet have some allies to help restore that sense of hope and free will after all.
After not being convinced by Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps Rebirth, it now feels on the basis of this first issue that the serial could well find its mojo just as Hal himself did. Solid writing from Robert Venditti, if focused on operatic space bound drama much more than character, and some bright & expansive imagery from Jordi Tarragona, it’s definitely a run that’s worth exploring if you’re into grand sci-fantasy, essentially, and could well be a slow burner into some fine storytelling.
Rating: 7/10
Tony Black
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Originally published July 28, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
