Tony Black reviews Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #2…
“Sinestro’s Law” part two! As Sinestro’s grip around the universe grows tighter, Guy Gardner takes on the mission to bring the Green Lantern Corps back from the edge of oblivion to reclaim their role as protectors of the cosmos.
The space bound adventures of Hal Jordan continue in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, as Robert Venditti delivers an issue with ‘Sinestro’s Law pt 2: Recon’ which pulls back a little on the strong work done after a slightly underwhelming Rebirth issue, delivering a rather throwaway piece which does forward a few plot & character beats but it places feels a little lacking in depth. Hal is now confronting the Yellow Lanterns who his arch enemy Sinestro has created to control the universe through pure order, and much of the piece sees him in quite a bright but ugly battle, inked by Rafa Sandoval, with a few random and ineffective minions before he’s plunged into a cliffhanger which does up the stakes for our eponymous hero, but you’re not in much doubt he’ll find a way out of his present predicament. The main story is just not that interesting.
It’s the sub-plots Venditti serves up here which hold much more interest, chiefly the complicated relationship Sinestro has with his daughter, Soranik, a Yellow Lantern with the Green Lantern spirit who continues not really fitting in with the ordered world her father has created; she questions his sense of control and is angry as, here, he basically admits he used her essential goodness to help him control the universe via the back door, so he can implement his version of the universe he wants. A rebellion is brewing in Soranik and it’ll be interesting to see quite how it emerges.
Elsewhere in the galaxy, you have the returned group of Green Lanterns, hugely depleted in number, who erstwhile leader John Stewart is attempting to guide as he faces internal questions about how they fight Sinestro’s control – there’s a nice exploration here of the different between Stewart’s taciturn, military sense of leadership & Guy Gardner’s own reckless, devil may care approach to how they fight back, and in truth Hal is a blend of both men. When they do find themselves in his orbit, and it can’t be far away, it’ll be fun watching how all of these characters work together to balance the scales of the universe again.
Hopefully these strong narrative elements will come together soon, as Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps still hasn’t managed to completely find its sea legs as an addictive part of the Rebirth series. It’s blend of space opera with human, grounded characters and stylistics hasn’t yet paid off into anything with particular depth or meaning, and from a narrative perspective it continues to circle around the houses. Venditti writes decently and Sandoval infuses the piece with colour, but it’s neither the strongest written nor most attractive Rebirth comic out there. There is still potential to improve but right now it’s Earth-based sister series Green Lanterns is putting it in the shade.
Rating: 5/10
Tony Black
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Originally published August 16, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
