A New Breed of Guardians (The Green Lantern: Season 2 #1 Review)
THE GREEN LANTERN: SEASON 2 #1
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Liam Sharp
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Publisher: DC Comics
Rating: 10/10
This is what we've all been waiting for. After a 3 month break, even though we got the BLACKSTARS mini, the full creative team is back. This book isn't talked about nearly as much as it should be. GREEN LANTERN: SEASON 1 was the best ongoing series DC put out last year and makes it's explosive return this week. Between Morrison's mind bending scripts and the pairing of Sharp's insanely detailed/otherworldly art with Oliff's rich color palette, you won't want this book to end.
With Hal Jordan triumphant over Controller Mu and the Blackstars, he's greeted by his fellow Lanterns and the Guardians. They reward him with a new upgraded Lantern that leads to an awesome page of him reciting the famous oath. No matter how many times I see this in a comic, it never gets old. Plus, Sharp's layout of the page is brilliant. He uses no panels and the way everything overlaps makes the scene that much more powerful.
With the festivities at an end, Hal is awoken by the Guardians who tell him that they must go as a new reality dawns. Now I'm not sure if this is Morrison alluding to the upcoming changes at DC (the whole 5G/ Generation Zero), but it's definitely interesting. They thank Hal for his long and distinguished service in the corps and acknowledge all of his hard work. It's not something you see the Guardians do very often so it was weird to see. Maybe as they head into this new battle, they are hit with a sense of gratitude they never exhibited before. They refer to this battle they are heading into as a "Rebirth", "Ultrawar" and "Multi-Crisis". All of this is tied into something called the Cosmic Grail which has summoned them to fulfill their destiny. Its these kind of over the top ideas that make this run so entertaining. Only Morrison could deliver a story so steeped in sci-fi and elevate with a certin gravitas, that makes it all click.
As Hal enters the Grand Hall of Oa, he meets Rykaktoro, who's made of crystalized salt I believe. It's this new character who will eventually be his partner on a mission to bring forth the new Young Guardians to replace the old. This page in the Hall of Oa perfectly showcases Sharp's exquisite artistic skills, the sheer amount of detail coupled with the varying alien designs will have you ogling over every nuance of the page. What I really loved seeing though was John Stewart and Jessica Cruz in the book. All Earth Lanterns have been pretty non-existent in this run so it was nice to see Hal talk to them about why he doesn't want to come home to Earth.
As Hal and his new partner set off on their mission to the Planet Maltus we are taken on a buddy cop adventure. The banter between these two really made the second half this book a fun read. Once again Sharp and Oliff bring us to a world rife with ne alien life including apes with mechanical body parts. This book never ceases to amaze me with its unique and rich ideas. Plus The way Oliff adds the texture to his rendition of space gives the book such a cosmic feeling that isn't always conveyed in space opera comics.
With the mission complete, we return to Oa and are introduced to the new younger Guardians. They have an almost ethereal feel and don't seem to even have physical bodies yet. What new mission they will have for the Lanterns is yet to be seen, but we do see Hal sent back to Earth to protect it from some new adversary. This is going to be fun to see Hal finally back on Erath after all this time and should set up some gret stories.
Overall this was an amazing issue. Between the mind boggling script from Morrison to Sharp's hyper detailed art. This book was fantastic. I can imagine that interpreting Morrison's script would be no easy feat but Sharp and Oliff do it to perfection. The page layouts are what really help this book stand shoulders above everything else coming out. This entire creative team comes together to create a perfect melding of talents and it comes through every issue that comes out. With this new volume they are already proving why this book will stand the test of time.