ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #1: The Black Hand

Absolute Green Lantern #1: Hal Jordan is on the run and in shock after he, John Stewart, and the entire town of Evergreen, Nevada are attacked by a being named Abin Sur who leaves an unfortunate gift with Hal that he has no way of containing.

Creative Team:

Al Ewing (WRITER) Jahnoy Lindsay (ART, COLORS, and COVER) Lucas Gattoni (LETTERS)

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The Story:

Al kicks off our story with another unique take on familiar faces in the DC Universe. Hal is not the pilot that we have always known, rather he is coming from a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Al introduces more familiar faces with a twist and is reminding us this is going to be its own iteration of Green Lantern. I am finding myself extremely interested how Hal is now covered with a terrifying black substance that works similarly to the ring but, he has no connection to the Lanterns yet and instead causes more death and destruction. It gives just enough to set us up to be curious and see where this story is headed.

The Artwork:

The art by Jahnoy is done very well and on par with the other Absolute series so far. The colors stand out brightly. The sequence where the bikers hit the green wall and explode was graphic and yet mesmerizing all at once. When it comes to our characters there is a fresh take and style given to each one and the introduction of Abin Sur reminds me a lot of Silver Surfer or the Day the Earth Stood Still, giving him a classic science fiction feeling.

The emotion captured by Hal is another piece of artwork brilliance that Jahnoy is able to convey as we see him horrified by what happened and helpless at the fact he cannot stop it. Lucas is lettering this run bringing in and tying the vibe of desperation together.

Overall Grade: 9/10

Absolute Green Lantern #1 gives us enough to hook the audience and leaves us with a cliffhanger. There were times I had to remind myself that this is not the Hal I grew up reading and I am looking forward to seeing where this new take will bring us and what Al and Jahnoy do going forward!

Make sure to check out more reviews from Matt and his weekly pop-culture podcast at http://linktr.ee/hopsgeeknews