Green Lanterns Rebirth #1

By Geoff Johns, Sam Humphries, Ethan Van Sciver, Ed Benes and Jason Wright

The New 52 is officially done and now we move on to Rebirth. DC is putting out many new or revamped titles for this re-launch, but before that happens, we get one-shots before the actual series start. The Green Lanterns one-shot presents readers with something a little different. We’re used to reading about Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Kyle Rayner, but this book focuses on a couple of seldom used lanterns. That’s either pretty appealing or you’re disgusted and want nothing to do with the title. Either way, this book is worth a read before jumping to conclusions.

You would be hard pressed to find someone who knows Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz better than Geoff Johns. While he shares a writing credit with Sam Humphries on this issue, Johns should be the blueprint for how to write these two. This issue essentially is a way to put Simon and Jessica together for their team up, but it’s not just a filler issue. Johns and Humphries do a decent job of reminding us (or introducing those who don’t know) who these characters are. This is seen as Simon wipes away terrorist graffiti off of his garage, or Jessica’s sister saying it’s good to finally see her out of the house for once. The writing duo also show us that these lanterns are by no means veterans, as they struggle to take down a relatively easy foe. What will really make this book work is the relationship between the two lead characters. While Johns and Humphries initially show them exchanging barbs with one another, they have set both up to acknowledge that they have a bigger duty and will need teamwork. This was an introductory issue, and it should be successful in piquing the interest of any doubters.

The pencils this issue are handled by Ethan Van Sciver and Ed Benes with colors by Jason Wright. Van Sciver and Benes do a wonderful job on the pencils here. Pictures are drawn well from the first page of the galaxy. This pretty much sets the bar for the clean images we will get from this artistic duo. The style differences between the two artists are noticeable, but both are great, so there is no drop off in quality. Van Sciver handles more of the front half of the issue that features our lanterns in regular clothes. He does have a couple of pages of them fighting a manhunter. Benes’ work starts with the arrival of Hal Jordan. His work is inked a little darker, but it works well. While the pencils from both artists are great, Jason Wright on colors is the real MVP. His work on the issue ties everything together. The green light oozing off of Hal Jordan or Jessica’s eye tattoo leaping off the page at you is all his handy work. This was an excellent job done by everyone on the art team.

Green Lanterns Rebirth #1 was a pretty good read. It probably won’t blow you away or floor you, but it should absolutely get you interested in what is going to happen next. The script by Geoff Johns and Sam Humphries is intriguing enough and it’s good to see some underused characters get a chance to shine. The pencils and colors are done well in every sense of the word. If you don’t like the story, the art alone is worth $2.99.