By Keith Giffen, Gerard Jones, Jim Owsley, M.D. Bright & Romeo Tanghal (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-0-93028-988-1
I tend to disparage reworkings of classic characters as a modern evil, but it’s been going on for a very long time, and often the results aren’t as bad as they might first feel, once the dust has settled and the scabs have healed. Case in point is this retrofit of DC mainstay Hal Jordan, whose career as Green Lantern to this point had spanned thirty years and two cancellations, as well as some of the most iconic moments in American comicbooks.
The updating of honest, fearless test pilot Jordan into a troubled drunk with father-issues upset many fans but this 1989 miniseries reinvigorated the character, spawning a second six-issue miniseries and a new regular title.
The story, though, was not too dissimilar from the classic origin. Dying Green Lantern Abin Sur crashes on Earth and wills his power ring to seek out a worthy individual to take his place. The tribulations of Jordan meeting his fellow law-enforcers and their haughty bosses the Guardians of the Universe, and his first glimmerings of greatness when facing the deadly entity Legion was overshadowed by a subtle character readjustment into a less stiff-necked know-it-all than readers had ever seen before, and it struck the appropriate chord for the times.
Nearly twenty years later, looking at the tale on its own merits, it still holds up. Callow, shallow Hal becomes a great man in a tale of grit and determination with sharp dialogue and rocket-paced action. The pages fly by and the result is an excellent, pure feeling of a job well-done. Definitely one for the fans and the open-minded casual browser.
© 1991 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.