Green Lantern: Earth One Vol.1 is the latest book in DC’s Earth One range. A series of books that seeks to put a modern take on the origins of DC’s pantheon of heroes. Out of all the volumes released so far, this one has the most dramatic changes to the story it serves to retell. Hal Jordan is now an astronaut, and the Green Lantern Corps is only a memory.
This latter change proves to be crucial. Unlike in the original story, Hal Jordan is told nothing when he gets the ring, he has to piece what he does learn together from various sources throughout the book. He doesn’t immediately get his classic uniform, and ring constructs are conspicuously absent. Hal does an ally at least in the form of Kilowog, but the two of them are more or less on their own, imbuing the book with a distinct sense of hopelessness.
This sense of hopelessness is mirrored in the character of Hal Jordan himself. This isn’t the cocky, ready-to-fight Hal Jordan of previous comics. We see little of his life before the events of the book, but it is very clear from that start that he has all but given up on the world around him. It becomes apparent that most of the people he meets feel the same way, tying Hal’s character arc into the book’s wider theme.
Long-time Green Lantern fans will recognise some familiar faces, but this book is mostly about what Green Lantern would look like without its familiar trappings (aside from its antagonist), so these are mostly kept to a minimum. There is also a set up for a potential sequel in there, but for the most part writers, Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Bechko keep the comic’s focus to what will serve the story.
Green Lantern: Earth One Vol.1 examines what sort of Green Lantern Hal Jordan would be if he had come into possession of his ring in more dire circumstances. The result is a comic book about learning to fight back against a universe that has worn you down. Hardman and Bechko take a bold risk in making such dramatic changes to the property, but it is one that more than pays off. Green Lantern: Earth One Vol.1 showcases just how good the Earth One series can be, and why stories that deviate away from established canon should be encouraged.
GREEN LANTERN: EARTH ONE VOL.1 / WRITERS: GABRIEL HARDMAN, CORINNA BECHKO / ARTIST: GABRIEL HARDMAN / PUBLISHER: DC / RELEASE DATE: MARCH 20TH
