GREEN LANTERN: SECRET ORIGIN

Writer:  GEOFF JOHNS

Art:  IVAN REIS; OCLAIR ALBERT

Publisher:  Titan Books/ DC Comics (paperback, £10.99, colour)

This is the year of superheroes.  The God of Thunder maybe first to flex his muscles but our emerald protector is next.  Secret Origin, collecting 7 monthly issues, provides the groundwork for the big screen adventure.  retelling and expanding on how Hal Jordan became the Green Lantern when he first took over from the Golden Age persona, Alan Scott, over fifty years ago.  This particular tale is unveiled by the main man who has almost singlehandedly reshaped the legend into its new level of popularity, Geoff Johns.

The Lantern’s history is built up chapter by chapter starting with his estranged relationship with his family and his encounter with his predecessor, Abin Sur.  Then we meet Sinestro, the greatest of Lanterns, who introduces him to Killowog and the whole Green Lantern Corps.  Just as his hot-headed behaviour as a test pilot puts him at odds with his bosses, so too does his first dealing with the Guardians of the Universe as well as his new employer and former childhood friend, Carol Ferris.

However, we also see hints of the future with Hector Hammond’s transformation, the threat of the Manhunters and the prophecy of the blackest night, which Johns neatly folds into the origin to tie in with the current dramatic events that have been unfolding the past two years.

The clear crisp pictures from Ivan Reis, ably aided by Oclair Albert’s inking, give the story a smooth dynamism that drives the action forward in the brightest light.  As a comic book, it’s an engaging read in its own right but as a prelude to the up-and-coming movie (and so contains a few stills of the main characters as well as an introduction by GL himself, Ryan Reynolds), it’s green for go and read right now.