The Green Lantern Season 2 #1 Charts a Bold New Start
by Sam Stone, Sam StoneStory by
Grant Morrison
Art by
Liam Sharp
Colors by
Steve Oliff
Letters by
Tom Orzechowski
Cover by
Liam Sharp, Gerald Parel
Publisher
DC Comics
After concluding their first major storyline in the triumphant miniseries Green Lantern: Blackstars, Grant Morrison reunites with original The Green Lantern collaborator Liam Sharp to launch a new comic-book series with the subtitle Season 2. The opening issue picks up like no time has passed at all for the DC Universe's premier Emerald Enforcer. Yet, the new story is surprisingly accessible to readers that may have missed out on the previous volume. In the opening issue, it quickly becomes clear that the stakes have only continued to rise for Hal Jordan, with the Green Lantern entrusted with a new mission that could determine the fate of the entire DCU.
Season 2 starts with Hal's triumphant return to Oa after defeating the villainous Controller Mu and his Blackstars, who served as the primary antagonists throughout the earlier volume. After the Guardians of the Universe make a shocking announcement, Hal is quickly tasked with an ambitious assignment forming a new status quo for the Green Lantern Corps. This takes him to fiery, violent regions of the universe before he arrives at a place that makes even the fearless Lantern vanguard deeply uneasy.
While the events of the previous volume and subsequent miniseries are referenced in passing along with familiar faces introduced by Morrison and Sharp, the creative team really hits the ground running with the Season 2 premiere. There is a lot going on in this issue, a lot of new characters introduced and plenty of surprises, twists and turns from cover to cover. And, all the while, Morrison makes sure to keep the story's focus on Hal himself; the eponymous cosmic superhero is the constant in the face of the issue's more ambitious, mind-bending proceedings.
Similar to the previous volume, the issue is backed both narratively and visually. Morrison and Sharp pack each page and panel with plenty of content, which can be a bit overwhelming in the busier sequences. The creative team's run has always demanded a close eye to detail and encouraged repeat readings to better grasp and appreciate all the goings-on. That has not changed in Season 2. It should also be said that, in contrast to the decidedly darker Blackstars miniseries, the creative team keeps its sly sense of humor throughout, especially when a new Lantern is introduced in the issue.
With the extra lead time from Season 1's conclusion last year, Sharp's work is among the best its been for the entire series. Paired with returning colorist Steve Oliff, Sharp takes the series' visuals to a whole new level in Season 2, from fiery battles to massive crowd shots that are filled with familiar and new faces. The previous volume had a sense of pulp, science fiction adventure, and that continues here, though the art team does lean a bit more into traditional intergalactic superhero fare... at least for now. With its growing cast, it's clear that Sharp has plenty more concepts to bring to startling visual life as he expands Hal Jordan's world.
The Green Lantern: Season 2 #1 provides a fresh jumping on point for readers that may have missed Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp's initial run the first time around. Chock full of narrative developments, new faces and shifting surprises, the future is brighter than ever for the creative team's take on Hal Jordan and his spacefaring heroics, and more ambitious and delightfully weirder than ever. From its pulp inspirations to its continuing mission statement to prove Hal is the greatest Green Lantern of them all, the cosmic side of the DC Universe continues to burn bright as Morrison and Sharp venture into the possibilities of the character and his ongoing mission.
The Green Lantern: Season 2 #1 is on sale now.
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