Green Lantern 9: 
The heated conflict between Batman and Green Lantern finally reaches its apex. Hal Jordan pins down Batman in the heat of passion and fervently kisses him in a flame of forbidden pleasure. No not really, but look at the cover... What the hell is that? It is a snapshot of Hal Jordan and Batman about to make out. What is going on over at DC? I would think that when cover art is chosen there is a few different options to choose from and the best one is selected. So think about it, a conference room full of suits and demographic number crunches and they decide "no, no put the one of Batman and Green Lantern making out on the cover. These books will sell like Johnny-cakes!" Is that what they really think of the comic book reading population? That we want to see nothing more than Batman and Green Lantern making out?! Do they think we are a bunch of basement dwelling, sexually repressed, man-children? Uhh... wait.. never mind. Well I'm not. Regardless, I think it is pretty funny cover. This is a spoiler, proceed if you have read this issue or don't mind the end getting ruined... Batman uses the ring. Sounds pretty cool huh? Well I thought it would be too until I read the story. This is one of the most disappointing things I can think of in recent DC history. Batman uses the ring to see his mom and dad. Awww. How sweet. One word. WEAK! He is one of the big three. He is also one of few super heroes that has no superpowers. His legendary standing was built on nothing but his smarts and will to defeat the criminal element. Yes his will. As we all know a Green Lantern's ring is powered by will power alone. So right there we know Batman had the ability to do great things with the ring, he just chose not too. So why didn't Batman do something cool with it? Usually I like Geoff Johns but I think he kind of dropped the ball on this one. He should have put Batman into a more demanding situation that require his use of the ring. 
Another problem I have is that Batman gave the ring back so willingly. As we all know Batman is notorious for focusing his efforts on what he thinks is best even at the expense of others. Brother eye for example. Maybe he learned from his mistakes after the whole Brother Eye situation but if I were writing this I would have Batman contemplate his new found power and the endless possibilities the ring could bring about. He had the ultimate weapon in the universe on his hand ready to rock and he doesn't even think about all the ways he could use it? That's hard for me to believe. Surely Batman, a master tactician, had played this scenario out 1,000 time before in his head. I'm certain he had a plan as to what he could use the ring for and to my disappointment they never should any of that. I thought it was a missed opportunity for some exciting reading. It was a let down. My third and final note regards the splash page. Batman sucker punches Hal and Hal is just ok with it. There is no retaliation or foul word from Green Lantern. I always thought Hal was a bit more bold headed and loose cannoned than that. I would think there would be a bit larger interaction than that. But what do I know? Green Lantern 7: 
The cover says it all. Hal and Ollie back to back doing what they do best, kicking ass. It is great to see such an iconic duo back together again. It's not their first encounter since Hal's triumphant return, but it is the first time we see them settle into a regular comic book adventure story arc. It was nice to see the artist team of Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino do justice to Green Lantern and Green Arrow. The art had a solid, traditional comic book feel to it that many artists seem to drift away from these days. The art wasn't oversimplified or cheapened up to meet a deadline either. The images are well crafted and detailed but are not an all too often attempted Alex Ross rip-off. They did a very nice job. I thought it was very cool to see Black Mercy show up. I've never read a comic with mention of it but I am familiar with it from The Superman cartoons as of recent. I think Black Mercy was created from the brain of Alan Moore. It first appeared in comics sometime in the early 80's, though I have never read any of those issues. If you think about it it is a clever idea. A parasite that exploits every superheros common weakness... their oversized hearts and compassion for the common man. Hell, it worked on both Superman and Green Lantern. That raises an interesting question in my mind. Who would the Black Mercy have a better chance of controlling, Superman or Green Lantern? Think about it for a second...Ok. 
My answer is that Superman is a much more fertile enviornment for the Black Mercy. I'm sure his Kryptonian bio-aura is richer and much more sustanant than that of Earth's Hal Jordan. The second reason I think Superman is more succeptable to the foils of the Black Mercy is Hal Jordan's incredible willpower. He is probably the strongest Green Lantern ever. His ring is a channel used concentrate power derived purely from his willpower. We all saw in Green Lantern: Rebirth how hard it was for Green Arrow to even make the ring fizzle. If Hal Jordan's will wasn't one of the strongest if the universe, there is no way he could have decimated the GL Corps in Emerald Twilight. In summary, I would have to say it is a decent read and alot of fun to see Hal and Ollie back at it. It really takes me back to an older time when things were simpler in the DC Universe. *sigh* Green Lantern: Rebirth 5: 
Reading this series of books has believe it or not, actually given me chills of excitement more than once. The story in this mini series is big. Real big. In just 5 issues they have explained just about every major characters role and history from Hal Jordan to The Spectre to Parallax to the Guardians to Sinestro. If you never really read Green Lantern or are confused on some issues in the contunuity, this series sets it all straight and will easily bring readers new and old alike up to speed. I just finished reading number 5, I thought it was pretty good. This issue is very light in content compared to the prior four. There is really only one event that changes or furthers the ongoing story at all. The previous four issues, especially number 4 have been crammed with drama. Number 5 spends time starting to resolve issues. But if your wondering why you should read this issue here it is, this baby is action packed. I think I can speak for most Green Lantern fans when I say that it is pretty exciting to see Hal Jordan as himself, and as a Green Lantern, taking on Sinestro in a battle for their lives. It is SWEEET. I would say a good 90 percent of this episode is these two heavy hitters dukin' it out. 
I've always liked Sinestro. First off I'm always a sucker for a cool bad guy, not sure why but I am. There are a few things that make me like Sinestro. I think for one that he is one of the few "old school" villians from the 60's that still holds up well today. He has the nostalgic outdated tights and all. He kinda looks like something out of a bad Star Trek episode. But I love him for it. I think part of his look that works so well is that visually he is the archatypical bad guy. A pencil thin mustache, wild pointy eyebrows, and a thin, elongated head are things we as comic book readers have been taught to recognize as "the bad guy" since way back when. Another point that makes Sinestro so powerful is his ultimate betrayal of the Green Lantern Corps. Villians always work well when they were on the same side of the heroes then change to evil. Darth Vader comes to mind. Sinestro is one of these characters. His betrayal of the Green Lanterns shows him as a powerful enemy who knows every one of the Lanterns powers and limitations, with the power to exploit all of them. I thought it was a very nice little moment in Green Lantern history when Hal simply introduces himself to Kyle with a handshake. It never really occured to me that these two have never actually met face to face. Well I do hope this truly is the end of Kyle as a Green Lantern and the return of Hal Jordan. Hal Jordan was always the man. I did think it was kinda stupid the way DC tied him to The Spectre. It seemed a little to convenient that out off all the entities The Spectre could attach itself to it chose Hal Jordan. I don't know for some reason it just didn't work to well for me. It is great to see Hal with that ring on his finger once again though. And as for Kyle; you would think that a weapon base on willpower would actually require a little to make it work. I really didn't like Kyle, I thought he was a weakling and cryed like a baby. I don't think he ever really came to grips with what a responsibilty it is to wear that ring, and the sacrifices one must endure to be a super hero, and for those reasons I'll never respect Kyle.
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