New 52 Review – “Green Lantern: New Guardians #1”

This is another relaunch from the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” category, pulling together a successful team from “Green Lantern Corps.”

General Information

Title: Green Lantern: New Guardians #1

Author: Tony Bedard

Illustrator(s): Tyler Kirkham (pencils), Batt (inks) and Nei Ruffino (colours)

Cover Date: November 2011

Cover Price: $2.99

Buy the digital edition.

Premise

As recapped (and revised) in the first few pages, Kyle Rayner was chosen as Green Lantern when there was only one in the corps. Now there are several, but something has changed in the other Lantern Corps that impacts Kyle directly.

High Point

“Kyle Rayner of Earth, you have been chosen.” I also like the reintroduction of Fatality.

Low Point

The revised origin for Kyle cuts one of my favorite lines of Green Lantern dialogue ever, and I’ve read a lot of Green Lantern.

The Scores

This starts out like a standard GL title, but the originality kicks in half way through when the recaps end and the new story begins. I give it 4 out of 6.

The artwork is clear and solid once more, with colours as vivid as they need to be in this corner of the universe. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story is another strong opening chapter that’s got me hooked. I give it 5 out of 6.

The characterization of Kyle and Ganthet, as well as the driving emotions of several of the other Lantern Corps, come across nice and clear. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response is strong. Kyle has long been my favorite Lantern, so it’s nice to see him spotlighted in a title again. I give it 6 out of 6.

The flow is smooth, with the only hiccup in the recap. It won’t bother new readers, but the opening scene wasn’t labelled as having happened in the past, so I was wondering how much revision was going on in the New 52 until the “Present Day” tag was applied to the later scenes. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, we’ve got another solid opening title that will find a home on my pull list going forward. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 receives 35 out of 42.

The New 52

Here are handy links for the reviews of all 52 new #1 issues:

  1. Action Comics
  2. All-Star Western
  3. Animal Man
  4. Aquaman
  5. Batgirl
  6. Batman
  7. Batman and Robin
  8. Batman: The Dark Knight
  9. Batwing
  10. Batwoman
  11. Birds of Prey
  12. Blackhawks
  13. Blue Beetle
  14. Captain Atom
  15. Catwoman
  16. DC Universe Presents
  17. Deathstroke
  18. Demon Knights
  19. Detective Comics
  20. The Flash
  21. Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
  22. The Fury of Firestorm
  23. Green Arrow
  24. Green Lantern
  25. Green Lantern Corps
  26. Green Lantern: New Guardians
  27. Grifter
  28. Hawk and Dove
  29. I, Vampire
  30. Justice League
  31. Justice League Dark
  32. Justice League International
  33. Legion Lost
  34. Legion of Super-Heroes
  35. Men of War
  36. Mister Terrific
  37. Nightwing
  38. O.M.A.C.
  39. Red Hood and the Outlaws
  40. Red Lanterns
  41. Resurrection Man
  42. The Savage Hawkman
  43. Static Shock
  44. Stormwatch
  45. Suicide Squad
  46. Superboy
  47. Supergirl
  48. Superman
  49. Swamp Thing
  50. Teen Titans
  51. Voodoo
  52. Wonder Woman

6 replies on “New 52 Review – “Green Lantern: New Guardians #1””

  1. Just for completeness’ sake, I’m curious – which line did they cut?

    I seem to recall Kyle and Ganthet having a laugh over his origin at one point (first Ion arc, maybe), and I’m betting their conversation then focused on your favorite line – which makes a revision here doubly awkward, as that conversation (and the original) were some of my favorite Ganthet moments ever. Quite the nitpicky take on my part, though, given that I haven’t read the issue yet.

    • That wasn’t the Ion arc, it was the first time Kyle met Parallax. More than changing the lines (including the “I’m not drunk because that other guy is also acting like he saw a little blue man in a red dress vanish” bit I enjoyed) is a complete tone shift. The original, with Ganthet saying “you shall have to do” and vanishing, leaving only a green lump that would later become a lantern, left Kyle without an instruction manual. It was that rare learning curve where it took days to figure out what the ring could do, even with the help of his fannish girlfriend. Now it seems much more deliberate, even stating “you have the ability to overcome great fear” when that was never what Kyle was about. To my mind, it’s a huge shift that makes Kyle less unique. Much of the animosity he faced in the Corps was as much because he wasn’t “really” a lantern by their definition, as well as coming from the same rock as Hal.

  2. There wasn’t an ‘X years ago’ blurb on page 1, so I wonder how long Kyle’s been GL.

    How can they do the destruction of the Corps. without the death of Superman that leads up to it? Cyborg Superman wipes out Coast City, Hal goes nuts because the Guardians decide to be little blue pricks when he’s grieving, drains the battery and the recapped scene takes place (I agree that the original ‘You shall have to do’ line was better, too).

    How is this all fitting into 5 or so years with the Justice League timeline? It’s like everyone but Green Lantern got rebooted and the end result is very murky. All the various Corps. still exist, with an implication that events such as the Sinestro Corps. War took place, in which Superboy Prime figured prominently (unfortunately), he only pops up out of one of the multitude of incomprehensible Crises of the last few years (don’t even remember which one anymore).

    And a random gripe (this issue didn’t do it), but GLC and other titles have basically been treating Green Lanterns as though they’re made of tissue paper. They die constantly, putting up next to no fight in the process. It’s getting kind of ridiculous. Even Star Trek security teams have a higher survival rate.

    • Dialogue in Animal Man indicates Superman still came back from the dead, possibly to preserve the origin of Kyle.

      And it was Infinite Crisis where history got rewritten when Superboy Prime threw a hussy fit and punched the wall of reality.

      • Yah, yah.

        Either reboot or don’t reboot. This “were gunna reboot, except for these certain things that in no way can be fit into our new timeline but that we like” B.S. doesn’t really fly w/ me. They will end up with the same problems they had after the original Crisis.

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