Broken Frontier

Hal Jordan’s predicament of being haggard by a bevy of bounty hunters seems to be getting worse at every turn until the Justice League decide to lend a hand.

This current storyline has taken many twists and turns, and it seems no matter what Hal does he just can’t find the resolve to dig himself out of it. Last issue Hal had to fend off the advances of both the Global Guardians and the Rocket Reds, but luckily for him the Justice League decide to enter the fray in order to bail him out of trouble.

In order to do that, Hal must explain his actions to his comrades, but there simply isn’t enough time. He’s got to find Cowgirl before her captors put an end to her existence, and worse yet the original Green Lantern shows up out of the blue demanding answers. Of course Hal cannot ignore the elder Lantern’s request, so he explains himself quickly before using his ring to scan the area for Cowgirl’s whereabouts. From there he makes a mad dash to her rescue, but surprisingly several more twists await and wouldn’t you know it, waiting for him at the end of it is the son of a former Green Lantern.

Well, from my perspective, this issue may indeed be the pinnacle for this particular arc. Not only does Hal find the resolve to weave his way out of a sticky situation (as it began last issue), but he also manages to convince Alan Scott to aid him in his time of need. Of course, writer Geoff Johns is responsible for these latest developments, and he successfully advanced his plot to allow for a climactic battle next issue. Johns is indeed hitting stride here, and he laced this script with solid dialogue and then balanced it with enough action to make this a thrilling read.

I also can’t say enough about artist Ivan Reis’s terrific work on this series. As the latest storyteller to join the annals of chronicling Hal’s rebirth in the DCU, Ivan’s penciling resonates energy on every page. He never misses a beat with the action scenes and in doing so, Hal Jordan is portrayed boldly in a manner that surely befits the regality of being a Green Lantern. I can’t say enough about his sequential talents, so I hope he can prolong his run on the series for many issues to come.

Overall though, I have had mixed feelings about the way this new series has been developing. I’ve been a fan of Johns since his days on Flash and I thought he would apply the same kind of magic with GL. Sadly, I haven’t felt that he’s been as successful at it here, but this current arc is slowly changing my opinion of that. I like the twists and turns with his plotting and this seems more like the kind of adventure Hal is destined to be a part of. All I can say is stick around awhile longer because I can see fireworks off the in the distance beginning next issue.