Broken Frontier

Green Lantern Kyle Rayner has evolved into a new role with new abilities. But is the power too much for him to handle?

After the death of Jade in the events of Infinite Crisis, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner has become the bearer of her emerald power as well as his own, the two energies intermingling and changing within him. No longer needing a power ring, Kyle is attempting to figure out just what he has become. Green Lantern Corps members Torquemada and Garmin Vid find Kyle in deep space amid the ruins of a decimated alien fleet. He is seemingly stricken with guilt for his role in the destruction and Kyle lashes out and retreats. He awakens on Earth untold hours later at an artistic retreat. Just what is happening to Kyle and at this point, can he even control it?

Not as enamored as some fans of Hal Jordan and his rebirth, I’ve been anxiously awaiting this series and the change of status quo for one of my favorite Green Lanterns. Kyle’s evolution into the role of Ion presents interesting possibilities and the return of writer Ron Marz to his creation is also an unexpected surprise for fans of the everyman Lantern. Like many of DC’s "One Year Later" titles, it’s a bit too soon to assess the new direction for the character but Marz does provide us a few tantalizing mysteries to catch our attention.

From the cosmic melodrama of Kyle’s overwhelming new abilities to an enigmatic lady artist who does not speak, Ion #1 is clearly setting the stage for bigger things to come. So far, I’m pleased if somewhat perplexed by the results though this is almost certainly the intention. One element I did appreciate was Kyle’s return to his art. This is an aspect of the character that we haven’t seen in a while and Marz uses it to establish metaphorically the apparent theme of the book—the struggle of light and darkness within the protagonist.

Artist Greg Tocchini’s work in this issue is distinctive though a bit uneven. Some of his images capture all the grandeur of the out-there sci-fi concepts and the drama of the quieter character moments. Others seem loose and sketch-like or only half-formed. I’m not familiar with Tocchini’s previous work so this may simply be part of his approach. However, I found it slightly distracting and couldn’t help but think the pencils could use a little tightening up in places especially when the shapes of characters’ heads became a bit deformed. Colorist Jeremy Cox did a nice job blending the brilliant greens with the desolate hues of space and the more subdued shades of the artist retreat.

DC appears to have learned from the "Emerald Twilight" debacle and is now offering stories for fans of all the Green Lanterns (though sadly, Jennie Hayden/Jade seems to have gotten the short end of the stick). One can only hope that they maintain the current momentum of the Green Lantern franchise and highlight just what makes each of the various characters great.