Geoff Johns' Epic Rebirth of the Green Lantern Legacy

Thanatos: I'm a bit late getting on the Geoff Johns bandwagon. Just a few years ago I'd only read a handful of his work, if that, and none of it had really stood out to me. Then came Doomsday Clock (2018), the book which opened my eyes to his gift as a storyteller. He got me invested in characters from a world I'd never had an interest in before, i.e. those from Alan Moore's Watchmen (1986).
After that I hit on a bunch more of Johns' work. Infinite Crisis (2005), Flashpoint Beyond (2022), I even gave his Avengers another chance and each book was better than the last. Which brings me to this book, Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004). Of everything Johns has worked on, his Green Lantern run is towards the top of the list for many fans and his run starts with this miniseries. What are my impressions of it? Nothing short of phenomenal.
This could very well be the first book staring a Green Lantern you've ever read and by the end of it you'd have a solid grasp of who they are, and what they do. That goes especially for Hal Jordan, the original (technically, please don't ask about the Golden Age hero of the same name but completely different origin) Green Lantern readers were ever introduced...

United States on Oct 04, 2023

Bob: Unlike the majority of writers today, Geoff Johns knows how to tell a story. He starts from the inside - the motivations of the character, takes it apart, then builds a story around it. This is not only fun to read, but it makes you think, and feel. It gets at the human condition.

United States on Jul 08, 2023

Isaiah Kelso: It’s a great reintroduction to Hal Jordan. Plus it gives the other lanterns time to shine. It’s just an awesome GL story.

United States on May 04, 2023

CB Review: The fall of Hal Jordan is one of the most controversial events in DC history. One second, he was one of the most beloved, heroic figures in the Justice League, and the next, he became a mass-murdering monster. He basically became untouchable as a main character for years, and other human lanterns took his place while the dust (and fan outrage) settled.

So it's no small feat that Geoff Johns took a character mired with so much fan drama and did something incredible, he made Hal Jordan not only likable, but admirable and enjoyable again. In comics, "retconning"--or retroactively tweaking or revealing information to explain an event-- is a dirty word. It connotes sloppy writing and obvious course correction.

But every so often, there is an example of retconning done incredibly well, and by that I mean, a retcon wielded masterfully to completely recontextualize what happened in the past--not by undoing it or pretending it didn't happen, but by re-framing it in a fresh new way.

That's what this story did. It brought Hal Jordan back from the figurative and literal dead, and gave purpose and meaning to his downfall by expanding on the Green Lantern...

United States on Aug 11, 2019

Thiago de Santana Santos: With the release of Emerald Twilight (I've done review), many readers will want to know the continuation of the story of the fall of Hal Jordan, the largest of all the Green Lanterns.
The Renaissance saga, written by Geoff Johns, was released by Panini in three volumes, starting in December 2005. Almost two years later, the publisher released this stuffed hardcover.
The half-forced plot about the return of Hal Jordan after his death by having been possessed by Parallax. It has its high points thanks to Johns, a talented writer who has written many Green Lantern adventures, including the hero's monthly title.

To facilitate those who are lost about which order of reading the volumes of the Green Lantern, here is the chronological order suggested below:
1. Green Lantern: Fearless
2. Green Lantern: Revenge of the Green Lanterns
3. Troop of the Green Lanterns: The Black Side of Green
4. Green Lantern: Hal Jordan - Wanted
5. The War of the Rings Vol 01 and 02 (one of the most important to understand the Dense Night)
6. Green Lantern: Agent Orange (also important)
7. Green Lantern: The Wrath of the Red Lanterns (here it's kind of a prelude to the Densest...

Brazil on Mar 05, 2019

Ramendra: Well if you're a DC fan, you know how we urged always to have HAL back as a hero. And what great way indeed to do so.

The explanation of Parallax, Spectre, HAL and GL Corps was great. I still feel that the part about Spectre was lame but except that what great story.

The Artwork is such amazing, even Kyle would be so proud about this. Man, this was great and a must have for all DC fans.

The continuation are Final Crisis and Flash Rebirth, where in FC you need to have read Infinite Crisis of 1980 and FR is just great.

Once again, Hats off to Geoff and may this continue forever.

P.S. DC you should consider selling your comics here, those 20-30 pages one regularly, I will be definitely buy those.

India on Jun 24, 2017

Stuart S: For many, Hal Jordan was the defining Green Lantern for years. As a result, the decision to change him into a psychotic would-be-conqueror caused some backlash and his rising star fell, seemingly forever. In his place, Lanterns Rayner, Stewart, (and to some extent, Gardner) took his place and became the faces of Green Lantern for a younger generation (mine) on the widely watched Superman and Justice League cartoons.

Why does this matter? Jordan was the greatest for decades, then rather horrifically trashed his legacy and before DC brought him back as the Spectre for a further period of time. So when bringing Jordan back to a newer generation of readers, this story has a goal of reintroducing Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern that tops them all. Put simply, this story does that in spades. Between Johns' writing and Van Sciver's art, Rebirth emphasizes how important of a character Hal Jordan was, and sets up how important he would become in future stories. The writing masterfully summarizes past events without dragging on, yet still providing adequate history for plot development. Johns is able to craft in Jordan's fall, rampage, involvement in a semi-crisis, death and time as...

United States on Nov 03, 2015

C. Bridge: As someone who's come way late to the DC party and not interested in going all the way back to the 80s and 90s to catch up with the long-term fans, I thought starting with the new 52 would be a good point of entry. While this was the case for some titles, from what I've read, Geoff Johns hardly relaunched green lantern for the new 52 event, perhaps because his run was coming to an end soon enough.bHaving read that the Geoff Johns' GL is the definitive modern run of the franchise and that Rebirth is the one to start with, I bought this comic expecting it was something of an earlier relaunch of the title. Was I ever wrong.

Even after reading GL: Secret Origins prior, reading the first 2 chapters/issues of Rebirth felt like jumping head first into cold water. Without at least some serious Wikipedia research, this comic feels like it was mostly made for old fans of the series. There is almost no exposition of past events until the third or fourth chapter and the plot centers around a villain who hasn't appeared since the 80s since that's when Hal Jordan was killed off.

Don't get me wrong, overall the story, writing, and artwork are great. By the end you get a reasonable...

Canada on Oct 13, 2015

K. G. A. Alavi: Great artwork, great story. This is everything a comic should be, I loved this story and I am not even a Green Lantern fan. A friend of mine showsed one of the comics in this series, so I got this one. If like me no do not have the greatest knowledge of the Green Lanterns everything you need to know is in the self contained volume.

This story is the return of the greatest of the GLC Hal Jorden, but it is also a new lease on life for the whole GLC itself. The great thing is as much as this is a return story done right it does also give the series a great future to look forward to.

Hal raised his status to greatest member of the GLC, then ultimately became one of the most infamous member, killing and essentially shattering the Corps. Then as an act of redemption, saved the world at the cost of his own life, snd allowed his soul to be bonded to the Septor, DC's spirit of vengence. However could the cause of Hal's fall have been more that met the eye, and with other GL's acting out of the ordinary, could the threat have resurfaced. I especially loved the confrontations between GL snd Batman. Great story, scripting, and art work it is hard to find any fault with this at...

United Kingdom on Mar 30, 2015

Michael Holmes: I'm not going to say a thing about the plot as I hate spoilers. I'm just going to say buy it. Even if you think you hate these characters (Like I used too), you won't here.

I usually do have a few harsh words for anything from DC comics that isn't Batman or Catwoman, even then I have my issues with old Bats.

But Green Lantern I never really gave a chance as given DC's rather conservative stance on most things I assumed that it was just an excuse to write pro- war propaganda stories. Man, was I wrong! Right from the start, the story is all about the roll of personal choice in your actions and how through facing the consequences and admitting your mistakes you can begin to make amends and find redemption.

Its also an absolute joy if your reading for the first time as I did; or an old school Lantern Fan as it it not only manages to bring focus a great level of development to all four of the lanterns and put about 50 years worth of continuity in perspective, but it ads to the mythos as well- such as the revelation that powering the ring with a host will power is actually an exhausting and excruciating process. This is just one of the many fascinating titbits...

United Kingdom on Feb 18, 2014