Green Lantern #2: Heaven’s Just a Hand’s Length Away…

It’s issue two of Hal’s brand new run as the Green Lantern for sector 2814, and Jeremy Adams and Xermanico are the team who has Hal jumping headfirst into the acation, and we’re off and running. Meanwhile Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos are handling John Stewart’s new role as we march toward his upcoming solo this fall, where the team seems to be building up to a bold new era for John, and the makings of a brand new, and fascinating facet to the Green Lantern Corps mythology, so let’s begin this handy, and snazzy issue, shall we?

Heaven’s a place not on earth

Adams’ voice for Hal, and the rest of his cast, is quite possibly one of the strongest interpretations in quite some time. He’s witty, charming, and carefree, giving him that devil may care persona that’s been missing for quite some time. His characterization is very reminiscent of Ryan Reynolds’ take from the movie that most fans would prefer not to be reminded of. Almost like a less obnoxious Starlord from the Guardians, which is always a plus. Something that helps is Adams was one of the writers of the woefully underrated Green Lantern series that was unfortunately canceled after one season. 

One moment that really stood out was Adams’ handling of Kilowog and his relationship with Hal was magic. It almost felt like a scene from one of those 80’s buddy cop movies, where the partners are about as different from each other as possible (think Lethal Weapon, or Turner & Hooch), and it works really well here. It gives the readers one of those quiet moments that we don’t get in modern comics as much as we used to. So Adams doing it here feels like a treat for older fans, and hopefully it’ll be the start to a trend that we’ll see in more of the big two cape comics. 

GL’s getting his own Wrecking Crew

Let’s not forget what Xermanico has done in these last two issues. Xermanico has been one of the rising stars at DC since the beginning of the Rebirth era, and he’s just become a stronger artist as time has marched on. His growth shown on this title really reads well, whether it’s Hal dealing with some no-name schlubs, or flying to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere in absolute glee, or the quiet moments between Hal and Kilowog, Xermanico nails it. Catch that last page to see just what he can do. He’s honing his craft, and things will only get better as time marches on. 

Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos’ backup featuring John Stewart continues to develop John into more than just a former soldier, or architect, or Green Lantern, or even a Darkstar. Sure, John’s all of these things, but PKJ brings all of these disparate elements to create a character that is more than just a fictional character that checks certain boxes in a guide to who John is, but it’s giving him the space and conviction to make John a person you want to care about, and hopefully we’ll see more of this development as time marches on, not only to John’s upcoming solo book, but to the other books John will be a part of.