Comic Review: The Green Lantern Season Two #2

Comic Review: The Green Lantern Season Two #2

DC Comics

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artists: Liam Sharp with Steve Oliff

The Green Lantern Season Two #2 takes a break from galactic threats to show a day in the life of Hal Jordan as his stakeout mission on Earth begins. In what could reasonably be called the equivalent of a TV filler episode, Hal confronts an aggressive race of bird-people attempting to raise an army to take control of Earth.

To be frank, as a self-contained story, GL Season Two #2 feels inconsequential. The story is amusing and has a charmingly bizarre Silver Age feel to it but, perhaps in the same vein, it feels mostly disconnected from the threads established in the previous issue. Though Hal’s mission from the new Guardians –to hunt down a killer on Earth –is mentioned a few times throughout the issue, it takes a back seat to the alien bird A-plot until the final pages, in which the Guardians alert Hal to suspicious alien activity. The issue’s dialogue stands out as being bizarre as well; while I don’t find some of these lines very natural, bits like Hal’s “Put that in writing… Mail it to the vice president” are extremely cheesy and help to make the issue a bit more memorable.

Liam Sharp’s art is by far the strongest part of this issue. As always, there’s some great contrast, shading, and detail throughout. The bird-people antagonists and the skull/octopus masks they use as tools are grotesque and, like the dialogue, weird enough to be memorable. There’s not too much in the way of unique constructs or new powers for Hal here, which is slightly disappointing after last issue’s power ring combo moves, but that doesn’t detract much from the quality of the art itself.

The Green Lantern Season Two #2 is not nearly as interesting as last month’s season opener. Its plot takes a detour from the long-term story beats introduced in the previous issue in favor of a one-off story with a retro Silver Age vibe. The goofy dialogue helps bump it up a notch, as does the usual high-quality art by Liam Sharp and colorist Steve Oliff. Given the news that this series would be restored to its original length following its previous reduction, I’m hoping that elements from this issue will recur further down the line to make it more worth reading. As it stands, it’s a mostly self-contained story that doesn’t add much to the larger plot.