WC #1 – Green Lantern
By Kurt Busiek & Joe Quinones
Edits – Mark Chiarello
It’s time to check in on our Action Comics Weekly “leading man”, Green Lantern! I wonder if this first outing will end with someone being brutally murdered?
Ehh, probably not…
—
We open at the Orbit Lounge in Coast City where the gang from Ferris Airfield have decided to head for some after-work libations. Hal isn’t here… but, we’re very much in the Hal-is-Poochy mode here, where everybody won’t stop talking about him. If Hal ain’t on panel… make sure everyone wants to know where he is. This is the Geoff Johns era, after all!
Carol is annoyed that Hal isn’t here… and is also annoyed that, despite the fact that she turned down his advances, that he dares to date other women. Remember, post-Rebirth (the first Rebirth) Hal Jordan is basically Fonzie. Men wanna be him, women wanna be with him.
On the bar’s television is an interview with Joe Dillon, an astronaut. Naturally, everybody says “Ooh, Hal oughta be here to see this!” because, I mean… what else are these productive adult humans going to say?
We close out in true Poochy fashion, with someone just plain asking where Hal’s at. Turns out, duh, he’s out Green Lanterning!
—
Was… this parody?
This is basically every criticism of the post-Johns Hal Jordan given four-color flesh! Hal Jordan… even though he doesn’t actually show up until the final panel… is the main topic of conversation. How do these Ferris folks even function in their everyday lives?
Do they stand in the shower wondering what Hal’s upto? When they fix their morning coffee… are they thinking about the way Hal uses seventeen Splenda packets in his? I mean, this is just plain sad.
I say this as an actual fan of the post-Johns Green Lantern too (though with the understanding that sometimes the “man-crush” Geoff had on Hal was a little too evident)! Though, as folks who follow this blog know, I’m also a fan of pre-Johns Hal Jordan. I like my Hal to be a bit flawed… and not viewed as an idol to his work peers.
I guess as an introduction to 2009-Hal Jordan… it’s about as accurate as it’s going to get though, so I can’t hold it against our creative team. It’s just, for long-time readers of Green Lantern, it feels a bit on the nose with just how adored our Hal is.
The art is nice too.
