Each Friday, we'll be letting a different DC.com writer share what they'll be reading over the weekend and why you might want to check it out. Here's this week's suggestion for a perfect Weekend Escape!
I want to start off this Weekend Escape by first apologizing to Hal Jordan. I’m a former Hal Jordan hater. I grew up watching the Justice League animated series and it made me a John Stewart fan for life. Now, as an adult, my favorite comic of all time (besides Jack Kirby’s New Gods) is Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’ Green Lantern/Green Arrow—a particularly incisive look at Hal Jordan and his politics. However, with Green Lantern: Back in Action by Jeremy Adams, Xermánico and Romulo Fajardo, Jr., I have finally seen the light. Hal Jordan is a great guy. He may not be the greatest Green Lantern (that’s still John Stewart), and that’s precisely why I think he works so well at this point in time.
The Premise:
Hal Jordan loves to play the part of a confident flyboy, but in reality, he’s kind of a mess. Back in Action takes place after the apparent destruction of both Oa and the Guardians (the little blue alien guys who organize the Green Lantern Corps), and Hal Jordan is grounded on Earth. He’s living out of a trailer with Kilowog and spends his days riding around on his motorcycle, trying to get his former love, Carol Ferris, to let him fly fighter jets again. However, things get dire after the United Planets declare Sector 2814, the part of space where Earth is located, to be quarantined until further notice. That’s when Thaal Sinestro, Hal’s former mentor turned nemesis, resurfaces on Earth, demanding Hal give him his Lantern ring. Back in Action also includes the two Knight Terrors: Green Lantern issues where Hal must confront his greatest fears.
Let’s Talk Talent:
Green Lantern: Back in Action reunites writer Jeremy Adams with artist Xermánico, both of whom worked on Flashpoint Beyond with Tim Sheridan and Geoff Johns. Xermánico continues to be one of the best artists working with DC today, as his range as an artist is absolutely limitless. His art is led by its strong command of form, movement and acting. Whether it’s ghouls, African wildlife, fighter jets or enormous explosions, Xermánico handles every action movie beat in this book with finesse. He also shows us that he’s just as adept at drawing soft emotional scenes, like Hal trying to win Carol’s affection back. If you’ve never read a book drawn by Xermánico, prepared to be wowed.
Aside from Flashpoint Beyond, writer Jeremy Adams has established himself as a mainstay in the DC landscape today. Before joining Green Lantern, he had a wonderful run on The Flash that built out the Flash Family as one of the most beloved units within DC Comics. Adams’ writing is built around both nurturing character relationships and page-turning action sequences. Plus, he achieved the impossible in Back in Action: he made me a Hal Jordan fan. In this story, Adams doesn’t write a superlative-heavy Hal, burdened and untested by his reputation as “the greatest Green Lantern.” Instead, Adams writes Hal as a down-to-earth guy who loves nothing more than the feeling of flying and makes it make sense.
A Few Reasons to Read:
- If you’ve ever seen Top Gun and wanted to experience the feeling of riding a motorcycle in a leather aviator jacket, all without having to actually operate a motorcycle, Green Lantern: Back in Action is the next closest thing. Put on your favorite ’80s action movie soundtrack and strap in for a wild ride, because that’s exactly what you’re in for.
- The creativity that comes with the Green Lantern mantle is on full display here, even when Hal isn’t in battle. It’s clear that he doesn’t just see his Lantern ring as just a weapon, but something that can change the life of just one person or animal at a moment’s notice. It’s the very definition of using your powers for good.
- There’s a moment where Hal helps a kid hit a home run for the first time, and it instantly changed my opinion about his character. It brought his humanity into focus for me, and I’m sure it will for you too.
- Everyone’s favorite poozer, Kilowog, shows up to support Hal during this transitional time. Who wouldn’t want to crack open a soda with Kilowog?
- There’s a mecha and kaiju battle. That’s all I’m going to say.
Why It’s Worth Your Time:
Hal Jordan has been through a lot. He was once the main Green Lantern before his home city was wiped off the face of the Earth and he was infected with an evil parasite that gave him godlike delusions of grandeur. In recompense for his sins as Parallax, Hal became the Abrahamic avatar of vengeance before finally returning back to corporeal form. This is all to say that the dude has lived a life.
In Green Lantern: Back in Action, we finally get to see Hal as an ordinary, if thrill-seeking, man on Earth, with lots of space in his heart for wonder. Whatever your feelings are towards Hal, it’s impossible to not get swept up alongside him. In reading Adams and Xermánico’s Green Lantern, I came to see Hal eye to eye. Perhaps you will too.
Green Lantern: Back in Action by Jeremy Adams, Xermánico and Romulo Fajardo Jr. is now available in bookstores, comic shops, libraries and digital retailers. It can also be read in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.
Jules Chin Greene writes about comics, TV, games and film for DC.com, and his work can also be found at Nerdist, Popverse and Multiverse of Color. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @JulesChinGreene.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Jules Chin Greene and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
