Green Lantern: New Guardians #1

Confession: I don't like Hal Jordan. He's a cocky, pretentious, ass. Impossible to look up to. Harder to get along with than Guy Gardner for cripe sake. For how powerful those green rings are, I would never trust Hal Jordan with one. I'm happy with how "War of the Green Lanterns" ended. While I don't have much interest in Sinestro as a Green Lantern, I like seeing Hal Jordan knocked down a peg.

Kyle Rayner is a different story. Kyle is awesome. He has the strong will that is up to par with Hal Jordan, but the creativity of John Stewart, but also possesses the humility to which none of them can measure up. While Connor Hawke, Wally West, and Donna Troy have been sent to comic book purgatory, I'm glad this 90's star has been been included while so many of that generation have been left out.

This is why when I heard that Kyle would be getting his own title, not one to share with other Green Lanterns, I instantly knew this would be the Green Lantern ongoing that I'd be following (assuming it didn't suck). And this issue didn't let me down.

The central focus on this book is that Kyle's different than the other Green Lanterns, as he's said previously he "knows fear," unlike John Stewart, Hal Jordan, or Guy Gardner who are much more fearless. But apparently this is not the only difference. Apparently he's also unique in that he alone has the ability to wield all 7 rings of the emotional spectrum. Personally, I'm not sure how this will work out, but it's a nice twist when Green Lantern titles can become quite stale.

In this issue, the reader is given a quick recap of how Kyle became a Green Lantern. But because Hal Jordan is infallible according to Geoff Johns, we aren't shown how all the destruction happens. But that's neither here nor there. Essentially the issue blows by, showing six Lanterns of other colors in the emotional spectrum lose their rings to Kyle Rayner. Combine that with a few pages of rehashing his origin, there's not much left to tell a true story.

While this issue is completely setup for the rest of the series, its clear, strong, setup. Usually setup is dull and slow, this is brisk and enticing. And while the cliffhanger isn't the most exciting one, it gives a clear idea as to where the story arc is going, and is one of the more creative story ideas I've ever witnessed in the Green Lantern titles.

Also, Tyler Kirkham, who worked on Green Lantern Corps, does great pencils. He kills it on this book, which is important, because it wouldn't make sense to have bad, or even average art on a book that stars an artist superhero. I could easily see him on one of DC's headlining books (he'd be perfect for taking over for Justice League when Jim Lee inevitably leaves) in the near future.

What I enjoyed: Strong set-up, good character establishment, a cliffhanger that provides a great hook, I'm sold. Also, it's better than Tony Bedard's other book, Blue Beetle. Honestly, if I didn't know he wrote both, I never would have guessed, completely different styles of writing.

What I didn't: There's not much of a single-issue story here. Simply too much ground to cover to develop the storyline much more than it did.

Conclusion: I put all my Green Lantern money in one pot, and it totally paid off. Kyle Rayner is a fantastic character and I'm thrilled that I get to read a book starring him. I'll give it an 8.2/10 (B-) but expect higher grades in the future as the story evolves.