Green Lantern, Earth One - Volume One

Three volumes of Superman.  Two volumes of Batman.  Two volumes of Teen Titans.  One volume of Wonder Woman (with another on its way).  And now, DC has added a  new character to its realm of "Earth One" graphic novels, and that is the Green Lantern.

Now, from what I can remember when DC first decided to do these "Earth One" graphic novels, they were supposed to be written and drawn by big name creators.  Superman was.  Batman was.  Teen Titans was.  Wonder Woman was.  With Green Lantern, however, I'm surprised to see the creators are Gabriel Hardman (co-writer and artist), Corinna Bechko (co-writer), and Jordan Boyd (colorist).  Do you recognize these names?  I sure don't!  I had to go online and do some searching to figure out who these people were.  It appears Hardman has done some writing and artwork for Marvel, DC, Image, and Dark Horse, as has Bechko.  However, I am not seeing anything stand-out or long-term runs on any titles that would, in my opinion, define the as "big-name creators."

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this first volume of Green Lantern: Earth One. Never have been much of a fan of Green Lantern; however, Hardman and Bechko's take on Hal Jordan (or Harold Jordan, as the case may be in this particular version) is pretty unique and not predicated on the whole "man without fear" thing.  Jordan, in this story, is more of a loner, having walked away from not just the people he knew, but the whole planet!  Interestingly enough, Jordan has been working for Ferris Galactic, mining asteroids, and has not returned to his home planet for nearly ten years.  And just when he thinks he has hit another dead-end with a dead asteroid, he uncovers something completely unexpected.

A spacecraft.

From that point, Hardman and Bechko build a story of adventure, space, and self-realization as Jordan becomes aware of the fact that there is more to the universe than his own little isolated circle of self, and it a true hero's journey.  There's no fancy light constructs, there's no rhyming oath to be said - there are, however, secrets, lies, and ulterior motives that leave Jordan questioning everyone and everything.  Ultimately, though, he sees the light (pun intended!) and makes the choice to save lives, no matter what the cost.

Hardman's art is a bit rough, which, in turn, gives the characters (particularly Jordan) an edgy feel to them.  It works for the space scenes, and it almost has a Joe Kubert-style to it.

There are plenty of plot threads dropped throughout the story that foreshadow things to come, so hopefully this one sells well enough for them to follow up on those.  I'm glad DC is not rushing these Earth One stories, but letting the creators take their time with them, so that readers get really good stories and some fantastic art.  Quality is definitely more important that quantity in my book!

RATING:  8 alien skin grafts out of 10 for showing how to re-imagine a character and story and do it right!