Review: Green Lantern Vol. 1- Sinestro

Quick Summary

Pros: The focus on Hal and Sinestro is a great look into both of their characters. The way the volume switches up traditional power dynamics is interesting. The main narrative has plenty of fun action. The artwork looks good and enhances the story.

Cons: Some aspects of the story are not as exciting as they are made out to be.

Overall: The New 52 era of Hal Jordan’s story is off to a solid start with this opening volume. This collection gets right to the root of its starring cast in a way that is sure to be interesting for both old and new fans. This character exploration is accompanied by exciting bursts of action and some killer visuals. Overall, this is a book that can be appreciated by anyone with an interest in Green Lantern stories.

Story

Green Lantern Vol. 1: Sinestro is an excellent start to the New 52 chapter in Geoff Johns’ epic Green Lantern saga. This volume places a unique focus on Hal Jordan and Thaal Sinestro, two diametrically opposed characters who are forced to work together. Their partnership provides unorthodox views into what these two do when their traditional roles are shifted and what drives them forward in the first place. Plus, the entire collection is based around a fun premise that allows for some decent action and drama to play out. Overall, this is another worthwhile chapter in an ongoing saga of worthwhile chapters.

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About half of Sinestro focuses on Hal Jordan, who, immediately before this comic, had his Green Lantern Ring stripped from him. Thus, the collection allows for a unique look at what one of history’s greatest Green Lanterns does when he is no longer a Green Lantern. In many ways, this change leaves Hal completely lost. He no longer has what was essentially the love of his life and is now forced to go on living with what he has left. His desperation and general discomfort with civilian life provide an interesting twist on the superhero archetype.

However, despite all this change, what makes this entire situation even better is seeing what does not change. Hal still cares for Carol and flying. He also will still do anything he can to help people, as evidenced by his brief flashes of vigilantism. These moments give readers a reminder that, even without the Ring, Hal is still a hero in his own way.

The other half of Sinestro focuses on Sinestro, who has just gone from being one of the Green Lanterns’ most powerful enemies to being a Green Lantern himself. Like the twist in Hal Jordan’s life, this change reinforces unique aspects of Sinestro’s personality. It reminds readers that the only reason he became a “villain” was in a misguided attempt to protect his own people. Now, when those people are put in danger once more, his devotion to them becomes prominent once more. All of the collection’s time spent on Sinestro focuses on his unorthodox relationship with the concepts of right and wrong, which is an interesting exploration all on its own.

Though these personal stories are the dominant force throughout this collection, Sinestro also tells a story of action and drama. Hal and Sinestro are forced to team up and go head to head with an entire army of villains. The resulting battle is full of action. There are moments where the Green Lanterns are forced to get creative with their rings and other moments where they get downright gruesome with them. All of this makes for a rather fun and exciting battle in space.

The only problem with this portion of the book is that there are places where the tension is diminished by the obvious direction of the story. When Sinestro gives his people Rings and they turn on him, it is pretty obvious that their Rings will be unable to harm him, yet the book sets the moment up like a climactic showdown. Later on, it also feels fairly obvious that Sinestro will find a way to betray Hal. Luckily, these moments are extremely minor and do not have much impact on the appeal of the narrative.

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Art

The artwork in Sinestro is positive all the way through and makes this a better comic overall. Doug Mahnke’s pencils are packed with detail and allow the events of this comic to play out perfectly. They make characters look great and make the locations look even better. They are also a wonderful complement to the high-intensity action that takes place throughout this book. In general, Mahnke’s work, throughout this book, looks great and makes this already enjoyable comic even more enjoyable.

This volume is particularly enjoyable due to the presence of several awesome splash pages. These one and two-page spreads perfectly punctuate several meaningful moments throughout this comic. Their existence helps tell a story without the need for narration or dialogue and makes this a better looking collection.

Continuity

Green Lantern Vol. 1: Sinestro is the first volume in a new continuity. However, the Green Lantern series is almost entirely unaffected by this continuity shift. Instead, Green Lantern Vol. 1: Sinestro directly continues the story from Green Lantern: War of the Green Lanterns.

The story here continues in Green Lantern Vol. 2: The Revenge of Black Hand (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Sinestro’s most significant opposition to the Green Lanterns is mentioned a few times. This opposition is detailed across Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War.
• Mogo was killed back in Green Lantern Corps #60, collected in Green Lantern: War of the Green Lanterns.