Review: Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 4- Fracture

Quick Summary

Pros: The first half of the book is interesting, has great levels of tension, and centers around a thought-provoking theme. The second half is packed with fun action and imaginative, cosmic encounters. The artwork in both halves looks beautiful and properly reflects the tone of the story.

Cons: Soranik is written poorly in a way that stands out.

Overall: This volume mostly maintains the good level of quality that has been present throughout this series. The entire volume tells two engaging stories that work well when paired against one another. This is further backed up by interesting themes and some beautiful artwork. However, a key point of one story stands out poorly and has a hero acting out of character. Overall though, this is still a solid volume that readers enjoying this series should make sure to read.

Story

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 4: Fracture, by Robert Venditti, does a lot of things right but does stumble significantly on one key point. The first half of the volume feels like a tense political thriller, where secrets come to light and where alliances are tested. Then, the second half provides a great contrast by shifting the focus to fun battles and creative cosmic encounters. The only problem is that Soranik is written poorly and her actions here end up conflicting with her characterization in the past. If readers can overlook this problem, the volume is definitely worth reading.

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The opening story arc in Fracture has the Green Lantern Corps dealing with the fact that one of their Lanterns killed one of the Yellow Lanterns. The time between discovering this secret and revealing it to the world is wonderfully tense and interesting. The reader is constantly unsure what actions the heroes will take and exactly how these actions will impact the stability of the universe. Then, when the truth is finally revealed, the tension explodes into a way that is sad to see but enjoyable to read about.

There are also some interesting themes explored here. As a reader and fan of the GLC, part of me did not want them to tell the world about what Tomar-Tu did, as I knew it would severely damage the Corps. However, from a moral standpoint, I would have been disappointed if they did not own up to their own mistakes. It is a problem that real-world institutions face regularly so seeing it play out here

While the majority of this arc is great, I thought it really failed to properly depict Soranik. She goes from someone typically rational and understanding to someone ready to tear apart the peace of the universe because someone lied to her. This contrasts sharply with her depiction and growth over the last several volumes and even over the New 52 Sinestro series. It ends up being a noticeable sore spot on an otherwise polished narrative.

The second story arc in Fracture has the Green Lanterns reunite with the New Gods to fight a powerful threat stemming from one of the Old Gods. It is an action-packed arc that features plenty of flashy battle scenes. Alongside this, Hal’s brief reunion with his father gives the arc a light emotional touch.

What really makes this second arc stand out is the contrast between it and the first. The first arc is tense and political, focused more on keeping up intergalactic relationships. The second is far more focused on straightforward fighting and less on negotiation. This allows the collection to offer the best of both worlds.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in Fracture looks wonderful all the way through. The first half of the book features artwork from Ethan Van Sciver and colors from Jason Wright. This artistic combo produces visuals that are highly detailed and that look serious. This style of artwork helps match the serious tone of the story here, further amplifying the tension already present in the narrative.

The second half of the book, penciled by Rafa Sandoval, inked by Jordi Tarragona, and colored by Tomeu Morey, changes things up a bit. The visuals in this half are brighter and more flashy than the visuals in the first half. It makes space look wonderous and makes the conflicts look like a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors. In this way, the artwork in the book’s second half perfectly complements the action-focused nature of the storytelling.

Continuity

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 4: Fracture continues the story from Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 3: Quest for Hope (Review).

The story here continues in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 5: Twilight of the Guardians (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Kyle Rayner went through the Source Wall at the conclusion of the Green Lantern: Lights Out (Reading Order) event.
• Soranik officially became a Yellow Lantern in Sinestro #12, collected in Sinestro Vol. 3: Rising (Review).
• The Green Lantern Corps previously encountered the New Gods during the Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead (Review) (Reading Order) crossover event.