Reviewed by: Mathan “No Amazing Man?” Erhardt
Story Title: Wanted: Hal Jordan Chapter Two
Written by: Geoff Johns
Penciled by: Ivan Reis
Inked by: Oclair Albert
Colored by: Moose Baumann
Lettered by: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Publisher: DC Comics
The issue opens up with a Guardian visiting Sector 3601 in search of Hank Henshaw aka the Cyborg Superman so they can interrogate him about Sector 3601 and about “the 52.” Oooooooooooh!
From there we witness Hal Jordan getting attacked by the new Global Guardian who are obviously under the control of an outside force. And those outsider forces are revealed to be a couple of Faceless Hunters. We then find out that Amon Sur is the guy who contracted them to get Hal Jordan so that he can retrieve Abin Sur’s ring.
Then we’re off to England to witness the birth of the latest incarnation of an old Green Lantern enemy.
But then we’re back to Chechnya to see Cowgirl, the woman Hal’s trying to rescue, escape her captors. But after that we’re off to Qward where Thunderers are crafting yellow rings and lanterns for members of the Sinestro Corps under the watchful eye of an SC member Arkillo from Sector 674.
Then we’re back to a captured Hal Jordan who’s saved from becoming a vegetable the timely intervention of some Rocket Reds. Of course they’re also trying to capture Hal. And just when things can’t get any worse the JLA and Alan Scott have also come for Hal. Uh oh!
Johns manages to balance tons of storylines with this issue. We see progress being made in with the Sinestro Corps (though making the trainer of the Sinestro Corps Kilowog’s counterpart in every regard is kind of corny.) We also get a taste of Amon Sur and a longtime GL foe returns ever so briefly. Plus Johns manages to hint at the Guardian’s role in 52 all while providing more than enough action in Hal Jordan’s story. While a lot happens the book doesn’t seem cramped and we get enough of everything. We even get a good look at the current Global Guardians.
(Though I’m rather irked that of the infamous JLE slaughter only Amazing Man has remained dead in every regard. Someone at DC should be ashamed.)
Art-wise Reis and Albert make a great team. The Global Guardians stuff looks great as does the final page cliffhanger. Albert really makes Reis’ pencils something to look at. The coloring in this issue really is amazing. There are tons of vibrant costumes and skylines that jump off the page. Baumann’s purples, reds, oranges and yellows look so crisp and really catch the eye. And his greens are too bad either.
