Green Lantern, Vol. 8: Reflections

Green Lantern (2011)

by Robert Venditti

Hal Jordan was once the leader of the Green Lantern Corps...but now the Corps is missing, and Hal is the universe s lone renegade Green Lantern, wielding a weapon more powerful than any power ring. With an entire universe in need of protection, Hal has only one place he wants to be back home in Coast City, USA, looking after his brother and his beloved niece and nephew.
But when tragedy strikes Coast City, Hal finds himself embroiled in an international conflict just as complex as any intergalactic peacekeeping mission. Worse, Hal becomes unsure he has what it takes to protect the people he loves...and he s not the only one who feels that way.
Writer Robert Venditti (THE FLASH) and artists Billy Tan (New Avengers) and Martin Coccolo (SINESTRO) pit Hal Jordan against his greatest enemy himself and Green Lantern will never be the same! Collects GREEN LANTERN #47-52 and a special preview of HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS: REBIRTH #1."

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2016

About the author

Robert Venditti is a New York Times bestselling author of more than three hundred comic books and graphic novels. Some of his works include the monthly comic book series Justice League, Superman ’78, Hawkman, and Green Lantern for DC Comics, X-O Manowar, Armor Hunters, and Wrath of the Eternal Warrior for Valiant Entertainment, and the graphic novel Six Days, inspired by the story of his uncle’s participation in D-Day. He has also adapted Rick Riordan’s global bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus novels, as well as Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia and Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz. His graphic novel The Surrogates was adapted into a feature film by Touchstone Pictures, and his work on The Flash was the basis for season three of the CW television series.

Venditti lives in Atlanta, where he both writes and serves as a storytelling consultant for some of the most recognizable entertainment brands in the world.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this is the last volume of New 52's Green Lantern, and I can't say I'll be sad to see it end.



Good news?
Hal's douche-coif gets a trim!
Bad news?
The volume is mostly filled with loose ends hastily being tied up. Ish.

It starts with Hal fighting Space-baddies, then saying goodbye to his new alien pals & the spaceship that hates him, and on to Earth for a family reunion...



From there he deals with a family crisis, fights a terrorist who uses sound to weaponize bombs, and discovers a creepy Hal from another universe...



The big showdown with the mulitverse hopping Parallax possessed Hal (Halallax?) leads into our Hal discovering the outer limits of the Green Lantern Gauntlet-thingy he's been wearing in lieu of a GL ring. The results are a bit scary...



Naturally, he's gotta go...find himself or whatever, and that leads into the bonus Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth issue.



Basically, this gauntlet thing is turning him into a construct of pure will, and he's got to figure out how not to lose himself in the process. So why doesn't he just take the damn thing off?
Well, because he's figured out that he can forge a Green Lantern ring for himself, and he just needs to hold on for a bit an focus. This ring will be (naturally) different.



Which just means that Hal will still be THE Green Lantern when it's all said and done.



I've been reading Green Lantern since Geoff Johns brought Hal back in the original Rebirth, so there was no way I wasn't going to read this one. I'm not sure what your feelings are on this title, but I've certainly had a love-hate relationship with it over the years. Lately I think it mostly sucked, so I'm hoping this reboot (or whatever it is) will breathe new life into the corps. This last volume wasn't awful, but I'd still only recommend it to the hardcore fans.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the rest of Venditti's run on GL, this book is kind of blah. Hal returns to Earth to check in on his little brother. Little bro makes Hal cut his long, greasy hair off thankfully. Old time GL villain Sonar enters the mix as a terrorist who builds bombs powered by sound. Next Parralax somehow shows up and is pissed at Hal because Coast City is still around. I didn't really understand the logic behind how Parralax was acting and found the whole thing a real stretch. At this point, it's time for plot wrap ups because the book is ending so Hal stops the Grey Agents from arresting his friends and then kicks all his new supporting characters to the curb. The only interesting thing in the book is how Hal is slowly turning into a GL construct. But that quickly gets junted to the side so he can get a ring back. The first issue of Rebirth is also included in the book and unfortunately Venditti is still writing the book. At this point, the GL Corps has been missing for over a year. So why the hell hasn't Hal been looking for them for the past year.

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was far to earth bound for my GL taste. Just kinda a fizzled abrupt ending. 2.5 stars. Sad because this was THE epic series in the New 52.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hal returns to Earth after a long time, he meets up his brother Jim and his family but while in a park they are attacked and turns out its Sonar and his demand is to let his nation Modora be recognized as an independent nation else he will attack more places and so its upto Hal to stop his militia in Kahndaq, save the UN from Sonic bombs and stop his plans and he also fights Parallax, an alternate reality version of him and it was so cool to see and in another place we have Hal harnessing a new power, becoming one with will almost and next up he has to reform the corps and has one last adventure with Trapper and Virgo vs Gray Agents where his reasons are revealed, it was a good volume and centered on Hal being the outlaw to the lawful one and being right. I just love this volume and reading it after 5 years brought back memories for sure! Next up: HJ&GLC!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never liked the Robert Venditti volumes. His stories have felt forced and overly contrived. There were elements in vol.7 that began to appeal to me and this book works up those strengths into a much better collection of issues. I was expecting more to be resolved at the book's end. Quite a bit left hanging there. To be picked up in Rebirth? I'll guess I'll soon find out.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for this volume, but overall I give this run 4 stars. Glad I picked it up and read it. My first Green Lantern run that I’ve read all the way through.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

So did the DC writers just sort of get tired as the Rebirth reboot approached? Because reading some of these final volumes has just been tedious. For example, this book. Hal Jordan was last seen being a wanted criminal in space to help restore trust in the Lantern Corps (which wasn't the most well-thought-out concept in the first place), but this volume immediately jettisons this idea to put Hal back on Earth. The first half collects a story of him taking on a terrorist using sound bombs which has a couple decent moments, but is very predictable in its conclusion and doesn't really resolve its story. And it returns to Hal Jordan as guilt-filled wimp, which is not a good look for him. The second arc has Hal facing off with another version of him that is also Parallax. I'm not sure how this occurs as it isn't ever really explained, but all it does is give an excuse for a decent fight sequence and then, again, no real resolution. And then, Jordan returns to space to give at least some real resolution to the space segment, before he goes off to explore new abilities. Actually, the best part of the book is the Rebirth preview, which isn't much of a reboot, but seems to at least set a direction going forward. Though it makes me wonder if the story will commit to that, or do another about face like this volume is full of.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very much enjoying this story, with its more grounded approach to Hal, him dealing with his family, the return of a very unexpected villain and more, but it ends very abruptly. Its obviously due to the relaunch of the DC titles into "Rebirth", which I've heard nothing but good things about, but I feel they squandered what could've been a really great story into a ok to good story.

Hal finds himself back on Earth vising his brother and his nephews. Disaster strikes when essentially a terrorist attack occurs at the location Hal and his family are located. Now this is a dour subject, but I do feel like it is good to bring a bit of reality into the book. We spent so much time in space with aliens and nebulae and source walls and... that it can be a bit much. To have him deal with a situation that, unfortunately is very real in our world... it makes the character human, and I appreciate that - and to show Hal struggling with his own emotions due to that event, even more so.

As I said, the book does wrap up quickly, and ends suddenly. I do wish they would've developed a more natural stop point, but I am looking forward to reading the Rebirth stories.

[Daniel Sepúlveda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Puntaje: 2.7 sin aproximación a 3 estrellas.
Al principio me iba gustando la historia. El personaje de Sonar me gustaba como villano y estaba haciendo un excelente papel. Pero luego todo comienza a perder sentido e involucran a Parallax y a unos agentes espaciales que buscan a Hal.
Me enoja que cuando un comic tiene una historia rescatable terminen usando los mismos recursos de siempre, un personaje del pasado que es conocido por los fans (Parallax). NO era necesario traer a Parallax, y es por esta unica razon que no aproximo la puntuacion a 3 estrellas.
Ya termine Green Lantern de New 52, ahora me falta leer Superman y ya estaría listo para leer Rebirth.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my fav but not bad

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Venditti has had some ups and downs with the writing concerning Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern mythos. I did not enjoy the last volume of Green Lantern as much as I have enjoyed this volume. I just not a fan of the Star Lord/Han Solo/Buck Rogers feel to Hal Jordan. However I do applaud Venditti for taking readers on a journey around DC comics space. This volume collects the last issues of the Green Lantern series before Rebirth. I like the route Venditti takes here by telling a more personal story. Hal Jordan has been in space a very long time and this volume works like a sort of soldier returning from war tale. There are just a lot of heart felt moments that really build up Hal as a character. I really enjoyed his relationships with his brother's who are always cheering for him. Hal Jordan longs for a family and not the whole always saving the universe responsibility. The villain Sonar was a very interesting foe for Jordan. Venditti used the character well to place Jordan in a impossible situation. Jordan may have the will to overcome great fear but that doesn't mean he has no fear. He is scare of not being able to have the power to protect those he loves. Midway through the book Jordan comes face to face with his biggest enemy, "Himself". We get an incredible Hal vs. Hal fight. Hal Jordan comes face to face with his doppelganger from another universe named Parallax. This the Hal Jordan who failed to save Coast City and the destroyer of the Green Lantern corps. Artist Billy Tan does a great job with the artwork. I also enjoyed the bonus Green Lantern: Rebirth issue at the back of this book. This was a great ending for the Green Lantern series. This has been one of the consistent series of the New 52. It was always hard for someone to follow Geoff Johns epic run with Green Lantern. But Venditti has done a pretty good job.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert Venditti closes out one volume of Green Lantern with seven final issues that wrap up a few loose ends as Hal returns to Earth after the entire Green Lantern Corps disappears [See: Lost Army/Edge Of Oblivion. Actually, wait, don't, they don't explain it there either].

The first three issues pit Hal against one of his most iconic Silver Age foes, Sonar. The pair never actually meet, but their plots intersect at a time that really affects Hal. The conclusion at the United Nations is pretty darn good, though.

A running subplot in these issues comes to a head in issue 50 that has Hal fighting himself, as one of the few interesting things to come out of Convergence takes place. It's a surprising ending, but it's pretty good for a fiftieth issue.

The final two issues round off the Renegade storyline, giving Hal's little supporting cast a half-decent send-off before the book ends, lining everything up for Rebirth.

The art is shared by the continuing team of Martin Coccollo and Billy Tan, who remain as solid as ever. Tan's art seems to have a bit more substance whilst Coccollo's is more washed out, but they both have good styles that fit fairly well. There's even an issue by Rafa Sandoval, one of the artists on the Rebirth series, so that's a good primer too.

Venditti's GL run was up and down pre-Rebirth; this one's a solid 'decent', and a good way to end things. Rebirth however, is excellent, so if you even marginally liked this, go check that out to find out what can happen when Venditti's really on fire (Or go read X-O Manowar, because that's really good too)

[Kevin Smythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mixed experience for me. Issues 51 and 52 got a new artist, Rafael Sandoval, which I think really improved things. He does "cosmic" really well and will be working with Venditti on Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps, which gives me hope for that series. On that note: It feels like this volume was just a lead-in to that new series. Very little happens. As a Parallax fan, it was great to see him back. Hal's interactions with pre-52 Parallax had potential, but doesn't seem like it does anything meaningful. Hal's struggle with his new "power" seems REALLY interesting, but has no payoff.

Overall, this volume (which I read in single issues) left me mildly disappointed - but hopefully for what might be coming next for Hal.

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, let's see, a child gets horribly injured, Hal Jordan starts to turn into a light construct, thugs try to become the new Green Lantern Corps, and just to top it all off, the author brings back the worst character assassination of all time, Parallax. Why would you do that? Especially since it was all brought to an abrupt conclusion with the end of the "New 52". Needless to say, this was a very dissatisfying read.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert Venditti has been doing genius work lately in the pages of Hawkman. I thought I’d give his Green Lantern another shot. Reflections is the final volume of his New 52 work; he’d go on to write more under the title Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps in the first few years of Rebirth. But his general disconnect is still there, unfortunately. The big selling point of this collection is the return of Parallax, as well as the New 52 debut of Sonar. Both just kind of happen. There’s no conviction in any of it. Clearly Venditti was caught off guard by the shuffle from New 52 to Rebirth, but that doesn’t explain the problem that was always there. He was tapped as Geoff Johns’ successor, which was a tall order in and of itself, and he spent nearly as much time as Johns writing Green Lantern, apparently because he was chalk full of big ideas, which only the most superficial take on Johns’ adventures would have decided was good enough, but he never really had a clue how to transform those ideas into compelling Green Lantern tales. They all just kind of happened. Apparently right to this turning point. Which is all the more strange since Venditti has since proven in Hawkman that he can have a big idea and know exactly what to do with it. I can only assume the Green Lantern assignment was a hasty decision no one could bring themselves to reconsider, and he got stuck doing something that never ended up feeling natural, and only got harder, as a result, to continue, because even the half-baked “renegade Hal Jordan” concept here makes absolutely no sense and was clearly just an acquiescence to an editorial directive to give the title a new cosmetic look, as was also happening in the pages of Superman and Batman comics. In fact, “Commissioner Batman” (what I liked to call the inexplicable decision Scott Snyder made to have Jim Gordon be Batman, in a giant mechanized suit) even makes a cameo here. And Venditti can’t even pretend he doesn’t find it stupid himself. Long story short, I value Venditti’s Hawkman all the more, if anything.

[Paweł · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie mogłem się przemóc, żeby wystawić ocenę. Długa podróż z tą serią i przeświadczenie o słabych zakończeniach w New52 gryzły się jak wściekłe krokodyle. Słabo wypadł wątek Sonara, terrorysty z serbiopodobnego państwa, który zabija za pomocą natężonych fal dźwiękowych.
Tak jak nagle się pojawił, tak samo nagle się urwał, bo na scenę wkroczył, zapowiadany przez cliffhanger, Paralax Hal żywcem wyjęty z Emerald Twilight. Poboksował się z właściwym Halem przez dwa zeszyty i... uciekł. Epicka akcja, nie ma co.
W tym tkwi bolączka komiksu o Zielonej Latarni - cały czas konflikt wokół głównego bohatera eskalował, osiągając kosmiczny rozmach i od pewnego momentu już nie dało się iść wyżej. Zielone Latarnie, potem Sinestro Corps, Czerwone latarnie, Larfleeze - pomarańczowy latarnik, Czarna Dłoń, Śmierć - pod postacią Nekrona, sami Strażnicy Wszechświata, Volthoom - pierwszy latarnik i nauczyciel zastosowania spektrum emocji, Relikt - pozostałość sprzed Wielkiego Wybuchu, który przewidział wyczerpanie światła emocji, a nawet sami bogowie.
Wszystkie te plagi spadały na Hala, który nie miał czasu zastanowić się nad swoją rolą we Wszechświecie. Przez tę nawałnicę pracy jest przedstawiany jako człowiek czynu i został nieco spłaszczony w warstwie psychologicznej. I tutaj miał wejść finalny konflikt z Paralaxem - wykrzywionym odbiciem, którym Hal nigdy nie chciał się stać. Rozwiązanie scenarzystów było odwrotnością tego, czego się spodziewałem. Hal Jordan pozbawiony osobowości do cna, obiawiający się jako nowy byt w zupełności utkany z siły woli. O to raczej sam nie prosił.
Preludium do Rebirth przedstawia bandę nieznanych i nieciekawych samozwańczych szeryfów-najemników, którym zielona rękawica spuszcza łomot.
Dobrze, że ta historia tak się nie kończy, bo byłoby to wybitnie słabe i wymuszone zakończenie. Jak już Zielone Latarnie dowiodły, mają w poważaniu cykl wydawniczy DC i kroczą swoją ścieżką.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finalny zbiór przygód Hala Jordana w ramach New 52 nie zawodzi, choć nie ustrzegł się też słabszych momentów czy rozwiązań fabularnych.

Korpus Latarni znikł. Nie mając większego wyboru Hal wraca na Ziemię, aby spędzić trochę czasu ze swoją rodziną. Pech chce, że sielankę niszczy zamach terrorystyczny, do którego przyznaje się niejaki Sonar, czyli złoczyńca mający ewidentnie bałkańskie korzenie. Szkoda tylko, że nie ma on charakteru i cała intryga kończy się szybciej niż zaczęła. A to dlatego, że na arenę wkracza inny Hal, sprowadzony tu w wyniku niedawnej Convergence.

Przeciwnik miał dać szansę na głębszą analizę postaci, ale tak się nie dzieje. Green Lantern to seria akcją stojąca, więc mamy tu masę efektownych potyczek, a rozwój głównego bohatera jest potraktowany po macoszemu. Choć jedno rozwiązanie uważam za szalenie interesujące Hal jako personifikacja "czystej" siły woli? Zapodawajcie .

Ten drugi Hal, zawierający w sobie sporą niespodziankę, stanowi całkiem mocny orzech do zgryzienia, aczkolwiek nie podobało mi się rozwiązanie tego problemu. Hal zwyczajnie dał przeciwnikowi czas i szansę na danie nogi... Potem jest już gorzej. Ostatni zeszyt jest mdły, nastawiony na mordobicie. Nie tego oczekiwałem.

Czas na podsumowanie serii, która okazała się jedną z jaśniejszych gwiazd w całej tej galaktyce, zwanej New 52. Prawie wszystkie tomy trzymały co najmniej przyzwoity poziom i zapewniała należną rozrywkę, dając nam sporo wydarzeń, które absorbowały sporą ilość herosów różnych kolorów mocy. Wystarczy polecić. Jeszcze nie wiem co nam zaserwuje DC Rebirth, tym bardziej że pierwszy zawarty tu zeszyt nowej serii nie zachwyca...

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is some of Venditti's better work on Green Lantern. The problem is, that it too obviously was all jettisoned in favor of Rebirth, leaving this volume mostly pointless.

The first story is kind of mysterious, because it reintroduces Sonar as if he were a new character, not a long-running adversary of Green Lantern ... despite the fact that as far as we know, all of the old Green Lantern comics are canon in the nu52. Yep, that's DC continuity. But there's also some great material here about Hal on Earth, treating him as a real character, something that's been missing far too often since Johns turned the comic into space opera all the time.

After that we get Parallax from an alternate dimension. Wow! What's up from that!? What dimension does he come from!? How does this relate to Rebirth!? We never find out, because the story just stops.

Instead, the volume ends on a totally uninspiring story about galactic cops trying to beat up Hal. It's going to become totally irrelevant with Rebirth, as is the idea that Hal is turning into will. In fact, almost everything about this story is immediately rebooted, leaving it as a pointless appendix to the nu52 Green Lantern story.

[Wing Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

One good story. Two terrible.

World: The art is good. I am not a fan of the new look for Hal but the book does look good, the kinetic art, the colors. Good stuff. The world building here is fairly isolated and small. It does it's job well. The family stuff was a nice little piece we've not had in a while.

Story: First the good. The Parallax story was good. It was a call back to the past and was all about the feels. The family stuff was also good, not the terrorist stuff but Hal being on earth was very retro, we've not had Hal on earth since Johns after rebirth. The bad is really bad. The terrorist stuff was idiotic, the Grey Agents were illogical. The problem with these stories is that they needed to depower Hal to make a good story but in the end it was kinda forgettable.

Characters: Little character development found here but the slice of life stuff with the family was much needed. The villains for this arc were bad. Simple. Stupid. Bad.

An okay end before Rebirth.

Onward to the next book!

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite Green Lantern run ends here, only to be replaced by a new series also written by Robert Venditti. His Hal is off, his plots are generic and scattered, his dialogue is ChatGPT levels bad. The New 52 version of Sonar is introduced and could have been replaced by any villain, Hal's "renegade" shtick continues, and then weirder different universe Hal shows up FOR NO REASON AND WITHOUT EXPLANATION. I couldn't stand this book. No redeemable qualities from the writer's side. Art wise is was decent but unspectacular. Overall, don't waste your time.

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice Coccolo and Tan art.
Venditti never got to do anything with Fugitive Hal. Felt like killing time waiting for Rebirth. Maybe he thought he'd have longer.

I'm glad with the Rebirth sneak peek Hal is a GL again, mission to find the Corps. Not sure this adds up with the other GL Rebirth special as Baz is already in our universe but I'll just go with it.

[Adan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. This was so very painfully dumb, and very clearly rushed thanks to the impending Rebirth. In fact, the only actual good thing about this was the sneak peek of post-Rebirth Hal Jordan title. They even killed Darlene for no good reason, man.

[Beelzefuzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. This whole time I thought Venditti was writing garbage because he hated Green Lantern, but the message of this book seems to be that he was actually writing garbage because he hates the New 52. You have to admire someone who makes their own self look so bad for such a bold statement.

[Will Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sonar is a terrorist who shows up with sound bombs, which is interesting enough, but the Parallax returns storyline is dumb. It's that stupid cliche where a hero attacks someone because he thinks he is right and the other person must be a bad guy, sparking the bad guy to act bad. I hate that.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Hal Jordan's evolution into something more.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great conclusion to this particular run of GL.

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final volume of the New 52 run wasn’t too bad, but it still left a lot of questions unanswered which I would have like to see tied up by the finish.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this issue. Some of the bits that they just left hanging, like the other Parallax are annoying, but overall, a good volume.

[Nicolas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was sluggish and underwhelming. I expected this to be building to something, but it felt more like treading water.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great World Building, Universe Changing Events Action, Plot Twists, Heroics, Dimensional Adventures, Justice Bring and Galactic Action and Galactic Adventure! :D Crisp High Five! :D