Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner, Vol. 2

Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner

by Ron Marz, Darryl Banks (Illustrator)

Kyle Rayner is the last Green Lantern. After Hal Jordan's campaign of terror on the Green Lantern Corps, Ganthet, the lone surviving Guardian, bequeathed Kyle the final power ring. The ring and legacy of the Corps now live on with Kyle Rayner. Defending the Earth on countless occasions and saving the universe from Hal Jordan, Kyle has earned his place among the greatest Green Lanterns.

However, Hal Jordan has returned. Refusing to accept responsibility for his actions, Hal looks to reclaim his mantle as the Green Lantern. With his sights set on Kyle Rayner's power ring, Hal will take it back by any means necessary.
Green Kyle Rayner Vol. 2 collects Green Lantern #58-65, Guy Warrior #27-28, New Titans #124-125 and Darkstars #34 from Ron Marz, Darryl Banks and Romeo Tanghal, comics creators who reinvented Green Lantern for a new generation!

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

360 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 2020

About the author

Marz is well known for his work on Silver Surfer and Green Lantern, as well as the Marvel vs DC crossover and Batman/Aliens. He also worked on the CrossGen Comics series Scion, Mystic, Sojourn, and The Path. At Dark Horse Comics he created Samurai: Heaven and Earth and various Star Wars comics. He has also done work for Devil’s Due Publishing’s Aftermath line, namely Blade of Kumori. In 1995, he had a brief run on XO-Manowar, for Valiant Comics.

Marz’s more recent works includes a number of Top Cow books including Witchblade and a Cyberforce relaunch. For DC Comics, he has written Ion, a 12 part comic book miniseries that followed the Kyle Rayner character after the One Year Later event, and Tales of the Sinistro Corps Presents: Parallax and Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Ion, two one-shot tie-ins to the Green Lantern crossover, The Sinestro Corps War.

His current creator owned projects include “Dragon Prince” (Top Cow) and “Samurai : Heaven and Earth” (Dark Horse).

Photo by Luigi Novi.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The core GL issues are actually pretty great, especially Parallax's return. The book does get bogged down with the two crossovers though. Boy, what a travesty that Guy Gardner, Warrior series was. What an awful idea to turn him into an alien with shapeshifting powers. And that costume design, Yikes! It looks like he's dressing up in war paint and running around as a Native American. I can just see the outcry if DC tried that today.



Then there's the New Titans crossover. This was when DC made the terrible decision to clean out the Titans' roster of everyone but Arsenal and Donna Troy. This thing bored me to tears.

[Lukas Sumper · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a great read, I didn't think I would like the collected Teen Titans issues in there as much as I did, I will even say I enjoyed it more than kyle's solo story!

I have to get into teen titans too now! xD
Great read, 4.0 stars

[Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5 to 3 stars.

To be honest I mostly only read the stories with Parallax and angst Hal Jordan in them, they are always welcome! But the rest of the stories, the coloring and the artwork is just...so outdated and distracting that I just kept losing focus! I wouldn't recommend this volume, the previous volume is better.

[Joe Nava · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate to rate this 3 stars, because the actual Green Lantern series collected here is very entertaining (especially the "Parallax View" two-parter, a long-time favorite of mine), but the issues from other series really bring it down. There is a ton of '90s comics nostalgia here, but not all of it holds up.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked everything with Parallax, but two other crossovers were meh.

[James W. Ware · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read digitally on Hoopla.

Some real gems in this volume. After establishing himself as the new Green Lantern in volume 1, volume 2 is all about Kyle Rayner ingratiating himself with the broader DC universe.

The Parallax View arc was a tragic and poignant exploration of Hal Jordan’s fatal flaw: his inability to give up the past and move on. In a world so fulled by nostalgia, it felt prescient.

The Siege of the Zi Charam, despite never actually involving a siege, was a space opera romp with a satisfying pulpy twist. It was a wonderful way to conclude this volume.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly... this was a pretty interesting snapshot of comics in the '90s. It was a time when comics sales were down, and it seemed like the industry was trying a lot of just about anything to maintain interest and stay relevant. Hence... we get Fabio Superman. We get Guy Gardner with... I don't even quite understand what kind of powers--and he's an alien now? We get a whole new slew of Teen Titans characters (who didn't stand the test of time). We get a young, very "green" (pun intended) Green Lantern. (That said, I don't dislike Kyle Rayner. He's perfectly fine. But he seems to lack the "oomph" that either his predecessors or successors have. I definitely like how they've written him later--once they let his character evolve a bit more.) In short, this collection definitely shows a bit more of comics' growing pains than their triumphs. Still, I can't say I didn't enjoy it--at least up until the Teen Titans 5-issue story at the end. (I'm just not a fan of that particular grouping; I can't get any sort of investment in them, honestly.) And the Guy Gardner story... I don't really see him as a killer (especially since I literally just read a later comic that showed him literally taking the high road of justice over vengeance). Basically: it feels like the industry was throwing things at the fan base and seeing what would stick... and I'm glad that later comics returned to a more classic form. Highlights for me were the Christmas issue (which had some good action and some funny moments of Kyle just goofing off--that's where his character is at this point, and it was actually kind of fun in that story). The return of Hal Jordan seemed kind of lackluster in comparison to his previous defeat, so I assume there's something more to read with that--would love to know what graphic I need to get to see Hal's complete journey. (Dear DC: If it doesn't already exist, a big omnibus featuring Hal's entire journey from madness to redemption would be AMAZING.) Though it was really cool to see so many characters together trying to get him to see sense--not just as a fellow superhero, but as a friend. The moment between him and Wally--as "Uncle Hal"--was pretty good. I also liked that Kyle ultimately proved himself a hero be refusing to give up. Hal giving him the ring was a nice "passing of the torch," though it did seem rather... quick... at least considering how fiercely Hal had fought for it. (Which leaves me wondering... what else do I need to read?) Basically: If you're a comic fan, this is a solid history lesson that also has some cool moments. Worth reading, but it may not be one you speed through.

[Marcelo Soares · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eu gostei bastante do primeiro volume por mostrar o crescimento do Kyle enquanto personagem.
Isso continua aqui, nas edições que não se envolvem em conflitos crossoverísticos desnecessários, umas duas ou três, o resto dói.
Há coisas que valem um comentário:
-os construtos energéticos do Kyle são muito mais legais que os dos outros;
-a maneira como o romance entre o Kyle e a Donna é construído ficou muito legal;
-o Kalibak aparece, viu DC, ninguém se importa com o Steppenwolf, #kalibak
-quem teve a ideia de transformar o Guy Garner num alienígena transmorfo? O último vuldariano? Sério, quem?
-não DC, não precisa falar em geladeira toda vez que o Major Força aparecer;
-o crossover com os Titãs é ainda pior que o anterior;
-quem comprava gibi dos Darkstars?
-quem comprava gibi do Damage? Esse eu lembro de ter lido alguma coisa num formatinho da Abril.
-claro, o Hal Jordan volta de novo e se convence de que perdeu o lugar pro Kyle para sempre, ou pelo menos até a próxima vez que ele voltar.
No geral, tirando os crossovers que não valem nada, é divertido e interessante.
Agora os crossover são de doer.
Na boa, Zi Charan é o cacete.

[Darik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more of a mixed bag than the first volume.

On one hand, the highs are VERY high-- in particular, the return of Ganthet and the big rematch between Kyle and Parallax! Also, this volume sees Kyle settling in to his New York City digs, as well as a sweet blossoming relationship with Donna Troy. All of that is great!

... What ISN'T great is the sheer number of crummy crossovers this volume contains. Two issues of Guy Gardner: Warrior? A five-part multi-title crossover? I bought this book for Kyle Rayner, dammit! I want Marz and Banks on Green Lantern-- I don't want to have to wade through an issue of Darkstars, or New Titans! (And Kyle is SUCH a poor fit for the Titans... he sticks out like a sore thumb. Thank God Grant Morrison poached him for JLA...)

I hope a third volume sees print, or maybe a second Compendium volume, because Green Lantern was a helluva read at this point, and I'd kinda like to read... y'know, MORE of it.

[a ☕︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

so this follow-up is quite good, w kyle and donna getting together (the dreamy date on mars...the old-timey carriage ride...the kiss in the stars!) and, well, that’s it for me. the parallax view chapters, guy gardner as an alien (...? this is not what i remember from JLI, lol), and the new titans stint in some space-time passage all sucked. and for whatever reason (presumably bc this is what girls do, lol), donna gets super insecure about kyle being in the mere presence of peter david’s goopy earth angel variant on supergirl (love her). boo for that. i’ll keep going through the single issues, but fingers crossed this picks up again bc this volume didn’t match up to the first at all. i blame all the idiotic crossovers! get kyle (and bart...very unsettling to have bart in the titans line-up) out of there

[Poovy · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first got into comics in the 90's I wasn't too familiar with Green Lantern and at the time, Kyle Raynor had just become the new GL. Volume one was great and helped me fill in a lot of the gaps for issues I missed when I was younger. Volume 2 started off ok but wow there are some really bad issues here with very disappointing artwork. I'm kind of embarrassed at how cheesy some of the characters (Guy Gardner, ultimate warrior especially) are and that I would probably have liked it as a kid.
For me, the only reasons to read this would be to read the story involving Hal Jordan vs Kyle Raynor (which is quite short), Kyle losing his first girlfriend tragically and the budding romance between Kyle and Donna Troy.
Other than that, there's some very ordinary stories in this volume.

[Clay Bartel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated this 3 stars because the main Green Lantern issues were solid and entertaining with great art. But the 2 crossovers that take up 7 issues or so in this book were awful, especially the Teen Titan and Damage issues which I eventually just stopped reading. Those issues get 1 star from me.

Also a big negative towards this series is that the best issues would be found in volume 3 (I own some singles from that section) , but DC decided not to collect a volume 3 so Kyle's Green Lantern Adventures end abruptly on a very borrowing Teen Titans crossover issue.

Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner Vol 1 and 2 and ultimately interesting from a completionist perspective but unfortunately the best stories may never be collected in a much needed volume 3.

[Max Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since Kyle is now firmly a part of Teen Titans, the majority of the story arcs deals with them in some way. The largest one is a crossover (because buyers sure love to buy five issues of different series to read the full story, do they?), where the Titans are teleported into another galaxy to help stop a galactic war. I'm somewhat disappointed with where Kyle's story went, but I guess with the Corps and Oa gone, and without any actual responsibilities there wasn't any place to put him to have something stable to build up upon. But I would still like for Kyle to stand on his own in a Green Lantern book.

[Raul Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Green Christmas and Parallax View issues were genuinely great, but the book gets heavily bogged down by the crossovers. I guess the Guy Gardner one lets us see more of Kyle’s morality but the rest of the issues were really boring, then the “Siege of the Zi Charam” story is fun when it’s just being a sci-fi adventure but the moral conflict at the end didn’t work for me and you also have to sit through a ton of side plots that aren’t relevant to the story at all because it’s a crossover with a lot of different titles. Kyle did won me over the course of all of the issues tho, so I’ll try to continue his story.

[Nate]

You can skip the two crossovers in this book and be none the wiser. They’e awful. The first is with Guy Gardner, Warrior, a series where Guy goes crusading around as some sort of alien shapeshifter. I never knew about this and didn’t need to know. The second crossover that closes out the book is five-parter where Kyle and the Titans investigate a satellite on Jupiter. It’s crammed with dialogue and dumb fighting like the worst of 90’s comics. Beyond tedious.

Thankfully, the main GL issues are solid and worth reading. Kyle is settling in to New York and his role with the Titans, when Ganthet and Hal show up almost simultaneously. This continues Hal’s journey as Paralax and marks the moment where Kyle truly accepts his role as Green Lantern, and is accepted by the larger superhero community. Pretty good stuff.

[Brendan Mckillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the continued adventures of the new Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner. Where they lost me was the inclusion of the 5-part crossover with the New Titans. Too much story with other heroes and not enough Kyle Rayner. I would have preferred that the crossover issues get dropped so we could have more straight-up adventures of Kyle.

[Douglas Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am only giving this a low rating because 2 of the "cross-over" issues in here are terrible. I appreciate that they are all here together though, if I had hunted down that issue of "Damage" and paid more than 25 cents for it, I would have been furious. The Kyle stuff is all good, especially his romance with Donna and team up with Supergirl, this volume just doesn't have enough Kyle in it!

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two-thirds of this collection is a good deal of fun. Unfortunately, a five-part crossover between GL, the Titans, Damage, and the Darkstars drag things down quite a bit at the end. There's a lot of uneven storytelling and the whole thing feels like a couple of Star Trek scripts stretched out to fit these characters in the DCU. A bummer of a note to end on.

[Derek Moreland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the volume where GL gets mired in a bunch of pointless crossovers with contemporary titles that pretty much no one remembers, and for good reason. It really brings down the overall quality of the collection.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The core issues here are decent to great, the crossover with (the criminally under-collected) Guy Gardner solo series fun, but boy does that Titans 5 parter at the end drag it down.

Shame the proposed 3rd volume was cancelled.

[Chris W · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of bad 90s art and bad 90s Titans issues. The highlight and saving grace of this volume is Kyle's battle with Hal

[Jesse Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always love to read Kyle's origin. Especially when he stands up to Hal!

[Russell Pearce of Sector 2814 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one starts out strong but gets weaker at it goes along.

[Nick Escobar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories pulled from the main Green Lantern comic run are great. The stuff pulled from New Teen Titans is not and pulls the back half of this collection down.

[Adrien · Rating 5 out of 5]

will i come back later and retract my five star review after i've had enough time to reflect more? maybe lol, but i really admire the character writing!

[ISMOTU · Rating 5 out of 5]

More early adventures of Kyle Rayner. Totally radical.

[Django · Rating 4 out of 5]

had to skip past the last few titans issues cause the story was incredibly boring

[machado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyle's run is basically a full-time slice-of-life drama and I'm here for it.