Green Lantern, Volume 1: New Journey, Old Path

Green Lantern

by Judd Winick

Nero, an escaped mental patient, is bequeathed a Yellow Lantern Ring from the Qwardians and so wreaks havoc in New York, but with the Justice League busy trying to contain Nero's hordes, the Green Lantern is left to stand against the maniac whose power could surpass his own. A Graphic Novel. Original.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Dc Comics

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Judd Winick is an American cartoonist, comic book writer, screenwriter, and former reality television personality known for his diverse contributions to storytelling across multiple media. He first entered the public eye in 1994 as a cast member on The Real World: San Francisco, where he formed a close friendship with AIDS educator Pedro Zamora, an experience that deeply influenced his later work. Winick memorialized their bond in Pedro and Me, a critically acclaimed autobiographical graphic novel that earned several literary awards and became a staple in school curricula.

Winick's career in comics took off with The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius and continued with major runs at DC Comics, including Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Batman. His stories often explored socially relevant themes, such as HIV, homophobia, and identity. He was recognized for introducing gay characters and tackling difficult subjects with empathy and clarity. His work on Batman notably included resurrecting the character Jason Todd as the Red Hood, a storyline later adapted into the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, for which Winick wrote the screenplay.

Beyond comics, he created The Life and Times of Juniper Lee for Cartoon Network and served as head writer for Hulu's The Awesomes. In 2015, he launched the Hilo series, an all-ages sci-fi adventure inspired by his own children. The bestselling series has been widely praised and is expected to reach its eleventh volume in 2025.

Winick lives in San Francisco with his wife, Pam Ling, also a Real World alum, and their two children. He continues to create heartfelt and imaginative stories for audiences of all ages.

Reviews

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so fun to read like Kyle faces off against the Manhunters and there was a cool twist with that and the stuff with Fatality and maybe giving her final moments and I like how Winnick gives her these moments of redemption and this is the early days of the "Yellow rings of fear" and yeah I like the twist and how Kyle involves the JLA to fight against this new enemy Alex nero and how he is commandeering the ring and how Kyle defeats him, its brutal but just is so awesome and is a cool moment tbh! And I kinda feel like which may come in the future to bite him.

So yeah fun paced volume and Winnick really continues the story of Kyle really well and giving him threats in a fun manner which continues Marz epic run and the art by Daryl banks is just too good! Definite recommend from me!

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe this is Judd Winick's very first superhero story he had written. It's kind of fun to go back to when writers began after reading a lot of their most famous work. So his Green Lantern, staring my favorite green Lantern Kyle, worth reading?

The story starts simple enough. Kyle lands a awesome job that he's always wanted, a cartoonist at a big paper. Of course, his life isn't so simple. Soon after the manhunters come down and grab the green lantern and bring his ass to space for some torture. After that arc we have one of a craze green lantern go bad and now using the yellow ring. Kyle calls upon the Justice League in his time of need and it all comes to the clash of gods verse a crazed person.

Good: Love Kyle. The dude is just a regular guy trying to do his best. Also, due to having a huge imagination, the things he forms to fight are great. Hell, at one point he summons Gamera. It's so cool. The art also stays up for the most part. The fights can be super epic too which is nice. I also like seeing John being a mentor in a lot of ways it works better for his character.

Bad: The love angle storyline is okay. Nothing special but it's building towards something nice. The backgrounds are just okay, weakest part of the art. Nothing feels huge in stakes so far.

Overall, fun adventures with my favorite Lantern. Will read more since Judd has a way to have fun dialogue even with okay plots. A 3 out of 5.

[roberto ortiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Llega un nuevo guionista y se renueva la energía del poseedor del arma más poderosa del mundo. Winick lleva a Kyle a trabajar en una revista, contar con un ayudante y volver a estar en pareja con Jade. Un nuevo anillo amarillo dando vueltas con un desquiciado como dueño.
Y por último un creciente poder del anillo que no necesita ser recargado, algo extraño y nuevo le espera a Kyle Rayner.

[Chuck Ventura · Rating 5 out of 5]

GL title got a new writer, with Marz passing the torch to Winnick. It's a breath of fresh air, as Kyle's characterization stays consistent, but is still elevated by Winnick's more hip, socially conscious, sci-fi action voice. Essentially looses the cheesy 90s stuff for a more modern (but still cheesy by today's standards) stuff. Still slice-of-life internal monologues and problems that Kyle has been known for since his inception, like dealing with exes and a new job, etc.

Kyle's supporting characters like Guy, John, and Jade seem to have more distinct personalities too.

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always found Kyle Rayner to be the most interesting of the Green Lanterns, both in personality and how he uses the ring. Some of the super heroics in this volume are only ok, but the personal stuff is always fascinating. I love the Judd Winick that wrote these stories, and wish he still did this kind of super heroic comics.

[Crushi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Goes by fast. I like his simple style and movie/tv show like scenes and dialog. I loved when Fatality got her arm blown off. Poooffff! Green Lantern is totally a throwback to my childhood and I really enjoy going back there as an adult. Summer is the greatest time to read comics.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

More Kyle awesomeness. Definitely a fast read though. Wish these damn trades were easier to find!