In GL: Rebirth, Johns fumbled with issues of violence, and may have even disrepected the past
This review of Green Lantern: Rebirth on UGO tells about Geoff Johns' inherent problem with violence:
Again, it seems we have a case of supposedly making comments on contemporary problems that are just transparent excuses to wallow in same. And having once discovered that this miniseries may have Green Arrow talking about Identity Crisis in it, that's one more reason why I feel glad I don't own it.
Johns fumbles when dealing with issues of violence. Hal, unable to control the vengeful Spectre spirit, attacks Black Hand and dissolves one of his hands while Green Arrow looks on, piously appalled. Yet GA had just shot an arrow through that same hand himself!Amen to that. Katma could sure use a resurrection as well. But meanwhile, having made this revelation about Rebirth's content, I must say that if Johns is disrespecting Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams' run on Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen's adventures during the early 1970s, I'm really disappointed, because there was what to think about in what they wrote, and he's going along and putting down their work like that with one of those "self-commentaries"? Way too far, and way too low.
Maybe Johns idea of "old school" has less to do with rejecting modern violence, than it does rejecting deeper characterization. When Hal vows, "No more soul-searching road trips", it seems Johns isn't just rejecting semi-recent events, but GL stories dating back decades to the classic "relevant" stories by O'Neil and Adams!
There's just too much emphasis on sadism, explosions, and sniping characters going all macho on each other for Rebirth to succeed as an involving epic. Still, Johns' first few issues of the regular Green Lantern comic (starring Hal) were enjoyable, so maybe he's got a better grip on things in the monthly comic.
Now, if only DC'd bring back Katma Tui, all can be forgiven.
Again, it seems we have a case of supposedly making comments on contemporary problems that are just transparent excuses to wallow in same. And having once discovered that this miniseries may have Green Arrow talking about Identity Crisis in it, that's one more reason why I feel glad I don't own it.
Labels: dc comics, dreadful writers, Green Lantern, violence, women of dc
