Kyle Rayner stars in his own Green Lantern book! Written by Tony Bedard, penciled by Tyler Kirkman, inked by Batt, and colored by Nei Ruffino.
The Good
Awesome start to a new series! Kyle Rayner (prepare for a shocker) is my least favorite of the human Green Lanterns, and this book was a great introduction to him. We get to know a lot about Kyle in the first opening pages, just from a bit of dialogue. It has a very strong start, and an even better finish.
Out of all the stories I've read from the new 52 (which is all of them), this is probably my favorite set-up to a book. I don't want to spoil anything for you guys, but it's a really cool concept for a first issue. The biggest question I have now is, "where do we go next?" I thought this was going to be the weakest of all the new 52 Lantern books, but for me, it's neck and neck with Green Lantern.
Readers are also introduced to a few members of other Lantern corps, and although the introductions are brief, they are detailed just enough for the reader to understand each individual Corps intent, powers, and emotion attached to each ring. While it is a good intro for new Green Lantern readers, it's not the best for brand new DC readers.
Tyler Kirkham's two page splash of Kyle's constructs saving people from a collapsing crane is beautiful. Now only is it incredibly well drawn and detailed, but it says so much about Kyle as a character. Each of Kirkham's splash pages, and there are a few, is poster worthy. Also, major props to Nei Ruffino's colors on this book. It's very contemporary, yet traditional, but it pops off the page as well. The colors in the constructs are what originally caught my eye. Amazing stuff.
The Bad
I feel dumb asking this question, but when does the opening to this book take place? At one point, there is a label, after Kyle is inducted into the Green Lantern Corps that says "Present Day," but the scene with Kyle previous to that never states when we are in the DCU. Personally, I think it's pretty cool if the new 52 starts with Kyle becoming a member of the Corps, and then has to deal with the other Lantern Corps right away. I'm sure that's not the case though.
No Larfleeze. I miss him.
New readers have a lot to swallow with the introduction of all the other Lantern Corps; however, this book felt like more of a comic for casual readers than brand new DC comics readers. You need a little bit of background Green Lantern knowledge to full enjoy this book.
The Verdict
Another 5/5 DC book in one week? Yep. I loved everything about this book, and even though I was a bit confused on when the Kyle joining the Corps took place because I wasn't sure if they rebooted that or not, everything else in this book was wonderful. It's a great intro to Kyle for new readers, and the other Corps, even though I think brand new DC readers may have trouble understanding the different Corps at first. Kirkham's art is all poster worthy, and Ruffino's colors on the constructs are wonderful. I highly recommend this book.