By Cat Wyatt

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32 continues Bats Out of Hell plot, bringing us None More Black. The events in this issue take place during Dark Nights: Metal, bringing us back to the Multiverse. In this issue, the events that occur are split into two different times, “then” and “now.” Then appears to be before everything went downhill, while now is showing us with our heroes either in a fight or rapidly losing it.

Our first glimpse is of John, Guy, and Kyle all working to build (or possibly rebuild) Coast City, all the while complaining that Hal is nowhere to be seen. Sounds like a typical day in the Green Lantern world, if you ask me. Flash forward to Hal fighting Dawnbreaker in the Nightmare Batcave. In typical superhero fashion, the two break into some banter while fighting, mostly with Dawnbreaker thinking he’s the most amazing villain ever, and Hal being shocked that this guy actually has the audacity to think he’s afraid.

I always enjoy watching Hal fight, not just because his constructs are amazing but because he’s also so sassy during his fights. Admittedly there was a little less sass during this fight (minus calling Dawnbreaker out on claiming he’s scared), but it was still a well-done fight. The strobe lighting from the ring added a whole new element to the danger Hal was in, as it’s revealed that Dawnbreaker’s ring absorbs light.

Issue 32 is clearly setting up for bigger and better things, as we’re given a glimpse at the full extent of the damage after the conclusion of Hal’s fight. It’s unclear if we’re seeing one or many multiverses affected, and thus it’s hard to say for certain which heroes we see in danger. One thing is for certain; DC is making a move for something big happening here. While we don’t yet know who the villains behind everything is, we do know that they have a special interest in Cyborg. Based on their interest in Cyborg, and the fact that they believe he can grant them access to the rest of the Multiverses, I’m led to believe that what we’re currently witnessing is only happening in one universe, but will soon spread to the rest.

From here there are two series one can follow to continue getting the full story; Justice League #33 (which is understandable, considering we know that the Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg are all at the Ground Zero of this) and Green Lantern Corps #33 (Part One: Twilight of the Guardians). While I’m sure it isn’t required to follow those two plot arcs as well, it’s likely that their series will help to flesh out the Dark Nights event arc fully.

I understand what Venditti was trying to achieve by bouncing back and forth between now and then, but to me, it just read as needlessly confusing and complicated. This technique can and does work, but with fewer or more sharply defined transitions.

I’m a big fan of cleaner lines in the Green Lantern comics, so I love what Sciver and Sharp are doing with this issue. Everything they draw is clearly defined, even the impact lines. That combined with the bolder colors (compliments of Wright) known to the GL world and this is exactly what I would expect for artwork in this series.

Score: 3/5

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artists: Ethan Van Sciver, Liam Sharp
Colorist: Jason Wright
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Publisher: DC Comics