In Absolute Green Lantern #2, Jo and Hal sit for a chat amid the decimated lives and ruin of a diner. The issue flashes back to the alien arriving in Evergreen, Abin Sur, stepping foot on Earth. The residents of Evergreen surround the alien, and Sheriff Guy Gardner and his deputies step forward to make introductions.
When Guy explains he represents the Law, Abin Sur blows him away with an energy blast. The violence prompts the deputies to open fire, but Adin Sur’s energy deflects all attacks. The alien responds by decapitating one deputy and severing the gun hand of another. Jo and John rush to give aid to the wounded, but Hal feels compelled to pick up a gun and aim it at Abin Sur. Suddenly, the alien flies away.
The issue ends in the present with Hal explaining his struggle to control the black hand and John (in the past) coming up with an idea involving a ring.
It always comes back to the basics. In a bid to create a complex story structure with big events happening in the past and the present, with the plot seemingly progressing to meet somewhere in the middle, the issue loses sight of the foundation. Whose journey are we following – Hal or Jo? If it’s both, what are they after, and how do they get it? Is Jo in the diner to help Hal or stop him?
Let’s say you get a quick answer to the basic questions. That still leaves all the major points concerning Abin Sur. Why is he on Earth? Why did he pick Evergreen? Did Abin Sur give Hal and Jo their powers? If Abin Sur is so powerful, how did Hal escape?
Further, the dialog in the scenes between Hal and Jo uses on-the-nose descriptions to convey what’s happening, and it’s terrible.
Jo: “So what’s with your hand, Hal?
Hal: “The Black Hand.”
Really? That’s how we’re doing this, Ewing?
In effect, Al Ewing creates “mystery” by dumping a pile of open loops on the reader, wrapped in a wonky, back-and-forth plotline. So, if you’re paying the full cover price, you’ve forked over $10 for a grim, gory, confusing pile of questions. Does that sound entertaining to you?
