Absolute Green Lantern #3 Review

In Absolute Green Lantern #3, the issue begins with John Stewart talking with Todd Rice about something he found in the street near the body of the biker who died when he smashed into the green barrier. The only thing that survived was a gold-plated earring. After a series of increasingly large tests, John proves that the energy barrier can be disrupted by anything covered in or made of gold.

In the now, Hal tells Jo that he can’t control the Black Hand energy. It wants to consume and destroy the light. Jo doesn’t know how to control her green energy powers or turn them off, so Hal’s hand instinctively turns into a gun and blasts Jo. She creates a forcefield to block the blast and punches Hal through the diner wall with a green construct fist. She flies to where Hal landed several yards away and chastises him to get the Black Hand under control.

The issue ends with John demonstrating to Hal and Jo his discovery by opening a temporary hole in the green dome, Abin Sur putting a stop to John’s experimentation permanently, and Hal deciding to weaponize John’s discovery.

What’s great about Absolute Green Lantern #3?

What’s not great about Absolute Green Lantern #3?

Holy Pete! The absolute worst mistake a comic writer can make is convincing themselves they have all the time in the world to tell their story without regard for keeping the audience engaged. Unfortunately, Al Ewing is doing just that. The plot centers on the backstory of “What happened?” by unveiling bits and pieces in baby steps, while the present conflict between Hal and Jo lacks a lot of the missing context.

Plus, the action moments, while done well by Jahnoy Lindsay, are few and far between. The issue feels small and lacking in urgency.