Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1 – Jeremy Adams, Alex Segura, Writers; Eduardo Pansica/Julio Ferreira, Mario “Fox” Foccillo, Artists; Luis Guerrero, Prasad “Pressy” Rao, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: What does a fear demon do to a man without fear? Hal Jordan’s ability to resist fear has always been a key part of the character, but Insomnia has been able to get under just about everyone’s skin—and Hal is one of them, given his early-life trauma. Adams, continuing his new run on the character, kicks things off with Hal crashing his plane and waking up as a child, about to attend his father’s funeral. I liked the subtle Jewish representation in this scene, and I’d also note that this story seems to paint a more positive portrayal of Hal’s mother than the Geoff Johns run often did. This first segment of the story is emotional, but a little predictable—zombies everywhere, as is typical for a nightmare funeral.
From there, though, it’s a grand tour of Hal’s anxieties, as he’s visited by Abin Sur and the Guardians, all of whom have their own perspectives on why he’s thoroughly unfit to be a Green Lantern. Adams seems to be going a little deeper than most of the tie-ins, treating Hal as a case study to be examined. It’s been so long since Hal had a series where he was in the lead role that this makes sense—it’s as important to remind us of his weak points as of his strengths. The scare effects created by Insomnia are excellent, as are some of the quieter moments, but of course, there is a big loose end in this title just waiting for us—what’s Sinestro’s larger plan? After all, the master of fear has to be involved in this event.
And speaking of Sinestro, he gets his own backup here! We’ve been seeing this character lurking around Adams’ first two issues, seemingly depowered and lacking any agenda beyond spying on Hal. When we see him, he’s wandering around the city and getting into fights—which makes very clear that he has no ring. However, Insomnia is coming for heroes and villains alike, and Sinestro soon gets a visit from his younger self—as well as of an old friend, looking to potentially get revenge. It feels like this series is going to be key to pushing both characters’ stories forward before we return to the main narrative.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
