Billions of years ago, the Green Lantern Corps was created to establish order. Founded by The Guardians of the Universe, the Green Lanterns were chosen from among the most noble and fearless of all sentient beings and granted phenomenal powers through rings that tapped into the collective willpower of all life.
Once, Hal Jordan of Earth was considered the greatest of Green Lanterns—not only for his heroism, but for his continued battles with his mentor Sinestro, who corrupted the ideals of the Green Lanterns and established a fascist regime to maintain order on his homeworld. Banished to another universe, Sinestro would return more powerful than ever, empowered by a yellow ring that drew off the power of Fear itself. Sinestro also established a corps of his own, kicking off a War Of Light that threatened all of reality.
Now, things are quite different. After the Green Lantern Corps was framed for a number of crimes, Hal Jordan took the blame and turned outlaw to save the organization. Shortly thereafter, most of the Green Lantern Corps disappeared mysteriously. One of the few Green Lanterns who remained, Soranik, used her unique position as the daughter of Sinestro to join the Sinestro Corps and tried to turn the organization into a new peace-keeping force to replace the Green Lanterns, all while trying to win the approval of her estranged father.
This is the universe into which Hal Jordan has returned, after nearly being absorbed into the Willpower matrix. The universe is in a lawless state. The Sinestro Corps have established a base on the mobile fortress known as Warworld. Worst of all, Sinestro has been rejuvenated and partnered his Corps with The Sacrament—a sadistic religious group who likewise believe in the power of Fear—in the construction of a Fear Engine that will make wielders of the yellow rings all but invincible! The odds have never been worse, but Hal Jordan still is not afraid. And though he may be the last Green Lantern in the universe, he still remembers his oath. Though it may mean his death, Hal will teach Sinestro and his allies to beware the power of The Green Lantern’s Light one last time.
Yet unbeknownst to Hal Jordan he is not the last Green Lantern. And their battles are just beginning…
Sinestro’s Law, the first volume of Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps in the DC Rebirth reality, has a lot of material to cover. The mythology of the Green Lanterns is one of the most involved in comics history, made all the stranger in that—unlike most of the DC Comics universe—it did not get a hard reboot back in 2011 when DC Comics started most of its series over from scratch with the New 52 initiative. Thankfully, Robert Venditti’s script manages to explain that history with a minimum of expository speeches. Though the action stays largely focused upon Hal Jordan and Sinestro, the script also does an excellent job of introducing the other Green Lanterns of Earth—former cop Guy Gardner and marine John Stewart. Special attention is also given to the fascinating character of Soranik, who is torn between her oath as a doctor, her role as a peacekeeper and a daughter’s desire to see her father as the man she imagines him to be rather than who he is.
Ethan Van Sciver is considered by many to be the definitive Green Lantern artist and his work in this collection is a prime example of why that is the case. Yet attention must also be paid to Rafa Sandoval, who draws most of the chapters contained in this volume and proves every bit as skilled in telling a story visually as Van Sciver.
This volume is rated 12+ but I would personally recommend it for older teens and adults. The scenes involving The Fear Engine and the rites of The Sacrament are disturbing enough and filled with enough bondage-themed imagery as to skirt what is appropriate for a teen audience. There is also one vivid scene in which Sinestro rips one of his followers in half, which I can only assume was allowed because the alien’s blood isn’t red.
Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps, vol. 1: Sinestro’s Law
by Robert Venditti
Art by Rafa Sandoval Ethan
ISBN: 9781401268008
DC Comics, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: 12+
