Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: carol ferris, dc comics, green lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Hal Jordan, hal jordan and the green lantern corps, hector hammond, john stewart, patrick zircher, rebirth, robert venditti, Star Sapphire, superman

Hal Jordan And The GL Corps #31 Review: Big Brains And Big Hearts

We learn that an alien species from the planet Kroloter have targeted Hector Hammond, as Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Superman arrive at his holding cell in Stryker's Island.

They want to harvest Hector's "God Brain" for their own purposes, and it's up to Hal Jordan and Kal-El to save the villain.

Unfortunately for our heroes, the aliens have learned how to use Hector's brain as their own weapon already.

A mind-bending battle begins.

So, this issue introduces some previously unknown backstory for Hector Hammond. Apparently, these aliens somehow predicted the mutation which Hector Hammond would go through and somehow caused the seemingly-random meteor which gave him his massive brain.

There is a Black Mercy-esque "live your greatest desire" moment when the aliens use Hector's brain to attack, so you get a scene of Hal and Carol eating dinner with the family of Hal's brother. Ironically, it's this version of Carol which snaps the Green Lantern out of it. That's an interesting twist on the concept at least.

In the grand scheme of fights, there isn't much meat or tension in this one. You never really feel like these aliens are a threat for Superman and Hal Jordan. They come out of their fantasies so quickly that they never seemed like much of a roadblock either.

(Spoiler) The biggest moment of drama comes when Hector decides he wants to die and uses Superman's heat vision to attempt it. This was admittedly a heavy moment and did add something to the comic.

Patrick Zircher's artwork remains really solid…for the most part. Another reason the action scenes didn't feel particularly impactful is because of their depiction. It's all massive blows that scatter the small aliens, so you don't really get much of the actual collision. It leaves a little to be desired, especially after the epic slugfest of last issue.

The color art of Jason Wright looks great through-and-through, with bright colors balanced with gradient shades to give the world some life.

This is easily one of the weaker issues of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, but that is a high standard by which to be compared. Robert Venditti and company have made a classic Green Lantern series with this book, and every series does have its weak links. This is still an enjoyable read, and I do recommend it, even if isn't particularly incredible.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!