Battle of the Origins - Green Lantern Part Four

Well, it's been a treat doing this. Now, it's time to end it with these two last categories.

Art

If there is anything I can say about both of these origins, it would be that the art is pretty good. Both Emerald Dawn series were penciled by M.D. Bright, inked by Romeo Thangal, and colored by Anthony Tollin. I think they were on the main Green Lantern book at the time, so they knew what they were doing. Secret Origin was done by the art team on the book at that time. The story was in the main title. The issues were penciled by Ivan Reis, inked by Oclair Albert, and colored by Randy Mayor. I don’t know when they came on but I know that they were on the book around the time of the “The Sinestro Corps” storyline.

I’m not a big art critic. When it comes to art, I know what I like and know what I don’t like. Safely, I can say that I liked the art in both origins. Back in my look at the Emerald Dawn series, I liked the artwork. Looking at it now, I still have that feel. Everything was pretty detailed and you had some pretty epic panels. The pencils, inks, and colors create something quite nice. You might have some moments where it’s stiff, but it’s just a couple of moments. The only thing I might say was a misstep was Sinestro’s flat-top because I couldn’t take that thing seriously. He looked like he’d fit well with any random music group from the 80’s. In fact, he kind of looks like the lead singer of Cameo . You be the judge.

When I saw a pic of the guy, I just laughed.

As for the legal team of Reis, Albert, and Mayor, they were nice choices for this. The artwork has a pretty cinematic feel to it. The pencils are good and the inks and colors make the art pop off the page. Everything is pretty detailed even Hammond’s big head and Hand’s creepiness. It does go toward the ultra-violent side at a couple of points but this unfortunately happens with most modern comics. It’s not a complete turn-off for me since this Reis does this in Blackest Night.

In the end, I have to pick which one I like better. I have to go with Secret Origin on this round. While I like the artwork in the Emerald Dawn mini-series, I just like Reis’s stuff better. He’s actually become one of my favorite current artists. When he came on Justice League post-Jim Lee, it’s like that book instantly got better. It’s really a matter of personal taste and the team on Secret Origin just did it for me.  

Emerald Dawn – 3

Secret Origin – 4

Well, I have one more category below and that will be it.

 

Story

I’ve finally gotten to the end of this little match-up. Now, I have to see what story was able to combine all of the elements I’ve gone through this week. Both stories give a nice origin for Hal Jordan. They show him as a flawed man who goes through a big change when he gets the ring. He’s literally a changed man at the end of the respective origins. We see him get to do amazing things and find out what his limits of being a Corps member are. The origins also give us an introduction into this pretty vast part of Green Lantern lore.

As I’ve said before, both stories are pretty good. They take the character and do what they need to do with him. The writing itself is pretty good. The dialogue to both stories is also good. While Emerald Dawn is a little verbose at times, the dialogue is still well-done. They also include some pretty funny moments as well as some real heartfelt moments. The action in both stories is also thought out well.

I have to post this pic of Sinestro flipping off (I think) the Guardians again. Do your thing, you crazy alien!

I do have some complaints on certain things in the stories. With Emerald Dawn, it has to be the lack of backstory for Hal. While we see how he got the ring, we really don’t learn anything about who he is other than the fact that he lost his father and that he is a bit of a loser. I said this back in my look at the trade. I really wanted to see what led him to become that flawed man at the beginning. This is actually one area where Secret Origin excelled in. Johns spent one issue on Hal’s past before the ring. It helped me see who he was and why he messed up his life before the ring. I also wish he had a bit more time on Earth in Emerald Dawn interacting his family and Carol. As I said before, it would help us understand who he is as a man.

There is also the issue of his DUI. I know of some folk looking down at this part of the origin and saying it was a sin. I actually don't have a problem with the DUI plot. They wanted to make Hal flawed, so they might as well have him do something really stupid. My only issue with it is that we really don't see him confront his issue of drinking. He just buffs it off and says he'll quit it. Now, it is possible he wasn't at Tony Stark levels of drunkedness since we didn't see much of  this the story. Still, if they were going for a sort of after-school special vibe, they kind of failed at that.

For Secret Origin, it would mostly be the character of William Hand. I’m just not a fan of the overly-creepy character. Also, some of the violence is a little much. Johns’ stories tend to have it, so it’s just something you’ll have to get used to in his work. I also wish we got more of Oa than we did, but that’s not to say we didn’t get any of Oa. Also, the Guardians were a little weird as well as being big buttheads in this origin. I know that they are pricks, but this went a little overboard with it. I can at least say that their portrayal fit with how Johns has written them throughout his run.

Hal: Curfew? What am I? 16? I'm a freakin' space cop!

In the end, it’ll be Secret Origin that gets the point and the win for the better origin story. It really showed Hal growing up and taking up a bigger responsibility. I also liked how characters like Carol Ferris and Sinestro were used. It also furthered Johns’ run in a big way. While it is Hal’s origin, it also helps set up things that eventually happened later like the Red Lanterns and Blackest Night. It also had some sweet art from one of my favorite current artists. Now, this doesn’t mean I don’t like the Emerald Dawn miniseries. They also made Hal grow as a man and gave a good villain origin with Sinestro. Both origins ultimately did what they set out to do and they succeeded.

Well, that’s all I got for this match-up. I don’t know what else I’ll do in this segment. I may look at some reboots or different adaptations. If I can talk about it for more than a paragraph and make a good argument for either thing. I'll do it. If I do another match-up, it may involve another character who's green. I’m outta here. Peace, God Bless, and warn those who worship evil’s might to beware my power: Green Lantern’s light!