Ion #1
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com on April 24, 2006
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Torch Bearer Part One
It’s a new universe for Kyle Rayner… what’s his place in it?
Writer: Ron Marz
Art: Greg Tocchini
Ink Assist: Jay Leisten
Colors: Jeromy Cox
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editors: Eddie Berganza & Ivan Cohen
Cover Art: Ivan Reis & Marc Campos
Publisher: DC Comics
Review: A year after the Crisis, Kyle Rayner is still struggling to find his new place in the universe. He has accepted what he was intended to be all along, and knows he now has a new role with the Green Lantern Corps - but somewhere in all that, Kyle Rayner himself got lost.
Let’s face it, Kyle’s luck has sucked since early in Judd Winick’s run on the previous Green Lantern series. He goes into space, his girlfriend leaves him, he’s replaced in the Justice League, and even though he’s instrumental in the resurrection of the Green Lantern Corps, he soon watches his third girlfriend since getting the ring killed - and this time, he gets her power to add to his own. He’s been through the wringer, and even though it’s a year later, it’s not far-fetched to believe that Kyle still doesn’t know who he’s supposed to be anymore.
Marz was a fine choice to guide Kyle Rayner once again - he created this incarnation of Green Lantern, after all, and turned him from a green rookie (pun intended) into a proud, capable hero. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but since Marz left him the first time, he’s been put through hell. Hopefully the point of this series will be to bring him back.
Marz’s characterization and setup is fine, but I’m afraid I have to take off points for Greg Toccini’s artwork. He has a definite style, but I don’t think it works for this story. It’s too scattershot, too disjointed - kind of like a less-refined Bill Sienkiwicz - and the issue suffers as a result.
This issue isn’t a knockout, but it’s a solid setup. The real question is going to be, of course, where it goes from here.
Rating: 7/10