Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #30

Writer: Robert Venditti

Artist: Patrick Zircher

Colourist: Jason Wright

Letterer: Dave Sharpe

This issue begins an arc that sort of ties into the recent two-part arc in the Superman title by Keith Champagne, Doug Mahnke, and a few other artists. In this arc, Parallax lures Superman into a trap in order to take over his body and use it for his own desires. It was an otherwise forgettable story, but it's nice to see this title continue that story. And it feels even more real since this issue is drawn by the wonderful Patrick Zircher, the main artist over at Action Comics.

What immediately jumped at me with this issue was that it felt like a classic Green Lantern story. A Green Lantern has to be sent to Earth to investigate a recent Parallax appearance. Of course, based on the cover of the issue, things are not what they seem and Hal Jordan has to find a way to expel Parallax from Superman once and for all.

This is probably the first issue of the series to take place almost entirely on Earth, which is a breath of fresh air. Seeing Hal interact with a Justice League member, particularly Superman, is great to see since I really don't think they've shared a scene since Rebirth started; perhaps they did in Metal. Another aspect of the story I really liked, and what Robert Venditti pulled off well, was the anger and fury of Hal towards Parallax. He understands what Superman stands for and seeing him under Parallax's control brings out an energy and emotional burst we haven't see in Hal in quite a long time.

Zircher is bar none one of my favourite artists in the industry. I think his art has a particularly clean look to it, and his storytelling sensibilities based on his social media presence really comes across on the page. There's a page in particular when Hal and Parallax are flying straight to one another, and it's my favourite page in the issue as it flows so nicely and has just the right level of detail that Zircher always manages to infuse.

This is a brief interlude, but what a pleasant one it was. I like these smaller stories and it also benefits from actually continuing a story set up in another book. More Zircher art is something we all need and he gets to shine in this issue.