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Rating: Summary: A Well-Told, Touching Story, But Newer Readers Might Be Lost Review: In Legacy: The Last Will and Testament of Hal Jordan, writer Joe Kelly and Artists Brent Anderson and Bill Sienkiewicz try to add a fitting coda to the career of Hal Jordan, the disgraced (and deceased) former Green Lantern. Prior to his death, Jordan went berserk with grief (The City he called home was destroyed by an insane alien baddie), slaughtered the entire Green Lantern Corps., and usurped their power in an attempt to undo the destruction of Coast City. He was eventually given a chance to redeem himself; He died saving the Earth, and has since been reborn as the newest incarnation of the wrath of God known as The Spectre. Whew! The book centers around former Jordan sidekick/Green Lantern wannabe/offensive racial stereotype Tom "Pieface" Kalmaku. (Can you believe there was actually a time when it was OK to call an Eskimo "Pieface"? Jeez!) He is wallowing in self-pity over the loss of his friend Hal; He's a destitute alcoholic, he's just lost his job, his Wife, his Kids......and now, out of nowhere, he's handed a child that is allegedly Jordan's, and a note from Hal reading "Tom- Fix it. Hal" Who is this kid? What does the note mean? What can one man do in a world of super-powered God-like beings? Tom is about to find out.... The art is nice, the book is attractively designed, and the reappearance of my favorite ever Green Lantern (I won't spoil the surprise, poozer!) is much appreciated and very unexpected. Writer Joe Kelly even manages to end the book on a note of triumph, with a hint of a bright future for The Corps. My only problem is that if I weren't aware of the twisty Green Lantern continuity, I'd have been lost. The book just doesn't seem new-reader friendly. Who is The Spectre, and what does he have to do with Hal Jordan? Who is the big yellow guy that blew up Coast City? What did Hal hope to accomplish by killing off The Corps. and The Guardians? I knew the answers to these quetions, but a new reader wouldn't. Longtime fans should be satisfied, though.
Rating: Summary: The Best Green Lantern book. Kyle fans need not apply. Review: Really. From what I've seen, most Hal fans will praise this book bar none as the best Gl story while Kyle Rayner fans will berate it as a poor story. And yes, I can see from both sides of the camp, but I think Kyle fans tended to look at the story superficially. Plus, it had elements that they did not like such as the Silver Age Green Lantern mythos. So, if you're a fan of Kyle as the one and only Green Lantern, you probably won't like this book. But if you're a fan of the Corps and Hal, you'll definitely love this book. It's got great art and a deep story which I found most Kyle fans never understood as they were too occupied with simple detail errors. Funny, when you consider, Kyle Rayner stories were full of such inconsistencies and yet his stories were praised. It's priced a bit so you could wait for the tpb if you want. But it's really a good story for the classic silverage Green Lantern fan that I wouldn't wait. The story is centered around Tom Kalmaku, Hal's old time friend and mechanic, so you're not getting a 100% Hal Jordan book. You're getting more of Tom's life being affected by Hal's actions during and after Emerald Twilight.
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