REVIEW: Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1

Hal Jordan of the Green Lantern Corp takes a twisted trip down memory lane in Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1. Can the man with an iron will stay strong in the midst of his deepest, darkest fears?

Hal Jordan has lived an incredible life even for a comic book superhero. This issue takes a look at that life but twisted into a nightmare version by Insomnia. And it goes from zero to sixty real quick. Going from a peaceful plane ride straight into a childhood tragedy. It then cuts to one of the most famous moments in all of comics, when Hal becomes a Green Lantern. Both are turned terrifying but don’t break Hal. Writer Jeremy Adams does a great job of showing what makes Hal such a special person/hero outside of his powers. Something that can get lost in a steady stream of comic releases starring any hero. Eventually Hal does figure out something in wrong and challenges insomnia. But the final trick he has up his sleeve is a nightmarish doozy.

The accompanying art in the issue is some of the best in the Knight Terrors series so far. The character design, the inking and the coloring are all amazing. The panels showing the first time Hal interacts with a Green Lantern maybe the standout section. It’s partly horrific sure, but its’ also beautiful. Green Lantern’s unique powers lend well to comic book panels and are only limited by his imagination and that of the writers and artists. He gets to flex a little bit of that but the art is so well done that, those aren’t the coolest visuals in the issue. A great job from top to bottom by Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira and Luis Guerrero.

The issue also includes Sinestro: Shards of the Looking Glass Pt. 1. In this, an already down trodden Sinestro, is hit by the nightmare wave and plunged deeper into despair. Sinestro’s fear of being powerless and not commanding fear is already in play so his nightmare is meeting his former, more powerful self with a sprinkling of Hal Jordan jealousy on the side. Sinestro is really punishing himself more than Insomnia can. And it ends with an appearance by another alternative version of himself who might cause some real problems for him. Writer Alex Segura and the art team of Fox Foccillo and Prasad Raq really capture the essence of Sinestro’s character even though he is in a crazy dream world.

Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1, despite being nightmare themed, is a Green Lantern enthusiast’s dream. Long-time fans will enjoy the slighter off-kilter version of “This is Your Life”. And those new to the character can get a basic idea of his origin story. Hal goes through a lot in this issue. And we have a new leader in the clubhouse for most disturbing panel. No spoilers, but you’ll know it when you see it. All this and he hasn’t even faced his greatest fear yet!

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Coloring – 4.5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Jeremy Adams, Alex Segura
Art by; Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, Fox Focillo
Colors by; Luis Guerrero, Prasaq Raq
Letters by; Dave Sharpe
Published by; DC Comics

Author Profile

Christopher R. Ford

Writer, author, and blogger. Published author of three children's books and also writes for the boy Creators For The Culture. Part-time sneaker head, full time nerd.