Green Lantern #176
DC Comics
Writer: Ron Marz
Pencils: Luke Ross
Inks: Rodney Ramos
Price: $2.25

Rating: 4 stars

Reunited and it feels so good! Ron Marz is back writing the character he defined and I for one could not be happier, especially with the recent news that issue 181 is the last of this current series. To have the ability to so define a character as Marz did with Kyle, and then to come back and give him a conclusion that will resonate well with fans of the title is a blessing that not many creators are given.

There are rumors abounding that with Hal Jordan?s return, Kyle will no longer be Green Lantern, I don?t want to get ahead of myself, as there is no palpable evidence that this is the case. I am glad though to get Kyle back to Earth though, so all the dangling plot threads can be sewn up in a nice little package. I was not a fan of Ben Raab?s run on the book, and had quit reading the title until I got wind of this Marz-Kyle reunion. To get a sense of where the title is, I picked up the issues, so I?m not just blowing smoke when I say that Kyle needed a definite change of creative team.

Issue 176 finds Kyle back on Earth hoping for a romantic reunion with his girlfriend Jade. Unfortunately, things don?t go as planned, and Kyle finds himself out in the cold in every conceivable way. His visit to the JLA headquarters further jolts Kyle, and makes him feel more lost and indecisive then ever. After having so much anticipation in returning, Kyle is literally a man without a place. Topping things off, his arch enemy Fatality is on her way out of prison to resolve some issues of her own.

Creatively, bringing Marz and the art team of Luke Ross and Rodney Ramos in could not have been better timed. The book is at its lowest ebb, and the space saga definitely didn?t go as DC had planned. Lackluster plots and rotating art teams have made the title drift to a place where action was demanded. Having an experienced writer and a great art team on this issue is an absolute breath of fresh air.

From the outstanding cover by Brandon Peterson to the last page credits, I was held by the tale. It is as if Marz never left. The inner monologue felt right, and the art was incredibly well done. I can only hope for a compassionate, heroic end for this title, and if it is to be, a logical conclusion for the character that holds a definite place in my comic book heart.

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