The Good

I like Simon Baz. I like him a lot. We get to see a Middle-Eastern character in a major role, and it works with the story. It's not just a character of a different race as the Green Lantern. His culture and background play into the story. Simon may be involved in illegal activities, such as car theft, but he does it for a greater cause. These actions, which we saw play out in issue 0 of GREEN LANTERN, play heavily into this issue. He cares about his family, even if it endangers his life. Seriously, it's only two issues in, and I'm a huge Simon Baz fan.

I like seeing characters slowly adapt to the changes around them when they get super powers. Baz doesn't understand the Green Lantern ring, and right now, he it's essentially just life support for him. He doesn't have control of it like Jordan or Rayner would.

Spoiler section. Looks like we haven't seen the last of Jordan and Sinestro. Are they trapped in the rings or are they communicating through the rings from vertigo or limbo or wherever they currently are?

The Guardians have lost it, and I love it. The Third Army is already a terrible idea by the Guardians and soon to be a force to deal with. They don't care who or what gets in their way, even at the cost of human life, as long as they get rid of the Green Lanterns. We only get a brief moment with members of the Third Army here, but you get the feeling it's going to be the Guardians biggest mistake.

Solid ending to the issue, which is a big lead into events to come as Baz is going to have some big obstacles to overcome. I'm very excited to see this story continue.

The Bad

It moves a bit slower than other issues because we're dealing with a new character stepping into the Green Lantern role.

The Verdict

GREEN LANTERN 13 is a great start and introduction to Baz's time as a member of the soon to be disbanded Green Lantern Corps. We get a deeper look into Simon Baz's life and how he's adapting to becoming a Green Lantern. I loved the writing and the art here. Geoff Johns is amazing at reinventing this series and keeping it fresh. I loved the ending, and although I wasn't too keen on how the Third Army looked in issue 0, I feel they are going to bring a lot to the table as an enemy in these upcoming issues.

Overall, I highly recommend this issue.