Written by Al Ewing

Art by Jahnoy Lindsay

Letters by Lucas Gattoni

DC, out now

Something impossible has just crashed into the small town of Evergreen. There are survivors. Not all of them are human.

Al Ewing steps into the Absolute universe and does so with style. This is a ridiculously good opening issue, re-framing the Green Lanterns as something akin to a 21st Century UFO story. The comforting lie of ‘space cops!’ is replaced by colossal concepts and desperately intimate stakes. Three friends – Jo, John and Hal – find themselves on the literal edge of a singularity event. Fans of the characters will recognise those names, and their friend Guy who gets namechecked. But Ewing isn’t just writing for those people, he’s writing for new readers and doing an excellent job. You don’t need to know anything else here besides Hal being a little irresponsible, Jo being deeply kind and done with Guy’s nonsense, and John knowing a lot.

These instantly likable characters are turned on their head by events and the entire creative set a jangled, traumatised tone to the story that puts you on edge in the best of ways. The vast symbol, the undeniable and horrible truth of an alien in broad daylight, the quiet censoring of the news footage, a diner waitress with a gun. All of these heighten the tension and Lindsay’s superb art focuses that tension to a keen edge. Hal in particular is a study in terror and his desperate attempts to stop what what’s happening to him hook us even as they drag him back into hell. Gattoni’s incredible lettering too maps the constant panic and sense of control sliding away everyone feels onto every page.

Verdict: This is exceptional comic storytelling from an exceptional team. If you’re a fan of the characters you’ll love this. if you’re new, this is absolutely for you. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart