To start with, I’d like to get one thing out of the way and say that while I’ve never been a huge fan of Green Lantern, I still respect the comic and understand how well written it is. My problem has, for the most part, always been that there’s far too much backstory needed for me to fully understand exactly what it is that I’m reading about. It just never really seemed new reader friendly and that always kept me from really getting into the title.

Well, apparently, it’s not like anymore.

Back in March, Green Lantern writer and comic book icon Geoff Johns began a new arc in the series called Secret Origin. My first thought? Nothing. I ignored it. The way I saw it, I had made an attempt by reading the opening shot of the Sinestro Corps war and it blew up in my face by being one of the most confusing comics I had read in a while, aside from Infinite Crisis obviously. So a couple of weeks passed and I glanced at the DC wall again. I decided that, mostly because of the numerous good things I had heard recently about Green Lantern, I would give it another shot.

I’m happy I did because Secret Origin is a really great point for new readers to jump on board. Not only does the comic recount the original origin of Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern, it explains a little bit more about Abin Sur, the original Lantern who died and handed his ring down to Jordan. In addition to that, the comic talks a little bit about the upcoming “Blackest Night” storyline that will be taking place in the near future. Geoff Johns is easily one of the best writers working for DC right now and it’s because of his ability to take characters that have been around for so long and have been subjected to almost every situation imaginable and make them fresh and new all over again. He’s done it with characters like Flash, the many heroes of the Justice Society of America and, as I now realize, Green Lantern as well.

The artwork of Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert is another really great part about this story so far with great interior art, that really helps Johns’ bring his story to the next level, and simple yet extremely eye catching covers.

If you’re a longtime Lantern fan, you probably already have these issues and are more than content with what they brought to the table. If you’re a newcomer to the Green Lantern world, there’s no better time to get into the comic than right now. With a couple more solid issues by Johns, Green Lantern will no doubt secure a spot on my pull list and, who knows, maybe it’ll wind up on yours too.