GRANT MORRISON – writer

LIAM SHARP – artist and colorist

TOM ORZECHOWSKI – letters

Synopsis in a Sentence: Hal Jordan and his ring’s AI battle, then join forces, with the wizard in the ring to save all three.

Full disclosure: I tried reading this book once and threw it down in disgust after two pages. I think I just wasn’t in the mood for a rhyming wizard, weird elf lady, and lyric prose. I let it sit a day, then went back to it, and you know what? It’s a great one-shot Green Lantern tale.

In the first part of the book we follow “witch-girl” Pengowirr. Odd name, right? Turns out it’s an anagram for “Power ring”. Oh Grant Morrison, you clever bastard. Anyway, Penny is traveling the wasteland of the interior of Hal’s ring, which is dying. She’s avoiding the minions of the wizard who was banished to the ring by the Guardians, Myrwhydden. Being a new-ish reader of GL, I didn’t recognize the name. I also didn’t like his rhyming shtick at first. That’s my man Etrigan’s gimmick buddy!

Eventually Penny notices a stranger following her, and it’s none other than Hal Jordan- shrunken and stuck in his own ring. How embarrassing! After traveling with Penny awhile, dodging minions and whatnot, Hal begins to realize where he’s at, who he’s with, and that he’s running out of time before his ring’s energy is fully used up. He convinces Myrwydden to stop wasting the ring’s power with building a fantasy world and henchmen and to send out a last-ditch distress call.

Of course, a couple of Lanterns find the ring in time and get it back to OA, where Hal is extracted and gives the classic GL rhyme (a nice touch to counter the wizard’s rhyming) in time to save his ring and its “inhabitants”.

Say what you will about Morrison, but he really came up with a great story here. The fantastical prose wasn’t my favorite thing, but it fit the tale. Liam Sharp’s intricate art was on point as usual, but what really shined were the page layouts and muted coloring of the dying interior of the ring.

9/10