There have been definite changes made to the DC Universe in “New 52,” including Superman’s costume in “Action Comics,” Barbara Gordon’s return as Batgirl and Swamp Thing’s resurrection. However, one of the more significant changes occurs in “Green Lantern #1.” In this issue Hal Jordan is stripped of his ring and his replacement is the Corps’ greatest enemy, Sinestro.

“Green Lantern #1” is written by Geoff Johns, with art by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy. Johns returns to his element and it definitely shows. Doug Mahnke has been the artist for the more recent “Green Lantern” and “Green Lantern Corp” issues prior to “The New 52” reboot.

The issue takes place right where the Green Lantern event, “War of the Green Lanterns,” left off. In the event, Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart and Guy Gardner (all of the human members of the Green Lantern Corps) must break all the other Green Lanterns free from Parallax. This resulted in the death of the living planet Mogo, the death of Krona, the villain behind it all and Hal Jordan’s expulsion from the Corps and his replacement, Sinestro.

This is where the time-line of “New 52” gets a little confusing. In John’s other series, “Justice League,” Hal Jordan was the Green Lantern, not Sinestro. However that story took place five years ago. Five years ago from what exactly? The present day? Just to add to the confusion some books like this one take place where their current stories left off, whereas other stories like the upcoming Nightwing series will be changing things to the current timeline.

Sinestro is now a Green Lantern and right from the start he hates it and we can understand why. He was expelled from the Corp by creating a totalitarian government on the planet he was supposed to protect and then created his own Corp, the Sinestro Corps, and became the Green Lantern Corps greatest enemy. The Guardians of Oa say that it is a chance for redemption but in reality it is to keep an eye on him. However one guardian, Ganthet, who has become a member of the Corps disagrees with the Guardians.

We also see Hal Jordan who has now just an ordinary citizen of Coast City. To say the least he is not adjusting to it very well. He is expelled from his apartment, has no job and his romance with Carol Ferris is basically over.

It is very interesting to see both Sinestro and Hal adjusting to their new roles, which they both hate. We see one scene where Sinestro is watching over his home planet when he finds out that his own Corps enslaved his home while he ordered them to watch over it. This is a very interesting and ironic twist, which definitely works with Sinestro’s character. This definitely proves that Johns is a master writer of the Green Lantern books.

While the issue is good, trying to figure out where it takes place in the “New 52” timeline and its contradiction with the Justice League series definitely hurts the issue. If you are a Green Lantern fan, I would recommend picking this up.