Writer: Al Ewing
Art: Jahnoy Lindsay
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Reviewed by: Anonymous
Release Date: Juuly 2nd, 2025
Jo and Hal hatch a plan to strike back at Abin Sur and free Evergreen. But is their understanding of Abin Sur and his plans for Evergreen correct, or will they just create a bigger disaster in the process?
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THE DISPATCH
Al Ewing continues to bring cosmic complexity and political precision to Absolute Green Lantern, a series that has reshaped the mythos of the Green Lantern Corps into something both intimate and existential. With Absolute Green Lantern #4, the story of Evergreen—a mysterious, semi-sentient construct-city—and the corrupted vision of Abin Sur deepens, as Jo Mullein and Hal Jordan take the offensive… but risk playing directly into their enemy’s hands.
The official story for this issue says it best: “Jo and Hal hatch a plan to strike back at Abin Sur and free Evergreen.” But that’s only the surface. What Ewing excels at—seen in past work like Immortal Hulk and Defenders Beyond—is destabilizing our understanding of heroes and villains, and here, that tactic is in full force.
Jo and Hal, two Lanterns shaped by very different worlds and philosophies, team up in what at first seems like a straightforward rebellion. But the tension lies in the uncertainty: what exactly is Evergreen? And what does Abin Sur really want with it? Ewing layers these questions with quiet dread, showing how Jo and Hal’s attempt to liberate the city may actually fulfill a deeper part of Abin’s agenda. The question of understanding vs. assumption runs throughout this issue. Are Jo and Hal acting on principle—or on pride? Ewing doesn’t answer that outright, and that moral ambiguity elevates the narrative.
This is not the noble, sacrificial Abin Sur from Silver Age canon. Since the beginning of Absolute Green Lantern, Ewing has recast him as a visionary whose mission to build order has tipped into obsession. Issue #4 reveals chilling glimpses of his ideology: he doesn’t want to destroy the Corps—he wants to perfect it, even if it means overriding sentient will. Abin’s connection to Evergreen is finally clarified here in a twist that reframes the entire arc—without spoiling too much, it’s less about control and more about convergence: a merging of living systems and Lantern law that borders on the divine. This is Ewing at his most Grant Morrison-esque, wrestling with metaphysics through the lens of emerald energy and ideological warfare.
One of the greatest strengths of Absolute Green Lantern has been the interplay between Jo Mullein and Hal Jordan. She’s the realist, the reformer, shaped by street-level injustice and systemic rot. He’s the old-school idealist, shaped by willpower and legacy. In this issue, that friction hits its peak. Their plan to strike at Evergreen is both brilliant and reckless—and watching them argue over tactics, ethics, and the very point of being Lanterns is as compelling as any action sequence. Ewing writes their dynamic with texture and mutual respect, even as distrust bubbles beneath the surface.
Ariel Olivetti’s painted style gives the book a statuesque grandeur. Characters feel mythic, particularly Abin Sur, who often appears framed like a fallen god or messianic figure. Evergreen itself—a living, growing city of will-made architecture—remains one of the most visually distinct additions to Green Lantern lore in years. Olivetti’s action is spare but impactful. Instead of big splash-page slugfests, the energy is focused on tension, reaction, and emotional beats. When the plan finally launches and things go very wrong, the visuals land like a thunderclap.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Absolute Green Lantern #4 is a turning point for the series—not because of a massive explosion or battle, but because the ideological fault lines between the characters begin to crack wide open. Al Ewing has been meticulously crafting a story not just about willpower, but about the limits of belief—in the Corps, in leadership, and in one’s own mission. With elegant pacing, philosophical depth, and an ever-escalating sense of cosmic tension, this issue proves Absolute Green Lantern isn’t just a great sci-fi comic—it’s one of the most important Green Lantern stories of the past decade.