Review by Frank Plowright
Traitor combines what were originally three separate stories by Steven Grant, starring three separate Green Lanterns and the troubles they have with an extremely powerful alien warlord, named Traitor by the people he crushed. Along the way Grant adds to Green Lantern lore, most prominently with Abin Sur, the person who bequeathed a green ring to Hal Jordan.
The trilogy begins with Abin Sur, established as extraordinarily long lived, arriving in Arizona in the 1880s. His vivid red skin has him mistaken as a form of Native American by the ignorant locals, and he’s restricted by only being able to use his ring in a very limited way as he fears its energy could be tracked by Traitor. While some traditional GL action takes place, as seen on Mike Zeck’s sample art, it’s very much a case of minimal super powers being shoehorned into a Western, with each side on a long-running battle having their own futuristic advantage.
Hal Jordan is next to face Traitor. Abin Sur’s seemingly permanent method of taking him off the table has kept him away for a century, and with his initial enemy now dead he recognises the ring as having been passed to Jordan. Grant ties events in to Green Lantern battling Black Hand, with the villain’s methods revealing a weakness to Traitor. The selling point is the return of Gil Kane to the character he so strongly defined in the 1960s, and recognising that, Grant also features the Atom, another hero with which Kane is associated. At the end of his career, the pages don’t approach Kane at his peak, although they’re fine as inked by Klaus Janson, and Grant constructs an effective homage feeding in the type of mystery Jordan traditionally solved.
It’s Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern who finally deals with Traitor, although Grant plots well enough to ensure it looks for a long while he’ll be unable to cope. He features a twisted version of the relationship Silver Surfer has with Galactus, and conceives a neat solution after a gruelling battle. The talent of Scott Kolins is evident in his early work, but although he’d rapidly develop, he hasn’t quite mastered visual storytelling, prioritising the images.
Green Lantern’s continuity can be exceptionally complicated, but provided you know the basics of a hero using a ring powered by his strength of will, Traitor can be read as a standalone story, and that’s welcome. There’s a base level of entertainment and creativity, and any Green Lantern fans will appreciate the small touches Grant incorporates.
