GL:Rebirth question

[shadow of a madman]

How accessible is Green Lanter:Rebirth to a new GL reader?I've only been reading since the start of the new series,and I'm really diggin' it.I know all the basics of Green Lantern,but my knowledge of Parallax,The Spectre and all that is very limited.Do they recap in Rebirth,or do they just throw you in there?
Can I pick up this book and understand what's going on without looking up Hal's entire history on the net?

[Indefatigable]

I found Rebirth very easy to understand. I don't think there's anything in there a quick sentence or two wouldn't explain.

[Agentum]

Forget about it then, it's an awful story, nice art thou.
All this with yellow monsters and Hal spectre gives me a headace, that was really one of the worst times for DC.

I don't you miss much skipping all that part of Hals history.
It seems a forced story just to quick wrap some years of a insanity and dead Hal and a very bad spectre run into Hals return as a good guy and the leading GL again.

[Hellstormer]

I thought this story was good and easily accessible and it explains everything to new readers.

[Nick Kal]

Great story! I started GL with this and I feel like I understand it all. Buy it!

[The Shadow]

Forget about it then, it's an awful story, nice art thou.
All this with yellow monsters and Hal spectre gives me a headace, that was really one of the worst times for DC.

I don't you miss much skipping all that part of Hals history.
It seems a forced story just to quick wrap some years of a insanity and dead Hal and a very bad spectre run into Hals return as a good guy and the leading GL again.
What he said.

A bad Yellow monster controlling Hal?

Puh-LEAZE.
Johns is better than this series.

The art was sweet though!!!

[Matt]

While I think the story was great, I suggest reading it yourself and making up your own mind rather than listening to other people's opinons on it.

As for accessibility ... I'd say it's a safe bet that you'll have no trouble figuring out what's going on.

[onenatv]

I have every issues and I also just bought the HC, it's that good. The HC have "who's who?" page that tell you information about major characters. Everything will also be explain in detail eventually about issue 3 or 4 which is half of the book. Don't worry man, you will get everything. Don't hesitate to buy this book. It's awesome.

[stealthwise]

This mini-series is the ultimate in fan service.

And I don't mind at all. As I've said before, for the first time since about 1994, I completely geeked out over a comic, and Johns pushes all of the right buttons in each issue. There are some really great moments in there, as long as you're not hung up on the yellow fear monster retcon.

[thehead]

i thought it was great, and did a great job tying up loose ends. buy it now.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Rebirth is like a Star Wars or Star Trek movie. You can enjoy them not knowing the insanely detailed backstories of all the various characters because they fill you in on everything you need to know, but the hardcore fans will take a lot more out of the experience.

Like, you don't need to know exactly who Khan is to enjoy him as a villain, but if you saw the original episode he was on, that's a cool little bonus for you.

Whether Rebirth is a Wrath of Khan rollercoster ride or a Phantom Menace snooze-fest, I'll leave to you. I enjoyed the heck out of it.

[rerun]

I would say its pretty accessible. Also, Wizard did a Creator's commentary (maybe 6 months ago) that I thought pointed out some little things I missed.

[enediol]

I'm new to comics myself (bought my first in Oct '05) and the Rebirth series was one of my first (right after Identity Crisis) and it is one of my favorite collections.

Art is some of the best I've seen and the story is great. I have a buddy that's been around since the first crisis and he hated it so its all a matter of opinion.

It explains a lot of the back story of the Green Lanterns and Hal Jordan's return to the current continuity. I recommend it - if only to see Batman take a Jordan punch.

[Kevinroc]

I think a basic knowledge of who Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kilowog, Oliver Queen and Sinestro are definitely helps. I really couldn't imagine trying to read Rebirth without knowing absolutely nothing about any of those characters.

You don't need to know the detailed history of every character ever but just do a little internet search and read up on their history beore getting into Rebirth.

[The Shadow]

Rebirth is like a Star Wars or Star Trek movie. You can enjoy them not knowing the insanely detailed backstories of all the various characters because they fill you in on everything you need to know, but the hardcore fans will take a lot more out of the experience.

Like, you don't need to know exactly who Khan is to enjoy him as a villain, but if you saw the original episode he was on, that's a cool little bonus for you.
Nice analogy!

[KJ_81]

I'd probably pick up the trade that has the story of Hal's demise as GL, and Kyle's first appearance (Emerald Sacrifice/New Dawn I think it's called?) that should prove useful too.