The original protector of Sector 2814 returns......and it's glorious.

One of this week's new DC Rebirth launches is Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, which is set to tell the story of just what is going on with Hal Jordan in the wake of the Green Lantern Corps elimination.

I will admit, since I didn't read any New 52 and have just now dove headfirst into DC Rebirth, I'm lost on anything that might have transpired from the old series into the new, but thankfully this book, just like Nightwing: Rebirth #1, does a great job of setting the stage anew from here on out. The stage is pretty clear: the Green Lanterns that Hal knew are all gone, or at least fractured. Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz now protect Sector 2814 and are part of the Justice League, as we saw in last week's Justice League: Rebirth #1. The Sinestro Corps, powered by Parallax, is flying around on a death planet with the power of fear. Everyone else seems to be going about their business, oblivious to the idea that Hal is out there trying to keep his wits about him in deep space.

Just like all of the DC Rebirth one-shots, this one does a great job of setting up Hal's world and what's going on with him to set the stage for what is coming next in the series. It's a uniquely personal story that Hal pretty much narrates himself, and if you are a big fan of the character, it might get a little emotional especially toward the end of it.

In many ways, this book echoes a bit of the emotional journey that Wally West took in DC Universe Rebirth, fighting his way back into a world that had forgotten him and moved on without him in the picture. You don't get the sense that everyone has forgotten Hal at all, but that they have certainly moved on, thinking him long gone from their realities. This one-shot beyond the shadow of a doubt sets the tone for Hal's emphatic return, touching on his own feelings and thoughts about his past and the universe around him in the process.

This book isn't an action-packed thrill ride, it's an emotional table-setter that gives us the tone for what is to come from this series. In that respect, since there is not much action, the devil of the details in this story rely on the visuals themselves, which are spectacularly grand and spacious to say the least. There's nothing grounded about this book or about the world that it takes place it. It's literally every corner of the universe for 32 pages and at the climax of the story, everyone involved can feel the change in the wind, the disturbance in the force, the ripple in the pond.

That ripple......is Hal Jordan, Green Lantern.

5 out of 5 stars - DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH: Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1

This series will run twice a month. Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #1 is due out July 27.