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Flashpoint: Green Arrow Industries #1
Writer: Pornsak Pichetshote
Artists: Marco Castiello, Ig Guara, Ruy Jose, and Vincenzo Acunzo
Cover Artist: Viktor Kalvachev
Publisher: DC

This Flashpoint tie-in starts off with this world’s Ollie explaining how he used weapons created by villains to create his own weapons, that he’s now selling to the U.S. government. Ollie is accompanied by none other than Roy (who for whatever reason looks older than Ollie), who attempts to talk Ollie into creating a super-corporation that will fight for the people. Before anything happens, though, an assassin arrives and kills everyone except for Ollie.
There’s one thing that’s been nagging at me since Flashpoint started. The whole event reads like a “What if?” book, but I can’t figure out the catalyst. Was there one event in time that was changed that created this world, or did the person responsible make many changes? Regardless, this book has little to nothing to do with Flashpoint, which I personally don’t have a problem with, though it is very strange. The story was decent; nothing really exciting or worthwhile happened, which is probably because this is a one-shot. The artist for the first five pages was great, while the rest of the book was not nearly as well illustrated. Overall it was a decent read, that is completely self-contained. 3/5

Flashpoint: Hal Jordan #1
Writer: Adam Schlagman
Artist: Ben Oliver
Cover Artists: Rags Morales with Gabe Eltaeb

There isn’t a lot I can say about the Flashpoint: Hal Jordan issue that those familiar with his story don’t already know. Hal is a screw up who’s really only good at one thing: flying jets. We get a bit of his typical back story about how his father was a pilot and died in a crash, and how Hal’s life has been continually spiraling downward. He has a rocky-at-best relationship with Carol Ferris, and she’s frustrated with his lack of investment in improving his life.
The only really new element thrown into this story is a giant shark-man who leaps from the water onto Hal’s jet, proceeds to cause mayhem, and eventually leads to Hal causing a spectacular (and costly) explosion. Oh yeah, and Abin Sur is on the last page.
This comic was nothing but back story leading into what will hopefully be far more interesting narrative territory. I found nothing much about this book to be compelling or even more than mildly entertaining. The dialog is bland, the art is alright, and the story is boring. I understand the need for back story, but a little more hook would have gone a long way. 1.5/5 – MB

Flashpoint: Project Superman #1