Why You Should Read "A Perfect Life"

Issues: Green Lantern #7-8 (2006)

What color goes best with green? Well, I think the only thing that goes perfectly with green is...more green. That must be why Green Lantern has teamed up with Green Arrow several times. 

PC: Andrew James Rocha

In my last post about "Branded", I recommended a story about Green Lantern fighting crime with Batman. In "A Perfect Life", Green Lantern teams up with his pal, Green Arrow. While "Branded" was a story about Green Lantern regaining Batman's trust, "A Perfect Life" deals more with Green Lantern and Green Arrow coming to terms with their personal demons and desires. 

Green Lantern and Green Arrow have a lot in common. Hal Jordan is arrogant and does not really like people to tell him what to do. Oliver Queen is very much the same, though he probably questions authority more than Hal. These two characters also have a complicated relationship with their families and try to keep themselves distant. 

After Hal's father died in a plane crash, he ran away from home and abandoned his mother and brothers. Oliver was a spoiled rich brat before becoming the Green Arrow, and has run away from the responsibility of raising his illegitimate son.

"A Perfect Life" shows what Green Lantern and Green Arrow truly desire, even if their history keeps them from those desires. If you ever read the Superman story, "For the Man who Has Everything", then "A Perfect Life" acts like a kind of an unofficial sequel. If you have not read "For the Man Who Has Everything", it is one of the best Superman stories and I highly recommend it.

Another reason to read this story is because it will serve as an introduction to Mongul, an intergalactic tyrant, and his sadistic biological weapon, Black Mercy. Mongul will play an integral part in the "Sinestro Corps War", which is a story line that I plan on talking about soon.

Writing	Art	Character Development	Overall Enjoyment
8	7	8	9