three heroes without losing sight of Hal who, as the seasoned warrior of the trio, is naturally in the forefront of the adventures.

Niven and scripter Byrne are also careful to preserve the integrity of Jordan’s character as a common man, an everyday Joe who finds himself in the role of spacefaring adventurer. Jordon’s character helps to add a human perspective and touches of humour in the perception of the story’s cosmic events, and the secrets behind the Corps are a major new element in the Green Lantern Corps mythos and a realistically sobering reminder for Jordan that no beings are without flaw, that even the immortal Oans are disappointingly human, as recognized by the irrever- ent Guardian Ganthet.

The book’s story is matched by the fantastic visuals supplied by penciller John Byrne. Byrne is capable of keeping a wide variety of faces and figures in his characters and in bringing

Solid detail to every setting from Hal Jordon’s motel to the high- ‘ech halls of Oa, not to mention little touches like the con- ‘tantly changing designs on Ganthet’s tie. Possessed of a strong ‘torytelling sense and the pacing and dynamic energy necessary for comics art, Byrne is also an artist of seemingly limitless ‘echnical creativity. The only quibble with his gorgeous work here is his inking his own pencils, which in this case is a bit sketchy in places. It’s a minor flaw at best, and easy to overlook with the powerful drawings by Byrne and the rich colouring -‘Dplied to the drawings by Matt Webb. It’s one of those books that deserves the high quality prestige format printing process ‘Sed here, and the high quality paper brings out the skilful drawings and vibrant colours of the artists. There’s even a Tather classy ‘‘foil-enhanced’’ cover superimposing a silver logo of the title ona fantastic drawing by Byrne. It all adds up ‘0a gorgeous, handsomely designed book that is actually worth

the relatively high price ($6.95) that prestige format books like these traditionally demand. Check out Ganthet’s Tale while it’s still in the stores, because it may not be around for long.