Why I love… Green Lantern

Tag: kyle rayner

Comics Portal: Geoff Johns Leaving Green Lantern

Feb. 12 Comic Books, Comics Portal 1 comment

It’s been nine wonderful years for me and other fans of Green Lantern, but now comes word that DC Comics’ Chief Creative Officer, Geoff Johns, is leaving Green Lantern behind. It’s the latest shift in writers since “The New 52″ began a year and a half ago.

“I’m really proud of all the stuff we’ve built with Green Lantern — from Larfleeze to the different corps,” Johns told The Associated Press about his decision. “The universe has expanded and will live well past my run. It was more than just telling another story, but really giving back to the character by expanding and adding to their mythology.”

Folks may remember that Green Lantern had gone through a tough time, with sales falling significantly. Johns’ return (and HIS bringing back Hal Jordan as the main ring wielder) ushered in an era that saw all kinds of expansions and developments regarding power rings of all colors as well as the Guardians.

So, with all this success, why leave GL now?

“I was getting to an end point and a story line that made sense for me,” Johns said. “I felt like it was time to close my run and focus all my energies on the Justice League corner of the DC Universe. It was a very, very hard decision. I absolutely love these characters but I felt like I had a story line that really made sense and felt emotionally satisfying and felt very big and very epic.”

For now, Johns will continue on Justice League, Justice League of America and Aquaman.

However, Johns will go out on Green Lantern with a bang. Issue #20 will be 64 pages long, and will be drawn by Doug Mahnke. Check out the cover above!

“It really, for me, ties everything else and ends the Green Lantern saga,” Johns said. “This story — the way the story evolves — I think people will get a sense of finality from it.”

As I think back over the last decade or so, a lot of powerful stories jump to mind, such as the “Sinestro Corps War.” But the one that will always stand out to me was the Blackest Night event, which included Black Hand committing suicide so he could be part of the Black Lantern Corps. I remember my jaw hitting the ground when I saw that. And it was only the beginning of that astounding experience.

But Johns will likely be remembered for expanding the GL “universe” from Kyle Rayner being the one and only Green Lantern to literally a whole rainbow of ring corps, each with their own oath to recharge their rings.

I’m hoping maybe Peter Tomasi will take over the writing of Green Lantern. He’s been doing a great job elsewhere in the Lantern family of comics, so I’m thinking he’s the perfect one to pick up the main title in this group.

And I’ll keep supporting Mr. Johns’ excellent stories wherever else they appear, including the upcoming Justice League of America (although I’ll pass on the multiple covers)!

Tags: Black Hand, Black Lantern, blackest night, DC Comics, Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, kyle rayner, Sinestro, wayne hall

Green Lantern Annual 1 Preview

Aug. 26 Comic Books, News, Press Release, Previews no comments

William Hand, afraid of a message from the Book of Black , buries Hal Jordan in a shallow grave. He also buries Sinestro, Hal Jordan’s rival and unwitting partner. Instead of killing Jordan outright, William Hand offers Jordan a choice: Sinestro’s life or his long dead father. Which one does Jordan choose?

Issue 12 is also the culmination of the plan that the Guardians of the Universe started a year ago in issue 1. Apparently, this was less than a month ago in the universe, according to what Jordan says in the preview images. The Third Army is the Guardians of the Universe’s third attempt to bring order to the universe. The first two attempts, Manhunters and the Green Lantern Corps, have been disappointments to them. Because of their nature, they are going to cast off the old and try something new, unless Lanterns of all colors do something about it. Well, sure because all of your plans worked for you in spades, right?

I am wondering when the Lanterns of all colors realize that the biggest threats to the galaxy is the Guardians of the Universe themselves? Will this be the next story line after the Third Army? Will Kyle Rayner lead the charge and unite the color Lanterns to dethrone the Guardians? What is Hal Jordan’s role in the plan? Where does Baz fit into all of this?

Some of those questions may be answered in Green Lantern Annual 1, on sale this Wednesday.

Tags: 3rd Army, Baz, Green Lantern, Guardians of the Universe, Hak Jordan, Joseph Furguson, kyle rayner, Sinestro

Will Green Lantern’s Legacy Confuse the General Public?

Jun. 13 Comic Books 3 comments

The Green Lantern is well-known, but when I hear someone say something like “the Green Lantern did this,” or “I like the Green Lantern,” or “I’m not really into the Green Lantern,” I often wonder which dude they’re talking about because DC has a bazillion Green Lanterns. I read comic books, and even I have a problem at times, so how do non-comics fans do it?

Between Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Alan Scott, and the umpty-jillion other Green Lanterns, that corner of the DC Universe is mighty crowded.

It may take a wee bit of explaining for those you who don’t know much about the characters, so here we go. In DC land, the Green Lantern Corps comprises a bunch people who wear green power rings that give them powers. They charge these rings with green energy from cosmic lanterns (hence the codename “Green Lantern”) so they can fly and use the energy to either shoot blasts or create solid objects out of almost anything they can think of. There are tons of green rings all over space, which means there are tons of people wearing them, so we’re talking, like, THOUSANDS of Green Lantern superheroes here.

And even more confusing, one of the Green Lanterns, Alan Scott, got his powers from somewhere else: a magical energy source / sentient being called the Starheart. And according to the DC Comics Database, the Starheart was distantly related to the cosmic energy source that gave those OTHER Green Lanterns their powers. So yeah…. confusing.

Alan Scott’s been around since 1940, Hal Jordan since the 1950s, and other lanterns have popped up in the decades since, so DC has been confusing the hell out of us for generations. And that’s just in comics; movies and TV haven’t made it better. The Green Lantern movie and the current computer-animated cartoon feature Hal Jordan, and the Justice League Unlimited cartoon features John Stewart. Who knows WHO DC will have wearing the ring if the Justice League movie comes around.

Now, I may be making mountains out of molehills for you if you’re a comic book fan. You probably already know about Green Lantern history, possibly better than I do. But if you didn’t read comics, don’t you think it might be tough figuring this stuff out? (And let’s not get into all those other lantern colors out there, and how some of these folks switch ring teams. These days, being a Green Lantern fan takes a damn master’s degree to keep up with this mess.)

I think the Green Lantern legacy is interesting, but I wonder if its pop culture potency has been diluted over the years. There have been fewer guys calling themselves Superman, Batman, Captain America, and Spider-Man than there have been calling themselves Green Lantern. Does this make being a Green Lantern less special or unique? Has the title’s importance diminished over time?

Tags: Alan Scott, Batman, Captain America, DC Comics, Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, Hal Jordan, Hilton Collins, John Stewart, Justice League, kyle rayner, power ring, Spider-Man, starheart, Superman

Why I love… Green Lantern

Apr. 30 Editorials no comments

Having already discussed why I love comics in a previous post, I now want to speak about my favourite superhero. I wasn’t sure whether to focus on superheroes as I do read a lot of different books. Having said that, superheroes do dominate the market so I thought it seemed a little fitting.

One of the main characters who got me into comics to begin with was Green Lantern and the Green Lantern universe that surrounds him. There is such a wealth of possibilities for stories and hardship and I seem drawn in to every aspect. Here’s why:

Hal Jordan

Hal Jordan is the reason I began reading Green Lantern books, having started from rebirth. From here I was hooked. He is by far my favourite Lantern. Hal is cocky and arrogant, yet underneath he has a hidden centre that can challenge him from time to time. Watching his Dad die while flying most have been tough, but he still went into the flying game himself.

Hal isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. He has fallen, and fallen far. Possessed by Parallax he destroyed most of his own corps before sacrificing his own life. But from here, he got back up and became a better hero for it. Having fallen, I think it made me like the character even more as it shows that they can fail, but that heroes will always try and succeed in picking themselves up.

Green Lantern Corp

To back up Hal Jordan’s story, there is a huge catalog of other heroes who all bring something to the table. Sinestro, the fallen greatest Lantern who turned on the Corp but who has now returned. Guy Gardner, the cocky and egotistical Lantern who will get the job done, while pissing off just about everybody along the way. Kyle Rayner, the Lantern chosen to keep the Corps alive when it was at it’s weakest. John Stewart, the architect who creates every construct from the ground up. Kilawog, the Lantern trainer who is bigger than an outside toilet. He will mess you up. Mongo, the planet size Lantern who controls the rings when they need a new bearer.

No other character can claim to have such a diverse and excellent back up group to call on when things go wrong, and by having so many characters, the stories can go anyway they are needed to. If one arc doesn’t fit a characters personality, there is always someone who can take centre stage.

Spectrum

Along with all those Corp members, there is also the light spectrum that has become a huge focus of the Green Lantern Universe. First introduced in the run up to Blackest Night, the spectrum provides a gateway to something far bigger than just the Green Lantern Corps. It also provides a jumping off point for other characters to get really involved in the Green Lantern Book.

The spectrum wasn’t done just as an event but actually has a place in the universe and does make sense. Green is willpower, Orange is greed, Yellow is fear, Red is rage, Blue is hope, Indigo is compassion and Sapphire is love. These are all emotions that we feel and that sometimes drive us, so to see them utilised is a fascinating aspect of the books.

Guardians

Every group need leader and the Green Lanterns have the Guardians, but they are not all they are cracked up to be. You just love to hate them. The little blue people constantly keep secrets from their own Corps and by doing so they always make the outcome worse than if they had just come clean in the beginning. But having these crafty little blue bastards keeping secrets, makes you want to read on. You find yourself wanting to know what they are hiding and what comes next, and it always adds a bit more depth.

So that’s my favourite character in a nutshell. Do you like Green Lantern? What’s your favourite bit about them? Or who is your favourite superhero?