Green Lantern Crash Course
“In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, beware my power, Green Lantern’s light!”
I was a really scared kid. In my younger years there wasn’t much in the world that didn’t frighten me in some way, it’s probably part of why I retreated into the safety of comic books, film, and video games. But in these mediums, and especially in comic books, I found a way to cope with the terrors outside my door, more specifically the comics of the Green Lantern Corps. Like many stories, these were about heroic men and women putting their lives on the line to brave the dangers of the universe, but no stable of characters has ever so intently focused on the insurmountable opponent that is fear.
What drew me to Green Lantern comics was the boundless imagination the characters’ rings of power could give a creative team, the intergalactic cosmic spectacle of the setting and the oversized personalities of characters like Guy Gardner and Hal Jordan. What really stuck with me though was the Lantern’s continual refusal to give into fear, their willingness to push through and live without fear. This impacted me so immensely that as a youngster I would often speak the Lantern Oath to myself to remember to be brave, which is about the nerdiest thing I ever did as a kid but it speaks to the power of these stories and their ability to inspire us to be better, stronger and braver.
With the release of Lanterns, I thought I’d share some of my love of the Green Lanterns with some recommendations for those newcomers wanting to understand what makes these stories and characters so special.
Start here
The Bread
These are the stories that can show you exactly what a Green Lantern is and everything you need to know about what they stand for.
The Perfect Introduction
DC: The New Frontier #1-6
Written & Illustrated by Darwyn Cooke
While not solely a Green Lantern story, DC: The New Frontier in my mind is the greatest story featuring the character of Hal Jordan and maybe the DC Universe as a whole. This 6 issue miniseries by the late master Darwyn Cooke follows the shift from comics’ Golden Age to its Silver Age in real time as the heroes of World War 2 give way to the space age attitudes of a new generation. One such new age character is Hal Jordan, and if anyone can be called the lead of Cooke’s massive universe-spanning ensemble, it’s Hal, and while not in official continuity, the book makes a case for the eternal appeal of the character and acts as a perfect introduction to his story, struggles, and strengths as a character. Cooke’s characterization for him is on point and the story’s distinct fusion of comic book mythology and real world history positions him more concretely as the kind of Chuck Yeager-esque man without fear that makes him a strong contender for my favourite superhero in comics. It just straight up doesn’t get better than this.
The Departure
Far Sector #1-12
Written by N.K. Jemisin · Art by Jamal Campbell
Far Sector is a marked departure from the usual Lantern playbook but has made its mark as one of the greatest stories within the mythos. The miniseries stands as the debut of Jo Mullein, a new Earth rookie operating in an artificial metropolis known as The City Enduring, a hub for technology where three warring races work to live in harmony. A series of murders draws Jo into a web of corruption, political intrigue, and mystery which give the series a wonderfully noirish flavor that manages to feel fresh and distinctive while still very at home as a Green Lantern book, with ridiculously gorgeous art by Jamal Campbell and a genuinely gripping and mature story by N.K. Jemisin. For those looking for something beyond your standard superhero book look no further.
The Outlier
Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner Rising – Green Lantern #48-65
Written by Ron Marz · Art by Darryl Banks, and more
In the 90s comic books took a dark turn. Superman was killed. Batman was broken. Aquaman lost a hand. Eventually, Green Lantern’s corner of the universe wasn’t safe either as Hal Jordan was turned into the villainous Parallax. His heel turn wiped out the entire Corps and left only one surviving ring, which fell into the hands of a new rising hero, one who would carry the torch for the entire corps, Kyle Rayner. Rayner’s time as Green Lantern stands as an outlier within a wider mythos defined by intergalactic camaraderie and unity. Kyle stood alone and had to learn the ropes through trial and error, finding his way to what a Green Lantern should be through struggle, hardship and a lot of effort. Marz and his primary artistic collaborator Darryl Banks crafted a run that felt more grounded, human and personal, positioning Kyle closer to being DC’s answer to Spider-Man than anything else, but the way in which the overarching story shifts from small-scale tussles on Earth to major cosmic conflicts makes this one of the most rewarding reads in all of comics.
The Foundation
Green Lantern: The Silver Age – Showcase #22-24, Green Lantern #1-9
Written by John Broome · Art by Gil Kane, and more
Like many characters of the Silver Age, Hal Jordan brought a more modern, space-age attitude to comic books, updating the Green Lantern name that belonged to Alan Scott to something hipper and more original. The original Green Lantern stories published during this era were primarily written by John Broome and illustrated by Gil Kane and their work together was among the very first stories that spoke to me as a youngster getting into comics. These are relentlessly creative tales even beyond the inventiveness of its contemporaries. As a youngster, what really drew me to these stories was that Hal’s only limitation (other than the colour yellow) was his imagination and that simple premise gave the stories a real depth beyond just punching the bad guy until he fell down. Given their age these are not going to be to everyone’s taste but it’s a real joy to see the mythos that has been expanded for decades formed as you read more and more.
Go deeper
The Meat
Once you’ve got the essentials down, here’s where you dig deeper into the Corps and the modern era, like the run that redefined Hal Jordan and the Corps for a generation
The Modern Standard
Green Lantern: Rebirth – Green Lantern: Rebirth #1-6, Green Lantern #1-9 and beyond
Written by Geoff Johns · Art by Ivan Reis, Doug Mahnke, and more
These days, Geoff John’s Green Lantern run is the de-facto recommendation for a Green Lantern run and it’s easy to see why. Johns restored Hal Jordan back to life, reintroducing the character, his supporting cast, and his traditional status quo while expanding on established lore and continuity to create an epic, galaxy-wide space opera, one that shot Green Lantern into the big leagues as one of comics’ top sellers. The additional coloured Lantern Corps and the concept of each being powered by a single emotion all come from Johns in a series of stories that sort decades of stories under condensed organising principles that have come to define everything about Hal Jordan and his world since. While not without its flaws, there are few runs as defining to me personally and even fewer still that manage to reach the same epic highs.
The Corps
Green Lantern Corps: Recharge – Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1-5, Green Lantern Corps #1-9 and beyond
Written by Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi · Art by Dave Gibbons, Patrick Gleason, and more
Spinning out of the success of Johns’ Green Lantern run, another book was created to focus on the larger Corps itself. This book began with Johns himself and Dave Gibbons, but really hit its stride when writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason took over. This book focused on the duo of Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner, and later John Stewart and Guy Gardner as they permanently relocated to Oa to train a new generation of Lantern recruits. Tomasi and Gleason’s approach is decidedly less Earthbound than the usual Lantern books and features exceptional character work not just for our familiar favorites but for newer alien Lanterns who would become staples of the next decade of Lantern stories. Few books opened up the world as widely and it is still my favourite run on any Lantern book to date.
The Procedural
The Green Lantern #1-12, and beyond
Written by Grant Morrison · Art by Liam Sharpe
Grant Morrison’s tenure on Green Lantern stands as one of the most polarising within fan communities. After a decade of Johns’ Lantern run and its many imitators, Morrison decided to take things in a much different direction. Each issue of their run focuses on telling a one and done, stand-alone story that spins together into a larger narrative. This police procedural approach leads to a lot of really wonderful stories that were allowed to get far weirder and more abstract than your usual superhero book, more 2000AD than the space opera the book was known for. More than any other book on this list, the potential for story here felt genuinely limitless, which is just about perfect for a character who can conjure anything his mind can think of.
The Spotlight
Green Lantern: War Journal #1-12
Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson · Art by Montos
Despite being THE Green Lantern of a generation, one of DC’s first African American characters, and now the lead of his own HBO show, there are precious few books that John Stewart can call his own. Thankfully, the character had some time in the spotlight with Green Lantern: War Journal, a 12 issue miniseries by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos that follows John returning to the Corps after a brief retirement. Stewart has always had a fairly cluttered and paradoxical past, with different writing teams spinning him as a down to Earth architect or as a by-the-book marine. This book tries to reconcile both with a character-focused narrative centered on understanding what makes Stewart unique and special as a character and as a Green Lantern.
The hidden gems
The Special Sauce
Beyond the essentials, there’s a whole run of Lantern stories worth exploring, from a wonderfully absurd one-shot to Alan Moore’s legendary backpage tales.
The Absurd
Willworld – Green Lantern: Willworld #1
Written by J.M. DeMatteis · Art by Seth Fisher
A truly bizarre little one-shot by J.M. DeMatteis and drawn by Seth Fisher. This one is just so wacky, wonderful, and wilfully absurd. It acts as a sort of Year One story for Hal Jordan as he learns how to effectively use his ring in a world formed entirely from the imagination of every Green Lantern. It goes in just about every crazy direction you can think of that premise allowing and Fisher makes each and every page an absolute stunner.
The Experiment
Wednesday Comics #1-12
Written by Kurt Busiek · Art by Joe Quinones
Wednesday Comics was a brief anthology experiment by DC where stories would be laid out in landscape and a different creative team would take on a character with one page every issue. There are a lot of fun gems in here with a lot of artists clearly relishing the opportunity to stretch their imagery in new directions. Perhaps chief among them is the Green Lantern story written by Kurt Busiek and gorgeously illustrated by Joe Quinones, who is the real star of the show here with one of my favourite depictions of Hal Jordan ever.
The Unexpected
Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound Special #1
Written by Mark Russell · Art by Rick Leonardi
In the 2010s, DC began a bizarre crossover initiative with different animated Warner Bros properties like Looney Tunes and Hanna Barbera where the fuzzy animated animals would be brought into the “real” world of the superhero universe. It was an experiment that failed more than it didn’t but there were a few highlights, such as Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound. In the 70s, John Stewart was a righteous, angrier character, and so in this story he’s paired up with Huckleberry Hound in this historical period piece set in one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. I don’t think anyone expected a story starring a cartoon character and a superhero surrounding police brutality and the overbearing weight of institutional racism to be a good read but somehow it beat the odds.
The Hard Sci-Fi
Green Lantern: Earth One Vol. 1-2
Written by Gabriel Hardman & Corinna Bechko · Art by Gabriel Hardman
Earth One was an elseworlds initiative told entirely in single-release graphic novels aiming to place the characters in a grittier, more real world setting. The absolute highlight of the whole Earth One project was undoubtedly Green Lantern, which reimagines Hal Jordan as the new hope for the long dead Green Lantern Corps. This take is far more hard sci-fi, down to Hal being an astronaut instead of a test pilot, and the result is a singular vision for the character and his world that carries real stakes and ideas.
The Backpages
Green Lantern by Alan Moore – Green Lantern #188, Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2-3
Written by Alan Moore · Art by Dave Gibbons, Kevin O’Neill & Bill Willingham
Alan Moore’s collection of short stories written in the backpages of various books rank among the best written and most substantial tales for the Lantern mythology. He wrote three stories, ‘Mogo Doesn’t Socialise,’ ‘Tyger,’ and ‘In Blackest Night.’ Each story varies wildly in tone, style, and narrative goal, but are equally compelling and broaden the scope of the world and expand upon the very idea of what a Green Lantern can be in ways that are fun and inventive, and which laid down the path the next two decades of stories would walk.
Green Lantern has decades of stories behind him, and it’s impossible to capture them all in one list. If there’s a Lantern story that means something to you that didn’t make the cut, let us know!
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