COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Welcome back once again to the Comic Shop of History!  We continue our 80th celebration of everyone who's ever been called Green Lantern, and this week, we get to focus on the 3rd man who would wield the ring---Guy Gardner.  Guy was introduced in this issue, and we pretty much all know where Guy wound up as a character.  Brash, bold, loud, abrasive, rude, crude, but confident and fearless, Guy would be one of the cornerstones of the GL Corps, and apply himself admirably...albeit with a cocky attitude.  Guy has been a polarizing character at best---people love him, people hate him, people just love to see him get put in his place from time to time.  But make no mistake---Gardner is a hero.  So, let's see how Guy came into the world of Green Lantern.

GREEN LANTERN #59

COVER ART: Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

WRITER: John Broome

ARTIST: Gil Kane

INKS: Sid Greene

LETTERS: Gasper Saladino

COLORS: N/A

EDITOR: Julius Schwartz

COVER DATE: March 1968

PUBLISHER: DC Comics 

STORY TITLE:  "Earth's Other Green Lantern"

Green Lantern #59 brings us the first appearance of a character that would become one of the most fascinating and polarizing characters in the history of the GL Corps, if not the DC Universe - Guy Gardner.  No one had a clue as to what would come when he came on the scene, nor the evolution he would go through over the years...especially into the mid-1980's, when the character was pivotal in not only Crisis on Infinite Earths, but also the mini-series follow-up, Legends.  Guy would become a core member of the newly reformed Justice League, but underwent a MAJOR character shift, as he cockiness, arrogance, and fighting spirit made him worthwhile reading.  He would go on to get a series of his own, Guy Gardner:  Warrior, and would get a power change, but he eventually made his way back to the Green Lantern Corps, and is one of the cornerstones of the elite interstellar police force along with his fellow Earthlings Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner.  Love him or not, Guy is certainly a character that livens ANY book up with just who he is.  

THE STORY:  While on Oa, Hal Jordan sees through a Memory Machine the Guardians had set up, that there was another man - Guy Gardner - who could've been chosen as the next Green Lantern when Abin Sur was critically injured.  But since Jordan is the closest at the time, the ring chose him.  Hal watches through the machine what Gardner would've been like as a Green Lantern.  After watching Guy's "adventure" through the machine, Hal decides to meet the real Guy Gardner in person.

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The cover alone kind of gave us an idea of what Gardner would be like as a Green Lantern, and as Hal watches one of Guy's "adventures", we get a sense of the kind of man Gardner would be.  It's also a great way to introduce another character into the GL Corps other than Jordan, who was just as worth of wielding the power ring.  Broome continues to craft a well told story, and Gil Kane's art is really at it's best here.  If you're a completiest...you cannot forget about Guy's first appearance.

NEXT WEEK:  We meet Hal's first successor....