COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Welcome back!  I know....I've been gone for awhile....writing more than one type of blog, and with several life changes.  But I am now getting ready to gear up for another run, as the Arrowverse shows crank up again, and I also have a review to write of Wonder Woman 84, and the 2nd season of The Mandalorian, so be on the lookout for those.  But for NOW....it's time to finish up a series I had started last year, but didn't get to finish....our final installment of our Green Lantern series, in honor of the 80 years of the Emerald Gladiator's existence.  For our last ring-slinger....we take a look at Kyle Rayner.  This young man would end up becoming one of the most powerful of all Lanterns...and an essential ally to both the JLA as well as the Corps.  

GREEN LANTERN (VOL. 3) #84

COVER ART: Darryl Banks, Romeo Tanghal

WRITER: Ron Marz

ARTIST: Bill Willingham

INKS: Romeo Tanghal, Robert Campanella

LETTERS: Albert DeGuzman

COLORS: Anthony Tollin 

EDITOR: Kevin Dooley, Eddie Berganza

COVER DATE: January 1994

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

TAGLINE:  The Resurrection of Coast City

STORY TITLE:  "Emerald Twilight - Part One:  The Past"

Green Lantern (Vol. 3) #84 brings to us one more new character to the Green Lantern mythos:  Kyle Rayner.  Rayner comes to us courtesy of Ron Marz, Bill Willingham, and Darryl Banks.  He makes his first appearance in this particular issue, as we jump right into the beginnings of the Emerald Twilight storyline, as we witness the fall of Hal Jordan, and into his decent into madness.  Kyle is an artist who lives in Los Angeles, and our first contact with him is when he witnesses a green streak flying upon the sky, which is a raging Hal Jordan, ordered by  the Guardians of the Universe, streaking towards Oa after having been told he violated Oan law, and must return the ring.  Hal, in the middle of a breakdown after watching Coast City get destroyed.  After Hal's fall and attack on the Guardians, destroying the Corps, and taking as many power rings as he can to increase his power, he becomes the being known as Parallax, and thus responsible for the event known as Zero Hour.  Ganthet turns to Rayner as a new hope for the Green Lantern Corps, and thus a new GL is born.  After Hal's subsequent death, Rayner became the main Green Lantern, and took over this series as its main star beginning in issue #51.  Rayner would then secede the title back to Hal after Hal's resurrection and he became the man known as Ion.  He has since become a GL once again.  

THE STORY:  Hal Jordan....having watched the destruction of his hometown of Coast City, tried to resurrect his city, and remembers the past.  About his family, about finding the Abin Sur, and getting the ring.  He starts to reconstruct Coast City, and meets up with a girl named Jennifer he was in love with prior to meeting Carol Ferris.  But eventually, all the images fade, as the ring's power dies out.  Ganthet then speaks to him, and tells him to return to Oa, for he has violated the rules of the Green Lantern Corps - using the ring for personal gain.  Hal tells them it's because of LOSS that the made the constructs.  They order him to Oa, to give up the power ring.  However, Hal streaks towards Oa NOT to give up the ring....but to gain more power so that he can re-create Coast City. As we see Hal streaking across the sky, we notice a couple on the ground making a wish upon Hal, thinking he was a star, and wishing for escape.  

***********************************************************************************

This issue was the first of a MAJOR storyline that would not only see the downfall and eventual END of the Green Lantern Corps as we'd known it, but of Hal Jordan as well.  The creative team decided that it was time for a NEW Green Lantern, and it fell upon Marz, Willingham, and Banks to come up with Kyle Rayner.  Rayner would soon take the reigns of the series, in much the same way Wally West took over for Barry Allen as The Flash.  It was new heroes for a new generation.  Rayner has gone on to become one of the "Big 4" of the GL Corps along with Hal, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner.  

NEXT WEEK:  Another stellar comic pull from the past....

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Hello there, comic fans!  I apologize for the layoff---been very busy with the job thing, and had NOT had time to continue our journey through the Corps of the Emerald Gladiators.  THIS week, we focus on one of the most iconic GL's of all--John Stewart.  Mr. Stewart has been, arguably, the 2nd most popular Green Lantern next to Hal Jordan, and have proven himself time and again that he is every bit as good as Jordan.  So, as we celebrate 80 years of the Ring Slinger, we focus on one of the true greats.

GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW  #87

COVER ART: Neal Adams, Jack Adler

WRITER: Dennis O'Neil, Eliot S. Maggin! (Green Arrow)

ARTIST: Neal Adams

INKS: Dick Giordano

LETTERS: John Costanza, Gasper Saladino (Green Arrow)

COLORS: N/A

EDITOR: Julius Schwartz

COVER DATE: December 1971

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

TAGLINES:  Introducing an unforgettable NEW character who REALLY means it when he warns "BEWARE MY POWER!", A classic extra--"Earth's First Green Lantern!"

STORY TITLE:  "Beware My Power!", "What Can One Man Do?" (Green Arrow story)

Green Lantern #87 introduced us to a brand new character to the Emerald Gladiator's mythos:  John Stewart.  A new GL for the times that had attitude, confidence, and strength to handle the mantle.  Stewart got over so well after his first appearance, that he ended up taking over as Earth's main  GL during the mid 80's, as Hal Jordan had given up the role.  Stewart asserted himself has quite a formidable hero in his own right, and it also allowed DC to have a minority character as a main hero.  Stewart has become the lynchpin of the GL Corps, and has stepped into his own spotlight, not only having taken over for Jordan for a spell, but working WITH Hal to establish the Corps on Earth, as well as becoming a member of the Justice League in his own right.  When Warner Bros. decided to give us a Justice League animated series...it was John Stewart that they used to fill out the roster.  Stewart is a former military man, and an architect who has guts, grit, and the toughness to take on anyone in battle.  And with CW's Arrow show giving us John Diggle---we're hoping that HE becomes the Green Lantern we've been hoping for.  Either way...John Stewart is an amazing character who's well worth ANY read.  

THE STORY:  An earthquake hits Coast City, and as Hal Jordan is saving people, he cannot get ahold of his other GL partner, Guy Gardner, who's injured by a bus.  The Guardians direct Hal to a man in the ghetto named John Stewart.  Stewart is reluctant at first, and reticent at best, but accepts the role, and he and Hal end up dealing with a racist Senator, whom tries to discredit John.  In the end, they save the day, and while Hal isn't happy with John's attitude or approach, he accepts him as a recruit.

In "What Can One Man Do?", Oliver Queen is going through a personal  crisis:  he doesn't feel he's doing enough, and whether or not it's worth continuing being the Green Arrow.  The mayor of Star City is not running for re-election, and Oliver's name comes up.  During a riot, Green Arrow sees a black child shot in the back.  He rushes the boy to an ambulance, and they take him to a hospital, but the boy ends up dying. Talking to Black Canary, Ollie decides that he needs to do more, so he opts to run  for mayor of Star City. 

***********************************************************************************

This issue gave us an explosive introduction to John Stewart, and though his character HAS changed and matured over time...he was an angry man when we first meet him, and Hal is weary of his attitude.  But he distinguishes himself well enough that Hal recruits him into the Corps...a decision that Hal would reflect on as one of the best decisions he ever made.  

In the second story, we also get some maturity from Oliver Queen, as he realizes that there's MORE to being a hero without wearing a mask...and finding a new purpose.  It was during this time that Both GL and GA were sharing a book, but it wouldn't last forever, as Hal would eventually get the book back to himself.  But this was a great emotional one-two punch issue. 

NEXT WEEK:  We meet the Lantern for the new age....

 

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.

***********************************************************************************

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....

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Once again, we are at our comic archeological dig, and have unearthed our book for this edition, and we are continuing the 80th anniversary of the Emerald Gladiator known as Green Lantern.  Today, we focus on, perhaps, THE greatest and MOST recognizable ring slinger of all:  Harold "Hal" Jordan.  Hal was a reimagining of the original Green Lantern created by John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and made his first appearance in the pages of Showcase, 18 issues after the debut of ANOTHER new popular hero for which Jordan would be tied to forever:  Barry Allen...The Flash.  So, we're going to take a peek at this issue, and discuss the new GL appearing on the national stage as DC's newest superhero.

SHOWCASE #22

COVER ART: Gil Kane & Ira Schnapp

WRITER: John Broome

ARTIST: Gil Kane

INKS: Joe Giella

LETTERS: Gasper Saladino

COLORS: N/A

EDITOR: Julius Schwartz

COVER DATE: October 1959

PUBLISHER: DC Comics

TAGLINE:  Featuring "Menace of the Runaway Missile"

STORY TITLES: "S.O.S. Green Lantern!", "Secret of the Flaming Spear!", "Menace of the Runaway Missile!"

Showcase #22 was the platform for writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane to give Julius Schwartz what he wanted:  a re-imagning of Green Lantern.  But this time around, Groome and Kane decided to go away from the mystical aspects of the original Lantern, Alan Scott, and create an entire NEW version, based a little more in science fiction.  We got Hal Jordan, a test pilot who is given a ring created by cosmic beings called the Guardians of the Universe, by a dying alien who was patrolling his "sector" and got fatally injured.  Jordan then becomes Green Lantern - one of about 3600 members of a unique universal "Police Force" made to keep the peace.  Instead of wood being the weakness of the ring (like Alan Scott's), Jordan's ring is useless against anything yellow.  Also, these Green Lanterns must possess no fear.  Jordan has gone on to become THE Greatest Green Lantern in comics history, and has also quite being GL for a time, came back, and then became the villain known as Parallax during the Zero Hour miniseries back in the 1990's, was killed, then reborn thanks to writer Geoff Johns.  The history of the GL's have been expanded, as well as the rings, and Jordan has faced many bad guys in his career.  Jordan is still the standard bearer for which all Green Lanterns are compared, and was given his own series after HIS initial appearances in this book    

THE STORY: "S.O.S. Green Lantern!" - Ferris Aircraft test pilot Hal Jordan is summoned by the dying alien Abin Sur to become the next bearer or the Green Lantern ring, and be a hero to patrol this sector of the universe from evil.

"Secret of the Flaming Spear!" - Saboteurs try to destroy an experimental aircraft developed by Ferris Aircraft called the Flaming Spear, and it's up to Green Lantern to stop them.

"Menace of the Runaway Missile!" - Dr. Parris, and evil scientist putting his own motivations ahead of his country, launches a missile at a Coast City hydrogen power facility, but the missile is coated in yellow...Green Lantern's one weakness.  It's up to GL to find a way to stop it. 

**********************************************************************************

This issue---like so many Silver Age books, can be found in reprints all over the place, and in various collections put together by DC Comics.  This was yet another issue of this anthology series where the star of the book got to have 2 other stories in the issue as well.  Booklength stories were a rarity back in those days, so they always had 2-3 stories an issue...sometimes with different characters.  But GL took the spotlight here.  Broome, who'd also been doing the writing chores on The Flash, was instrumental in getting the Silver Age off the ground, and penned some fantastic stories of the day, and Gil Kane's work was A LOT different back in 1959 as compared to his later years, mostly due to whomever was inking him.  But he had a sleek look to his work, and had a platform to expound on his work, because he wasn't limited to just Earth.  He eventually got to take GL to the stars, and different worlds, and his work on his creation is still top notch to this day.  

NEXT WEEK:  We focus on Hal Jordan's contemporaries....who's a little more, shall we say...brusk.

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Welcome back!  Once more, we enter the Shop of Comic Book History, and see what we pull from the bin of classics.  For the next few weeks, we're going to focus on yet ANOTHER DC character who's celebrating 80 years - Green Lantern.  There have been MANY incarnations of the Emerald Gladiator, but today...we're gonna start at the beginning, and get introduced to the first man to bear the mantle of Green Lantern:  Alan Scott.

ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #16

COVER ART: Sheldon Moldoff

WRITER: Bill Finger

ARTIST: Martin Nodell

INKS: Martin Nodell

LETTERS: Martin Nodell

COLORS: N/A

EDITOR: Sheldon Mayer

COVER DATE: July 1940

PUBLISHER: All-American Publications (which later became DC Comics)

TAGLINE:  Introducing....The Green Lantern!

STORY TITLES: "The Origin of Green Lantern", "The Rescue", "Sealed Orders", "The Infra-Red Destroyers", "Goodbye, Widow-Maker", "The Power Plant Failure", "Stamps" 

All-American Comics #16 was one of the pivotal comics of its time, as it introduced us to a brand new character:  Alan Scott, The Green Lantern. Created by Martin Nodell, this character was an engineer who obtained this magical power from something called the Green Flame of Life.  He molded a ring from the lantern that provided the flame, and became a superhero.  The comic series was published by All-American Comics, which was run by William M. Gaines, who later formed EC Comics and the the genius behind MAD Magazine.  All-American would later merge with National Publications, and form what we now know as DC Comics.  Green Lantern became a charter member of the Justice Society of America, and helped pave the way for the Golden Age of Comics.  Scott was given his own book after his run in All-American Comics, and eventually disappeared after the end of World War II.  The Lantern was also revealed to be a charter member of the All-Star Squ adron.  Scott would ride with this book until issue #102.  He was also granted his own title during this time.  This book also featured backup stories (as was the norm during the time), from Hop Harrigan, Red, White, and Blue, Adventures in the Unknown, Scribbly, Gary Concord - The Ultra-Man, and Popsicle Pete.  But the main focus was the new hero Nodell introduced to the world, and gained instant popularity.  

THE STORY:  Alan Scott is caught in an explosion of a trestle bridge, and finds out he was saved from the very lantern he'd been carrying.  The Lantern reveals its story about how it was formed years ago by a Chinese man who formed it from a meteor that had fallen. Scott forms a ring out of it, and becomes the superhero known as The Green Lantern.

As of this writing, we have no synopsis for the backup stories in this issue

*********************************************************************************

This issue will remain one of the most important issues in superhero comic book history, because we had NO clue just how big Green Lantern would become in the coming decades.  Hop Harrigan is a character I am slightly aware of, but haven't heard anything about within the last 30 or so years.  Red, White, and Blue I believe I had heard about, but none of the other backup characters in this issue.  But as for the Lantern's adventures, they are all reprinted in collections put out by DC.  Alan Scott has been re-imagined within the last couple of decades, the essence of who and what he is in the superhero community has lasted 80 years...and inspired a new generation.

NEXT WEEK:  We SHOWCASE a new ring-bearer....

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Once again, we have another classic comic culled from the archives to discuss.  And this week, we pull out a book that is considered one of the classics from the Armored Avenger.  During this time in Tony Stark's life, he was facing his biggest enemy of his life:  the bottle.  During a nine issue run (which turned out  to be artist John Romita, Jr's final issues of his run), called "Demon In a Bottle", Tony fought his greatest foe:  alcoholism.  This was a riveting story that gave us new depths to the character of Tony Stark, and what excess and the job of being Iron Man took as a toll on Tony.  So...let's dive in, and see what happened....

IRON MAN #128

COVER ART: Bob Layton

WRITER: David Micheline & Bob Layton

ARTIST: John Romita, Jr.

INKS: Bob Layton

COLORS: Bob Sharen

LETTERS: John Costanza

EDITOR: Roger Stern 

COVER DATE: November 1979

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

TAGLINE: Demon in a Bottle

STORY TITLE: "Demon In A Bottle"

Iron Man #128 has one of THE classic covers of all time, but is also a VERY compelling story about a hero in freefall.  The series ran 9 issues through the 1979 year, with this issue being the final issue of the storyline.  Tony Stark...his life as Iron Man, and his status as a billionaire playboy/socialite/weapons manufacturer has quite the life.  But that life is now in turmoil, as his dependency upon alcohol has consumed him.  Everything falls apart for Tony, and he eventually loses his business.  Plus, his recklessness as a hero causes those around him to intervene.  Originally, writer David Micheline only intended to just write the next issue of the series, but when the issue came out where alcohol was the bad guy, it caught on, and he went with it.  What's become is a series that is one of the most pivotal chapters in Tony Stark's career.  It's a great read if you can get it in a collection.

THE STORY:  Tony Stark...having lost his company, lost his way, and can't seem to get away from the bottle...gets help from friend Bethany Cabe, as well as former butler Edwin Jarvis, he he tries to put a cap on his alcoholism before it's too late.  

***********************************************************************************

One of the things I credit writer David Micheline on is his ability to take an idea and run with it.  This storyline was immensely powerful and amazing all at once.  This is what made Marvel characters more relatable at the time:  depth of character, the humanizing of them...and that heroes CAN fall.  Tony is a prime example of a hero in crisis, battling his own demons, and suffering the consequences of his own actions.  If you find this in trade paperback, DO pick it up.  It's an eye opener, and it shows you just how dangerous the bottle can be.  

NEXT WEEK:  We dive once again into the bins for another classic!

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK

Welcome back!  It's been yet another delay (for that, I apologize, but I just recently started a new job, and in the training phase at the moment).  This week's comic book, we go back to Merry Marvel for the original spinoff of the Uncanny X-Men, The New Mutants.  This series premiered in 1983, and showed us the next generation of mutants trained at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.  They end up getting into all sorts of trouble, but we get some memorable characters from it. And since the movie was just released, I thought, "what the hell". So, let's take a peek behind the cover of this historical comic, and see where we got started....

THE NEW MUTANTS #1

COVER ART: Bob McLeod

WRITER: Chris Claremont

ARTIST: Bob McLeod

INKS: Mike Gustovich

COLORS: Glynis Wein

LETTERS: Tom Orzechowski

EDITOR: Louise Jones

COVER DATE: March 1983

PUBLISHER:  Marvel Comics

STORY TITLE: "Initiation" 

New Mutants #1 came out in the Spring of 1983, after having made an appearance in Marvel Graphic Novel #4, which introduced us to the team.  This comic is a spinoff of The Uncanny X-Men, and it focuses on Charles Xavier and his new class of mutants that he tries to teach in how to control their powers for the betterment of mankind, as well as help them work through their issues as young teenagers and kids.  We are introduced to many new members such as Cannonball, Magik, Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Karma, and more over the years.  The series lasted 100 issues, before the team was renamed X-Force, and the comic took off from there, as these new youngsters would now be led by the man called Cable.  

THE STORY:  The New Mutants get adjusted to their new home at The Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, get to know each other, their talents, and unawares this whole time they are being spied upon by Henry Peter Gyrich and his government group.  Moira MacTaggert learns that Professor Xavier has a son, David.  Psyche, one of the new recruits, gets attacked by a mysterious assailant in the Danger Room.

********************************************************************************

The one thing I loved about the New Mutants, was that it expanded on the X-Men mythos, and allowed Marvel and Chris Claremont to create a new class of young heroes to carry on the X-Men tradition, and we would get to see them LEARN their powers, and GROW as people...even though they ended up growing up too quick.  We new that, someday, these youngsters would eventually replace or join up with the members of the X-Men.  Later on, however, we learn that a core of them ended up reforming into X-Force.  The New Mutants is a good read, because THOSE characters that are now heavy hitters in the mutant teams, started out here, and it's a great place to watch themn while they were fairly innocent.

NEXT WEEK:  We dig through the archives to find more hidden treasure.