Green Lantern - World Comic Book Review

Green Arrow #20 (review)

April 20, 2017 by DG Stewart

Green Arrow #20 DC Comics, April 2017 Writer: Ben Percey This cover and the panel from Green Lantern #85 depict one of the most controversial moments in American publisher DC Comics’ history. Here, in a story written by Denny O’Neil, the teen sidekick of superhero Green Arrow is revealed as a heroin user. The story, … Read more

The Oppressive Stink: Justice League #1 Rebirth – Directors’ Cut

November 4, 2016 by DG Stewart

“Justice League #1 Rebirth – Directors’ Cut” DC Comics, December 2016 Writer: Bryan Hitch Most people have heard of London’s famous river, the Thames. Another prominent river in London was called the Fleet River (Fleet Street, the home of London’s newspaper industry, is named after the Fleet River). During Roman times, the Fleet River was … Read more

Green Lantern #50-#51: Parallax Error (Review)

October 21, 2016May 19, 2016 by DG Stewart

Green Lantern #50-#51
DC Comics, March, April 2016
Writer: Robert Venditti

In his book “Come in Alone” (AIT/Planet Lar, 2001), British writer Warren Ellis furiously laments the brand loyalties of readers of superhero comics, such that some of them publicly admit on message boards that they would rather read poorly-written material about favourite characters than suffer fundamental changes to those characters. In his book Mr Ellis lambasts readers of this ilk, describing them as essentially responsible for the creative malaise and commercial degeneration of the American comic book industry.

Nothing Alien Here

October 21, 2016January 25, 2016 by DG Stewart

Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion 1
DC Comics, March 2016
Writer: Tom Taylor
Review by DG Stewart, 18 January 2016

The Green Lantern Corps is a concept which borrows heavily from EE “Doc” Smith’s science fiction classics, known as The Lensmen series (1937-1960). The stories of both are founded on the idea that deep space is patrolled by benevolent aliens of different races, and that notwithstanding their differences both physically and philosophically, these galactic patrollers are united by altruism.

In Mr Smith’s books, the aliens are very alien, to the point of resembling looming monsters. In DC Comics’ Green Lantern Corps (created in 1959 by John Broome with editor Julius Schwartz), the points of alienness have always been much less sophisticated. Traditionally the Green Lantern Corps have consisted of many humanoids with different skin colours or animal features. Some of the Green Lanterns are sentient earth-type animals. One high point of the possibilities of the concept of alienness within the Corps’ ranks came in 1985 when writer Alan Moore created (as a passing mention) a Green Lantern which was a super-intelligent mathematical concept. Another Alan Moore creation, albeit one first based in the same, semi-comedic story, featured a sentient planet called Mogo which was a Green Lantern. But setting aside such irregular bursts of imagination, most of these alien lawmen have been depicted as having only marginally more biodiversity than Earthlings.