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Happy Birthday Green Lantern

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  • madmarva
    Talkative Member
    • Jul 7, 2007
    • 6445

    Happy Birthday Green Lantern

    According to a note I read on a website, Showcase No. 22, the first appearance of Hal Jordan, hit newsstands the week of Feb. 20, 1958 making Hal 54 this week.

    Reading that sparked me to pull out a few trades featuring him in the 1990s. Not, the best decade for old Hal, considering the whole going crazy thing, but I have to say when I went back and read the collections, the stories were actually decent.

    I can say that now since Geoff Johns brought my favorite character back from the abyss with Rebirth. His Paralax retcon really does work well after rereading

    GL: The Road Back
    GL: New Dawn (fall of Hal and rise of Kyle)
    Zero Hour
    and Final Night

    It's weird in my memory I would have ranked The Road Back and Zero Hour as the high mark of those four collections, but after returning to them and reading them again that notion is out the window.

    Now, I can't stand "The Road Back." It's Hal at his wishy washiest, and while this arc set up GL: Mosaic, which I know is a favorite of many, this arc was just ham-fisted to me. Hated the interplay between Guy and Hal.

    As for Zero Hour, it's not bad. In fact Jurgens' art has me really looking forward to when he takes over the Superman comic, but it kind of gutted a lot of what I liked about the DCU — JSA and pushing Hal further down the mad villain road, the mish-mash of Hawkman, losing Dr. Fate for awhile.

    GL: New Dawn — While I still contend a character like Jordan wouldn't have broke on his own as originally intended before Johns injected the Paralax possession into the equation, the storyline worked for cleaning the slate, setting up an everyman hero and turning Hal into a Shakespearean galactic threat. Marz also did a nice job of making Marjor Force into one of the vilest characters in the DCU, which is what the villains are supposed to be.

    Final Night is now my favorite of those four collections. Karl Kesel created a real sense of drama and doom with the storyline and let Jordan grab a bit of redemption to boot. Immonen's art was properly dark and moody, but the storytelling is as clear as day. Warners cartoon movie division should grab the plot from this and switch it up a bit. In 75 minutes, it might be hard to set up the whole fall of Jordan, but a good story could come out of the JLA attempting to stop a Sun Eater, maybe sacrifice Martian Manhunter or Firestorm instead of Hal.
  • The Toyroom
    The Packaging King
    • Dec 31, 2004
    • 16653

    #2
    I still like "Zero Hour"...I think it was the last time DC really did a good "Crisis"-type of story. I remember issue #4 had that pull-out timeline of how things shaped up after the reboot. I'd like to see the DCnU try that now...
    Think OUTSIDE the Box! For the BEST in Repro & Custom Packaging!

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    • madmarva
      Talkative Member
      • Jul 7, 2007
      • 6445

      #3
      ^ Eddie Berganza and Diddio both have said they have some sort of DCnU timeline written down in the office, but I'll only believe it when they print it.

      Honestly, I would rather DC had just started over all together than leave it as nebulous has they have.

      As for Zero Hour, you're right the story itself stands up fine. It was some of the ramifications I didn't care for.

      Comment

      • Earth 2 Chris
        Verbose Member
        • Mar 7, 2004
        • 32977

        #4
        ^Agreed on Zero Hour. The wholesale slaughter of the JSA was my least favorite part (of course). I never have figured out who it was at DC that demanded the JSA's successful book be cancelled, and then have the team officially destroyed (with several members dead) in Zero Hour.

        But, Zero Hour as a whole did work. It had that epic feel that most of these crossovers have lost. I remember seeing the preview pages of the blacked out Parallax, and thinking the big bad may be the Earth-Two Superman, wanting to recreate his universe. I was just about a decade too early!

        Chris
        sigpic

        Comment

        • Figuremod73
          That 80's guy
          • Jul 27, 2011
          • 3017

          #5
          Glad you got a movie GL (not the best, but ok.) Maybe something better will come in the future.

          Comment

          • samurainoir
            Eloquent Member
            • Dec 26, 2006
            • 18758

            #6
            I never really had any inclination to read Hal's Spectre run unto itself, but I have to admit I was sometimes intrigued seeing them on the rack. JM Dematties is hit or miss, but this metaphysical stuff seems up his alley. Ryan Sook on art is an attractive proposition as well. Plus it had some of the most strking cover designs in recent memory. Anyone ever check these out?



            My store in the MEGO MALL!

            BUY THE CAPTAIN CANUCK ACTION FIGURE HERE!

            Comment

            • emeraldknight47
              Talkative Member
              • Jun 20, 2011
              • 5212

              #7
              A big ol' Happy Birthday wish goes out to one of my faves! Thanks for the heads up on an important date for GL fans!
              sigpic Oh then, what's this? Big flashy lighty thing, that's what brought me here! Big flashy lighty things have got me written all over them. Not actually. But give me time. And a crayon.

              Comment

              • Earth 2 Chris
                Verbose Member
                • Mar 7, 2004
                • 32977

                #8
                I just never could buy Hal as the Spectre. Seemed like one of those weird character grafts Marvel is known for, giving an established character the name of another, totally unrelated character (like Scorpion and Flash Thompson as Venom, for instance).

                Oddly enough, Day of Judgement (where Hal becomes the Spectre) was written by Geoff Johns!!! I think the idea stemmed from someone else though.

                Chris
                sigpic

                Comment

                • samurainoir
                  Eloquent Member
                  • Dec 26, 2006
                  • 18758

                  #9
                  Didn't realize that! Wonder why they didn't release a tie in trade to Rebirth? Thanks, I'll ave to track these down to read.
                  My store in the MEGO MALL!

                  BUY THE CAPTAIN CANUCK ACTION FIGURE HERE!

                  Comment

                  • madmarva
                    Talkative Member
                    • Jul 7, 2007
                    • 6445

                    #10
                    The Spectre series with Hal had some interesting stuff in it, a lot of it sacrificed to Rebirth and to make Hal's new book stronger. I give credit to DeMatties for keeping it sort of interesting when Hal as the star of a supernatural book is just oil and water. A lot of very reflective stories about redemption. I categorize it as Vertigo super-lite.

                    But Ryan Sook's art was the star of the book for me. Very creepy. DC would do well to put him on one of their Dark books or give him another shot at Spectre or Dr. Fate in their new playground. Seems like there might have been a guest or fill-in artist on the book or Sook might have just left it at some point altogether.

                    In my memory I liked the book, but honestly most of my affection for it probably comes from Hal Jordan being in it more so than the actual stories. I don't know if the books would be worth tracking down, but you could probably find them in the 50 cent to a dollar boxes.

                    I don't think Johns is very proud of Day of Judgment, for some reason. He mentioned it kind of derisively at a con I attended maybe a decade ago as something he'd rather not see kept in print. I don't remember it stinking that bad and would probably buy a collection of it, but with all the old continuity out the window or in the freezer or whatever, there doesn't seem to be much incentive to re-publish it.
                    Last edited by madmarva; Feb 25, '12, 11:29 AM.

                    Comment

                    • samurainoir
                      Eloquent Member
                      • Dec 26, 2006
                      • 18758

                      #11
                      I honestly can't see how anyone could ever dismiss Ryan Sook as a "tracer", given his remarkable versatility... That is some drawing chops. Although that might be part of the reason why he's not higher on the ladder... He just seems to disappear into whichever art style suits the project.



                      Love to see him do more Deadman.




                      And his DC Wraparound cover is pretty mind-blowing.
                      Last edited by samurainoir; Feb 25, '12, 12:10 PM.
                      My store in the MEGO MALL!

                      BUY THE CAPTAIN CANUCK ACTION FIGURE HERE!

                      Comment

                      • Figuremod73
                        That 80's guy
                        • Jul 27, 2011
                        • 3017

                        #12
                        That artwork is beautiful without the added computer coloring.

                        Comment

                        • The Toyroom
                          The Packaging King
                          • Dec 31, 2004
                          • 16653

                          #13
                          Sook is an underrated artist IMO... ^ He did a great job on that artwork, including mimicing the styles of other artists on classic poses
                          Think OUTSIDE the Box! For the BEST in Repro & Custom Packaging!

                          Comment

                          • aquatroy
                            Permanent Member
                            • Apr 28, 2002
                            • 3289

                            #14
                            Sooks Kamandi story in Wednesday's Comics is so beautiful I had to buy 2 copies. One to read and the other to have sex with.
                            Hey! Check out the pictures.

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