Geoff Johns (and Everyone Else) Off "Green Lantern" Books in May

[The Toyroom]

After 9 years telling the Tales of the Green Lantern Corps from "Rebirth" to "The Sinestro Wars" to "Blackest Night" and now into the New 52, Geoff Johns is leaving the GL book in May. And all of the other creative teams on "Green Lantern Corps", "Red Lanterns" and "New Guardians" are leaving as well.

I had scaled back to just "Green Lantern" before te New 52 even started and I think I'll be leaving when Johns leaves. It's gotten ridiculous and bloated but he's still managed to make it interesting. I think the franchise will collapse without him leading the charge. I expect cancellations on everything but "Green Lantern" within the next year or so.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Johns leaving a book has certainly been the kiss of death: Flash, Hawkman, JSA...you name it, it tanked after Johns departed.

Chris

[The Toyroom]

Johns leaving a book has certainly been the kiss of death: Flash, Hawkman, JSA...you name it, it tanked after Johns departed.

Chris

I know...he builds such a rich mythology mining Golden and Silver Age stuff (without the wackiness of a Grant Morrison) but everything goes to hell when he leaves. He (with James Robinson) rebuilt Hawkman and got the stink off the character but as soon as he left the book it went downhill until they were ready to reboot entirely under Jim Starlin and jettison all of Johns' hard work with the character. And when he left JSA they gave the book to the Fables guys and it sucked too...

[madmarva]

No doubt Johns will be a tough act to follow, but in hindsight it's pretty clear he was all but done with Hal Jordan as a character following the Secret Origins arc and got more wrapped up in his expansion of the GL mythos. I enjoyed that expansion for the most part, but Jordan kind of got lost in the mix. With the New 52, it seemed like he wanted to explore Sinestro, but then Simon Baz is introed and both Hal and Sinestro get pushed aside.

I actually like Baz, but Jordan's my favorite and I hope a writer is put on the book that will focus on him, his exploits on and off Earth as a Lantern and his private life. I'd love to see Busiek, Waid or Byrne take over the book, but that's not going to happen under DC's current regime. I can't really think of anyone on DC's talent roster I'd suggest for the spot on the lead book.

Tomasi wouldn't be bad, but I haven't been impressed with Bedard (or whatever the guy's name is that's writing New Guardians). Maybe Dan Jurgens would be good. I've always enjoyed his work, and I don't think he's got a title now with the cancellation of Firestorm.

Tomasi's GL Corps was decent. I really like the artist Parsarin, but New Guardians and Red Lantern just never kept me interested.

I don't know how much traction the various colored Corps will have with Johns' departure. Johns' obviously loved them and loved writing them, but will anyone else have as much care for them? I doubt it.

Heck, I wouldn't mind DC hiring the writing team from the GL cartoon. They've done some interesting adventures and don't need 6 or 8 installments to tell a story.

Either way, it was cool to have Hal Jordon, my co-favorite character along with Superman, rise to the A list for the first time in a long time if ever under Johns' care. Rebirth remains an excellent mini-series that did a wonderful job of tapping into older stories and continuity, rectifying and injustice in my mind without writing out a ton of past continuity. He showed a reverence for both Hal and Kyle and at least attempted to service Guy and John to varying degrees.

[The Toyroom]

Dan Jurgens on "GL" would be AWESOME!

[johnnystorm]

I'm still following the GL books, one of the things I liked was that they more or less avoided the New 52 rebooting by staying pretty much self contained to their books. However, with Johns & the rest leaving, I foresee this fragmenting and we'll be getting Blue Beetle team-ups, Justice League cameos, and Stormwatch crossovers. I see New Guardians going away, maybe Red Lanterns after the TV cartoon is ended.

It would be nice if everyone kept to themselves for awhile, Hal on Earth in the regular book, Guy & John in space with the Corps, and Kyle off with the color corps. Baz can go away or be the JLA Gl or whatever. Don't like him one bit.

What I can say is it better be good real fast, as my tolerance for New 52 is low. The $20 bucks a month for GL would go a long ways toward other books from other companies.

[BlackKnight]

I have the Books to like 14 ...,
But I haven't read Green Lantern Past # 4.
I hated the Idea of Sinestro a Green Lantern, Jordan Stripped of his Ring, and Thus Being Sinestro's ***** with the New 52 Launch .

.... I just couldn't get Past that..., and I loved Green Lantern More than Anybody I know.

I haven't been into Comics since the New 52 Launch ...
I've Barley Read a Handful of Books ...
& I was 1 of the Biggest Fans of Modern Comics on this Forum imo.
I died that Day..
So I guess, ... this doesn't matter to me as much as it Should.

[The Toyroom]

What I can say is it better be good real fast, as my tolerance for New 52 is low.

I'm down to 5 monthlies from DC...Aquaman, Batman, Wonder Woman , Justice League and Green Lantern. And very soon that will become only 4. Compare that to pre-New 52 when I was buying at least 6-8 DC titles a WEEK...

[johnnystorm]

The GL books are the only DC's I'm currently buying. I was similar in buying pre52. S what happens next in the GL universe is important to me.

Please God, don't let it be Judd Winick.

[thunderbolt]

Really liked what he did with JSA, but couldn't get into the whole Skittles Corps and Flash Rebirth was the slowest plodding story I've read in a while. Would like to know if this is yet more 52 unhappiness or if he's just tired of the whole GL thing.

[madmarva]

His final issue is an oversized 64-pager with art from Van Sciver, Reis and Mahnke (his 3 GL artists still working at DC). It ends a storyline that's been developing since the New 52 began. I think it's probably his choice. He's 4th in charge at DC under Diane Nelson (the Harry Potter producer), Lee and Didio on the creative side, so I don't think an editor is messing with him. He'll be writing two Justice League books and Aquaman and probably a Trinity War title to boot.

He's been writing GL for 9 years and will be close to 10 when issue 20 hits, which is probably about as long as anyone. Maybe Broome was on the book longer before Denny O'Neil took over, but with specials and such, Johns has written over 100 GL stories, according to an article I read. That's a lot of GL.

While I've enjoyed his run and his writing in general, I'm glad he's moving on so the focus of the comic will shift. I hope the book is about Jordan when he exits, but even if it's not, Johns' hadn't focused on the character in a long time and probably wasn't going to had he stayed on the title.

With the GL movie flopping, there's a lot of talk of putting a different GL in the JLA movie, if there is a JLA movie. With the movie side of Warners getting more involved in DC's business I'm guessing whatever GL the movie wants to push will be the character the comics push as well.

I think it's funny how Neal Adams is championing John Stewart as the GL that should be used in a JLA movie for diversity's sake, when it's really the fact that he and O'Neil would get a nice payday if Stewart is used because they created the character.

[The Toyroom]

Flash Rebirth was the slowest plodding story I've read in a while.

"Flash:Rebirth" reads much better as a trade. I don't think the delays when it was a "monthly" helped matters much...

[The Toyroom]

His final issue is an oversized 64-pager with art from Van Sciver, Reis and Mahnke (his 3 GL artists still working at DC). It ends a storyline that's been developing since the New 52 began. I think it's probably his choice. He's 4th in charge at DC under Diane Nelson (the Harry Potter producer), Lee and Didio on the creative side, so I don't think an editor is messing with him. He'll be writing two Justice League books and Aquaman and probably a Trinity War title to boot.

He was also supposed to be a co-writer on the new "Vibe" series but I believe he's already given that up two issues in (even though it has yet to hit the stands)

[madmarva]

I've noticed with new writers for DC that Johns will sometimes work with them for a number of issues and then turn the reins over to them. That may or may not be the case with Vibe.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Vibe...even DC Nation knows he's lame!

I have to say, I followed Johns' GL for the first several years, and it was good stuff. But Rebirth itself was perhaps the last time a new comic gave me that old tingle that comics gave me as a kid. So many great moments, and the feeling that stuff was being set right, and with a great story to boot. The last "event" in comics that really felt like one to me.

Chris