Its time again for another Weekly Comics Hype. Im doing these alphabetically, but skipping around a bit, and Green November continues with the first Showcase volume of classic Green Lantern episodes.
Green Lantern is the secret superhero identity of a test pilot named Hal Jordan, the most fearless man on Earth. In the opening installment, a dying alien named Abin Sur commands his power ring, a weapon which creates whatever the wearer can imagine, to search out a worthy successor and it brings Hal Jordan to his side. Hal swears to use the ring to fight evil and gets a fab new uniform to go out and save the day. Theres something about this premise which just cries out for seven year-old boys to treat it incredibly seriously.
It took DC ages to respond to Marvels Essential line of low-priced black and white reprints, but when they did, they responded well, with a nicely-designed series printed on better paper. The initial volumes, this and a Superman collection, were issued at the introductory price of $9.99 for better than 500 pages a steal!
Well, admittedly it might be a little more worth stealing if the stories werent so very dated. Oh, theyre all kinds of fun and charming, dont get me wrong. I love the way the police just instantly join forces with the flying man in the spandex with the magic ring, and theres a running subplot with Hal Jordans boss Carol falling in love with Green Lantern and hoping hell propose. Im not sure whats sillier, the boss-lady having no time for Hal or wanting a masked man whose name she does not know to give her a rock on a ring.
But comic books read a little different in those days. The subplots have to move like glaciers and are very repetitive because there was no guarantee a young reader would be able to find every issue. Writer John Broome, known at the time for his pulp SF stories, comes up with some imaginative and clever threats for Green Lantern and keeps the pacing zippy as he juggles a number of science fiction concepts, most of which dont make any sense at all, but theyre incredibly fun to see played out. Additionally, Gil Kanes art is incredibly dynamic and innovative for its day.
The Showcase line debuted to immediate acclaim and DC plans one or two books monthly for the forseeable future. A second volume of Green Lantern stories is apparently on the calendar for later in 2006.
Showcase Presents Green Lantern is available from your local comic shop, who would enjoy your custom; new books ship each Wednesday, so why not stop in to Great Escape after work tonight?
Green Lantern is the secret superhero identity of a test pilot named Hal Jordan, the most fearless man on Earth. In the opening installment, a dying alien named Abin Sur commands his power ring, a weapon which creates whatever the wearer can imagine, to search out a worthy successor and it brings Hal Jordan to his side. Hal swears to use the ring to fight evil and gets a fab new uniform to go out and save the day. Theres something about this premise which just cries out for seven year-old boys to treat it incredibly seriously.
It took DC ages to respond to Marvels Essential line of low-priced black and white reprints, but when they did, they responded well, with a nicely-designed series printed on better paper. The initial volumes, this and a Superman collection, were issued at the introductory price of $9.99 for better than 500 pages a steal!
Well, admittedly it might be a little more worth stealing if the stories werent so very dated. Oh, theyre all kinds of fun and charming, dont get me wrong. I love the way the police just instantly join forces with the flying man in the spandex with the magic ring, and theres a running subplot with Hal Jordans boss Carol falling in love with Green Lantern and hoping hell propose. Im not sure whats sillier, the boss-lady having no time for Hal or wanting a masked man whose name she does not know to give her a rock on a ring.
But comic books read a little different in those days. The subplots have to move like glaciers and are very repetitive because there was no guarantee a young reader would be able to find every issue. Writer John Broome, known at the time for his pulp SF stories, comes up with some imaginative and clever threats for Green Lantern and keeps the pacing zippy as he juggles a number of science fiction concepts, most of which dont make any sense at all, but theyre incredibly fun to see played out. Additionally, Gil Kanes art is incredibly dynamic and innovative for its day.
The Showcase line debuted to immediate acclaim and DC plans one or two books monthly for the forseeable future. A second volume of Green Lantern stories is apparently on the calendar for later in 2006.
Showcase Presents Green Lantern is available from your local comic shop, who would enjoy your custom; new books ship each Wednesday, so why not stop in to Great Escape after work tonight?