Review:
Continuing DC Comics' effort to reprint its early stories for the modern world, this book collects the first two and a half years of Hal Jordan's Silver Age appearances as the rebooted Green Lantern.
He would become the most famous Green Lantern in pop culture, with movies and a constant presence in Justice League media. In-story, Hal would become known as one of the all-time greatest Green Lanterns.
These earliest stories lay the foundation of so much of the most recognizable Green Lantern characters and themes that would endure from the 1960s through the 1990s. Things like the 24-hour limit on the ring's charge, the impurity backed into the ring that gave it its weakness against yellow things; Carol Ferris as both a hard-driving business-woman and a swooning love-interest; the little blue Guardians of the Universe;a pan-galactic Corps of fantastical alien ring-wielders, and more. Even little things, like using the initials GL as a shorthand abbreviation.
More examples of the mythology established right from these earliest pages that would play a constant and persistent role in GL stories forever after: the Weaponers of Qward debut in #2; Hector Hammond in #5; and Sinestro's first appearance is in #7.
This is all a great testament to author John Broome's tremendous imagination and his ability to create characters and relationships that would excite and inspire fans for years to come!
Several artists contributed to the visuals of these early days, and 1960 treated credits differently than today so identifying who did which pages can be tricky. Artist Gil Kane contributed the most, though, and when his work can be identified it shows his flair for dynamic images. In this early Silver Age work, his pages generally hold six panels, vs the 9 panels most common in the Golden Age comics. This lets the panels grow in size, and Kane fills the extra room with creative angles and ample close-ups.
Even with the excessive narrative text cramping the space, Kane gave us compelling images more often than not. His villains were the weakest elements, with the alien baddies excessively goofy and over-the-top, and a shocking number of bald men, especially the villains! The Guardians are an exception, but the Qwardians and most normal human villains are all smooth on top.
As vital and foundational as these stories from 1959 to 1961 were, reading them thorugh 2025 eyes is a struggle. Our tastes and sensibilities have become darker, more into realism and harsher, more violent visuals than these Comics Code-approved tales.
So the goofier tales, such as Hal's friend and co-worker Tom Kalmaku turning into a seagull, the candy-looking colouring of Sinestro and some of the monsters, and the narrative repetitiveness are less compelling today. And the constant use of a racial slur in reference to Tom Kalmaku and his indigenous (Innu) heritage is a constant aggravation. It may have been common at the time of these stories but no longer fits today's sensibilities. Call it a constant reminder of how much we've learned and grown as a society.
But this was not written in 2025, it was written more than 60 years ago. And it was so well received precisely because it was such a perfect fit for the society of that day. The exotic planets and aliens, the high-tech test pilot role of Hal Jordan, the romantic interests, the magical powers of the ring itself, all spoke to the America of the early Space-age.
In these pages, the legend is born I give the book two capes with today's eyes, with a recognition that it would have been 4 capes in its day.
Description:
Perhaps the most famous of all the Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan put on the lantern’s ring for the first time in 1959. A re-envisioning of the original crime-fighting Green Lantern (Alan Scott), created by John Broome in the 1940s, this new Green Lantern was a science fiction adventurer. He battled aliens, giant monsters, wealthy sociopaths out to steal his power ring...and the efforts of his lady love, Carol Ferris, to discover his true identity. As the Green Lantern of the Silver Age of comic books, Hal Jordan captured the imagination of a space-minded society of the ’50s and ’60s.
GREEN LANTERN: THE SILVER AGE VOLUME 1 collects the adventures of Hal Jordan as he takes on the responsibility of the ring and the lantern for the first time in SHOWCASE #22-24 and GREEN LANTERN #1-9.
Collects: Showcase #22-24 and Green Lantern #1-9
Authors: John Broome
Artists: Gil Kane, Mike Sekowsky, Carmen Infantino
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Oct. 11, 2016
Parental Rating: General
ISBN: 978-1401263485
Pages: 356 pages
No comments:
Post a Comment