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BY SEAN MCQUAID Green Lantern (ongoing series) Writer--Ron Marz; Penciler--Darryl Banks; Inker--Romeo Tanghal; Colourist--Steve Mattsson

“In brightest day, In blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might Beware my power...Green Lantern’s light!”

OKAY, SO IT’S NOT EXACTLY Robert Frost; it is, however, one of the hoc@est and most imaginative catch-phrases in comics-- the Green Lantern Oath. The original Green Lantern (Alan Scott) actually — used a spookier speech when he first, chaz i power ring back in the forties (“Andi Shall-sh light over dark evil, for the dark vin :

masked daredevils ani Alan Scott, with hi every 24 hours at t dslant like the ring, carved. fagical meteorite) and his two-fisted super: hépoics, was a mixture of shadowy mysticgfpower and super-heroic flamboyance, dark and light-- though he was never really a dark character.

The new Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, was even brighter. DC revived many of its old character concepts with new characters in the 1950’s and 60’s, and one of the most successful was the new Green lantern, whose power ring and lantern were actually scientific creations of the alien Guardians of the Universe-- semi-omnipotent, blue-skinned, balding, immortal midgets who tried to maintain order in the universe by supplying select individuals across space with power rings, creating an intergalactic “police force” of Green Lanterns. This epic-scale, imaginative sci-fi concept made the new Green Lantern one of the biggest and brightest stars of a comics era dominated by white knights and squeaky clean good guys.

Over thirty years later, Hal Jordan is still around-- but the lantern has dimmed. Contrary to present Green Lantern creators’ assertions, Hal has been one of the most engaging and constantly evolving characters in DC’s Silver Age pantheon--a relatively regular guy who has often had trouble finding himself (test pilot, travelling salesman, social crusader, and a man torn between the desire for a normal life and the inescapable responsibilities of great power). Though he’s had more than one dry spell in popularity (and has even been replaced a fewtimes), the character remains one of DC’s most enduring properties and, as both concept and character, continues to bounce back. In recent years, the excellent Emerald Dawn mini-series (chronicling his early years) sparked a resurgence in his popularity and the revival of his ongoing series.

Inacomic book era where dark charactersare again. (now more than ever) monopolizing the spotlight

all the power rings draw upon-- st all-powerful, and in effect putting ‘Green Lantern Corps.

("Emerald Twilight" a in

because the honeymoon is over. In 4 universe where even Wonder Woman is:

por. pice~ptiys ‘apparently ‘finish, Ja

balding, blue midgets croak. uardian salvages the departed Hal loedans Ss d uses the last of the Guardians’ power to arth and bestowtherringupon the first semi-

omnipotent power t¢ tampering with time forbids them from theddli coolly refuse. Hal, driven | by his perceived betray lial masters, sets out to Mees } himself-- first, by stedli

less, hard-partying freelance artist Kyle Rayner, becomes (more or less sby default) the universe’s

lit w sie Green ° (Hal’s archenemy) to

age the Central Battery and emerging from its explosion as a cosmically powerful being, leaving Oa in ruins and its defenders almost all dead.

_(Dogress march twentyssecond 1994:pageJ6 |

watches

Thus begins a new emerald era.

Impressive? Not particularly.

Sure, it took guts to so boldly transform the Green Lantern mythos. It’s also a startling new twist, and gives readers a whole new character

(Rayner) to discover-- a character for whom the

potentially vast power of the ring is both unfamiliar and daunting. The concept is intriguing; however, it

's ~~-.didn’t have to be done at the expense of an

tablished character. DC’s capacity for change, pressive though it is, has been characterized too Often of late by a tendency to messily scrap or

" conveniently forget established characters in favour of “new" ones patterned in their image. It doesn’t

ve to be that way. Alan Scott wasn’t killed or ed when Hal Jordan became a new Green ern; Barry (Flash) Allen was a comrade to the nal Flash, Jay Garrick. Why does DC now feel #d to sacrifice its classics on the altar of

t to say “Emerald Twilight” isn’t a good erdan’s moving, disturbing descent into pure Greek tragedy, and the story has and poignancy; however, as one

tre“carnage unfold, there is still an uncomfortable reliance upon shock value, making the whole story somewhat unpalatable in concept

if not execution. Equally dubious is the premise of the new Green

Lantern, mostly because it’s not a bad idea but it certainly isn’ta new one. The old “venerable-hero-

i. PRS

* replaced-by-novice" routine has been doneto death

(Thor, Iron Man, Capt. America, Batman, Superman, etc.), and seldom lasts very long. Hal himself has been replaced as Green Lantern a few times, and this is the second time the Corps has met its apparent end (although this time, there is a disturbing ring of finality to it)..-Plus, the rookie hero routineis appealing but increasingly overdone. The DC brat pack alone includes Damage, Robin, Superboy and The Ray. Perhaps it’s art imitating life-- the older guys losing their positions to younger men. :

Turing to visuals, Darryl Banks’s pencils are very impressive. He captures thealien environment of Oa both imaginatively and concretely, has a good eye for drawings of epic tone and scale (the cover and Hal’s triumphal exit are really breathtaking), and shows a flair for both action and characterization in his figures which brings them to life, particulary the tormented Jordan. Banks captures both the savagery and grandeur of the tale, ably aided and abetted by veteran inker Romeo Tanghal and colourist Steve Mattsson, whose alternately harsh and vibrant palette is put to particularly excellent use in the power ring pyrotechnics.

On a final positive note, also of a visual nature, the cover to Green Lantern #50 is a real eye-popper. Not only does it feature Banks and Tanghal’s dramatic rendition of the transformed Hal bursting from the exploding Central Battery, but it also features glow-in-the-dark printing. Sure, it’s a gimmick, and | usually denounce such shallow trickery, but the effect herein is pretty impressive.