GREEN LANTERN, Vol. 3, #3, August 1990

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Issue begins w/ Hal walking into Kudzu City, having reconnected w/ the road. But soon, there's Guy again, following Hal, badgering him about his desire to keep his "feet on the ground". The story is titled, "Sound and Fury," a blatant William Faulkner reference (The Sound and the Fury), & as well, the "backwoods" nature of Kudzu City & later some of the yokels mention a local beauty of Kudzu City, Eula Varner, which is another Faulkner stab, to a character in his book, The Hamlet.

Anyway, Hal & Guy settle into a diner where they get into a debate over who can kick whose ass w/o using their ring - the woman behind the counter holds their rings for them - & as they "step outside" for a rumble, they become quite the spectacle for the townsmen, right there next to a Civil War monument on the square. That's when the town sheriff shows up.

Once in jail, H & G get into an argument of sorts about being a GL, as Guy doesnt appreciate Hal's wanting to give up his powers, as if he doesnt need them, when Guy has centered his whole existence, & all that is good about him, to having a GL ring. It is @ this point they remember they've left their rings in the diner. In another literary reference, when they ask the sheriff to call the diner about their rings, the sheriff is reading a copy of Jim Thompson's The Killer Inside Me. The diner doesnt have the rings.

Scene shifts to John Stewart on Oa, w/ shattered Power Battery behind w/ nutso Guardian talking crazy to J & bringing J under his control & into "mind-union" & wants to tap into J's memory so that he has access to Earth. Next we see that the Guardian is using its energy to dislodge a city from the planet Maltus, to bring it to Oa.

Scene shifts back to Kudzu City where two yokels from the diner have taken H & G's rings & are figuring out how to use them. They start goin crazy on the town & the sheriff comes after them, but they demolish the sheriff's car, etc. & scared he runs back into the jail & ends up letting Hal & Guy out. Though they are @ a disadvantage, w/o their rings, Hal is able to overcome the two rookie GLs w/ his outstanding willpower & therefore re-secure his ring, as well as Guy's.

As G & H leaving town, Guy commends Hal, & though he still doesnt understand Hal's reasoning behind wanting to distance himself from being a GL, he @ least admits to Hal that Hal is indeed the "best damned Green Lantern" he's seen & their relationship seems to be somewhat mended. Guy admits that Hal is brave, even tho an S.O.B. Hal walks off...

Writer: Gerard Jones
Penciller: Pat Broderick
Inker: Bruce Patterson
Letterer: Albert De Guzman
Colorist: Anthony Tollin
Asst. Editor: Kevin Dooley
Editor: Andy Helfer

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GREEN LANTERN CORPS QUARTERLY, #7, Winter 1993

Quick & dirty pre-spoilers: What you got here is a Halloween-themed GLCQ centered around happenings related to the Starheart. It's a pretty good one & in all fairness, a great one, as even the weakest story has a twist inching towards Hitchcock. There are vampires, zombies & dark arts, so get ready.

The book opens w/ a short bit about when the Guardians were themselves able warriors, traversing the universe to rid it of potentially harmful & chaos causing "magicks", eventually leading them to the Empire of Tears, and Ysmault. The story is titled, "Horrors: 1".

Though many Guardians fell in Ysmault, they eventually were victorious. They bound up all the mystical & magical, "both good & evil" & compressed it into a star: the Starheart. Over millennia, the Starheart churned until a bit of it escaped & melded w/ Yalan Gur, the dying GL of Sector 2814. Their meteoric essence fell to Earth where it was eventually fashioned into a lantern.

That lantern eventually found its way to Alan Scott. We see a hooded figure has been researching this bit in a crystal ball.

Next chapter is titled, "Horrors: 2" & we have Jade & Obsidian coming home on Halloween night in a slightly ironic scene, to then find their father, Alan Scott, appears twenty years younger. Alan discusses this w/ his wife, Molly & the children & while showing them his new GL uniform, the door rings, & it's the hooded guy from prev story. He is Torquemada, also a GL. He explains that magic is once again running wild in universe. He needs Alan's help. The two fly into the aether as Torquemada starts spinning yarns, which are what follow.

First up is "Ashes to Ashes" which begins w/ a lone woman walking @ night in an old London looking city, alley, etc. & is attacked by a pack of vampires. A GL appears, however. Name of Ash. He recognizes the vampire leader & his backstory plays out: a simple farmer & how he came home to find his farm burning & the vampire leader killing his wife.

Ash frees the girl w/ his ring, she runs. He then fights the leader, who pulls a blade & slices some fingers off w/ the ring. Ash is able to get to the ring & put it on his other hand. Angry, he penetrates that hand into the vampire's heart, killing him. Now, having avenged his wife, Tasha, he says he's done hunting "longteeth" - but the girl he saved stepped from shadows begging him not to quit, for he is needed.

Next tale is titled, "Green Hell!" We meet an old snail-like GL named Barin who guards the gates of Hell from entering the mortal plane. Though once a young, fierce warrior relishing his duties, Barin now wishes to die & be relieved, though he continues on out of duty.

Scene shift to a few Guardians w/ a female GL warrior, named Boodikka. They speak of Barin's fever - a twist comes as the reader learns Barin is, & has been for quite some time, in a coma.

For the next tale, we get something a bit different, as the GL wielding the ring here, Ayria, GL of Aegri Somnia One, uses the power of the ring to foster genocide against the yellow-skinned people of Aegri Somnia Three. The bit is titled, "Triumph of the Will!"

The reader next sees a slightly altered GL symbol, & w/ the name Ayria, the Hitler/Nazi parallels become obv. One reads as Ayria puts yellows in "reformation chambers" within "paradise work-camps". As their wills are broken, their energy transfers to Ayria's power battery.

When AS3 is finally defeated, some choice yellows remain. One, a female named Selaya. Her husband, Illiya, gives her up to Ayria & one night, Selaya, after intercourse, steals Ayria's ring. She then eats it.

Unable to find it, Selaya is sent back to "paradise". There she reunites w/ Illiya for a split until broken. Left w/ power battery only, & w/ a bit of a "Lost Ark" vibe, Ayria & his soldiers case the land for the ring, Sauron-style.

When moving thru Paradise One. Down in the dead bodies, a ring senses the passing battery & lights up, raising Selaya as a Green Lantern zombie! Charging ring, her will raises many others & they defeat Ayria. Lastly, Selaya & Illiya are reunited, then crumble. Good one!

The final seg in this issue moves us back to, "The Starheart!" & where it all began. It is now clear that the Starheart harbors power that can be used for both good & bad. Now that it is "unstable... spewing magical jetsam into the universe," it's time to act.

Alan Scott & Torquemada enter the crust of the Starheart, to find M'la has been tortured & is dead. An unknown monster appears. A sort of Predator looking monster who announces his name is Starheart, comprised of "magical detritus" from inside the Starheart itself. He pronounces himself "wild magic itself -- unfettered & uncontrollable." Starheart then begins trying to enchant & taunt them w/ visions, telling Alan his youth is due to his weakness to power of his ring & the Starheart, etc. After more temptation, Alan Scott freaks & attacks. A battle ensues between all mystical & magical within DCU it seems, but centered on Alan Scott & Starheart. Central moment, Scott thinks he wins, but is wrong. Ultimately, the magic of the Starheart escapes into the Universe.

Torquemada is able to conceal some magic in a small sphere, but otherwise, Alan Scott is now determined to face the darkside of the Starheart, or the darkside of its power, wherever it appears.

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GREEN LANTERN, Vol. 3, #2, July 1990

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Hal has remained on the road so long he's now @ the sea, & expectedly, out of cash. He asks some salty dogs for work. The story is titled, "Pursuit of Happiness!" Hal ends up w/ the job. It is interesting that on page 2, when he shakes hands, he has the GL ring on, but is not currently GL.*

Scene shifts to Guy Gardner sluggin' some brews & grumbling about Hal. Guy has his ring working as a bar maid for himself. He hits the New York City streets & hunts out some sleaze, going into a porn shop, then into a tattoo parlor called the Palace of Fine Art... Guy settles in to get a tat, but then he thinks he recognizes the guy about to give it to him. The Tattooed Man, an adversary of the "old Green Lantern" - Guy leaves - ends up the guy IS the Tattooed Man, but is reformed, or attempting to be - but this little outburst from Guy brings back some old memories & has him drinking again & something about the "chemicals for me magic tattoos." - it isnt long before he's animating tattoos, but trying to do so respectfully, creating a homey environment, his Mom, etc. but Guy shows up & starts badgering him, riling him up.

Scene shift to Hal on the sea w/ his new mates, crabbing. One of the new pals is a Deadhead. He and Hal have a somewhat kushy convo & Hal seems to be reconnecting w/ the Earth.

Back to Guy & Tattoed Man's battle, now out & over the sea.

Hal & hippie Clay eat some chicken but Hal's ring warns him that Guy is nearby. Hal transforms into GL & flies out to sea, seeing that Guy is @ it w/ Tattooed Man.

Scene shift to John Stewart on Oa, where he has found Priest dead. There is also a Guardian there who gives John a quick rundown about Maltus & the other Guardians going w/ the Zamarons, his personal loneliness, trying to link minds w/ Priest... John realizes the Guardian has flipped his wig, so he jets off... but cant... get... away... from... the crazed Guardian.

Back to Guy/Tattooed Man quarrel, Hal shows up as GL, scolding Guy, but ends up in fray of battle. Hippie Clay soon learns Hal is GL (b/c he can "see" through masks), as do others once mentioned. When Hal changes back to Hal, the fishermen ask him to leave. Clay gives him an orchard address in CA. Guy floats in sky after leaving Tattooed Man face in sand. Guy is still grumbling about Hal. Tattooed Man sits up & is pissed - walks into nearby town - which is the town Hal just left. Tattooed Man is approached by the fishermen, given his sailorish look. They ask if he needs work. He decides to join them after seeing a nearby place that looked like the house he imagined for his mother. Lastly, wee see Hal, bummed he's now had to leave two places already. "Dont cross my path again, Guy Gardner. Just dont cross my path," he says to himself.

Writer: Gerard Jones
Penciller: Pat Broderick
Inker: Bruce Patterson
Letterer: Albert De Guzman
Colorist: Anthony Tollin
Asst. Editor: Kevin Dooley
Editor: Andy Helfer

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NEXT ISSUE

SHOWCASE #22, September-October 1959

[As you can see, I am using the ad-less "Showcase Presents Green Lantern Vol. One" from 2005 for this - for now just the 1st tale, the others will follow, probably on this same entry]

This is the original origin story for Hal Jordan. Title page shows Hal Jordan in flightless pilot trainer nearing Abin Sur's crash site by green power beam. Title of the story is, "SOS Green Lantern".

We are told Hal Has been transported to the crash site in the "Southwest U.S.A." - we see Abin Sur struggling, dying, w/ need of passing his battery of power on to a "deserving Earthman" - Abin puts his ring to the battery* & asks it to find his successor - we then watch as a green beam goes out to search as Abin Sur yells, "He must be one w/o fear! Entirely w/o fear!" The green beam circles the Earth - we then see test pilot, Hal, @ Ferris Aircraft Company, in a flightless trainer "of his own design" - the green beam arrives & transports Hal to Abin Sur's spaceship - Hal steps inside & is communicated w/ by telepathy - Abin Sur shows him the battery - Hal says, "it looks like a Green Lantern." Abin Sur then schools Hal on the reason for this meeting & the battery of power - it needs someone "fearless... & honest!" Abin scans Hal w/ ring & confirms he is honest; he then mentions that the Battery* selected him as one w/o fear.

Abin then begins to tell the tale of his demise: his ship blasted by radiation outside Earth, a yellow light, causing him to crash... Abin informs Hal of the Battery's* power over all except that which is yellow & tells him of the impurity within & its importance. Abin then gives Hal the ring & explains the charge time, etc. Abin dies.

Next we see Hal in GL uniform after disposing of Abin Sur & his "rocket" per Abin's orders. Abin had also told Hal to take his special uniform.* Next we seen Hal experimenting w/ his new powers & then, choosing to take a secret identity, to call himself Green Lantern*, after the power battery. He charges his ring, saying, "& in time, I hope to make Green Lantern a name to be feared by evil doers everywhere!"

Writer: John Broome
Artists: Gil Kane & Joe Giella

* It is interesting the emphasis of the Battery of Power, moreso than the ring. In addition, we have a uniform being passed on, as well as the mention that Hal is the one that comes up w/ the term "Green Lantern" due to the power battery.

GREEN LANTERN, Vol. 2, #61, June 1968

Issue opens w/ Hal Jordan & Alan Scott flying over a city, having tracked down Captain Challenge. The story is titled, "Thoroughly Modern Mayhem!" The GLs bust through the wall of Captain Challenge's headquarters using their rings. From what we hear from the GLs, it appears that Capt. Challenge has been traveling b/w parallel Earths. Hal being of Earth-One & Alan being of Earth-Two. We also learn Alan's ring is not affected by yellow like Hal's. After apprehending Capt. Challenge, standing outside the police station, Hal receives as "SOS" signal on his ring from another GL. Hal flies off & we then watch as Alan returns to Earth-Two & when back in Earth-Two Gotham City, Alan changes into "civvies" & goes to Gotham Broadcast Company, where he is acting president. Sally Fadden is soon telling him that Johnny Halliday & Tommy Saunders are fighting in Studio Two. Alan rushes in & breaks up the fight. He then learns that a waterfront warehouse was just robbed during an Easter parade downtown. Alan runs off, turns into GL & hits the skies w/ ring searching for "intruders". Alan soon notices some men w/ guns & briefcases & takes care of them - then finds more robbers in the warehouse district & takes care of them. Into night, Alan notices a pattern:some event draws cops away, then a crime happens nearby - it is dawn, Alan exhausted, when a signal comes in that someone is robbing Bruce Wayne's mansion, as Wayne is out of town as Batman, accepting an award.

Alan flies to Wayne Mansion to find a burglar w/ a statue. Alan unfortunately remembers that he forgot to charge his ring as he gets in a tangle w/ the crook. But ultimately Alan as GL musters up enough energy to beat up the guy after a close call. Exhausted, he returns home & wonders what they'd do w/o him & his ring. Dr. Fate, The Spectre, they just dont match up. Alan then wishes that maybe he had simply ordered his ring to expel all evil. He turns on the radio to relax, but all that comes out is bad news: Vietnam, Israel, Detroit riots... He then, looking around, notices his place has been ransacked! In a manic state he recharges his ring @ his battery, saying his oath, "And I shall shed my light over dark evil -- for the dark things cannot stand the light of Green Lantern!" Alan then commands his ring to get "rid of all evil on Earth that is plaguing mankind!" He begins to disappear. His ring hits the floor.

Scene shift to Hal in space [Note: Hal comments here about how he was lucky to recharge ring @ Grendian GL's Power Battery, otherwise "never have made it back to Earth." Interesting that in Bronze & Modern Age, Hal can carry the battery w/ his person, invisibly & easily] arriving over Earth & Utah, noticing tons of people standing there in the middle of nowhere, packed "like sardines" - Hal realizes they must be from Earth-Two, so Hal travels to Earth-Two & find it deserted. He investigates, but all he finds is Alan's ring on the floor, so he grabs it & returns to Earth-One where he finally locates Alan standing among all the people, like a zombie. Hal questions Alan & a deep convo takes place about Alan's realization that everyone has a bit of evil in them. Hal then gives Alan a classic line, "You cant stop being what you are - what you should be - b/c of even the greatest of setbacks! Once a Green Lantern, always a Green Lantern!" Hal goes on giving more awesome advice. Alan agrees & the two of them join rings to 1) send Utah folks back to Earth-Two & 2) to send both GLs to Gotham City on Earth-Two.

On returning, Alan decides to check on his battered employee, while Hal decides to track down the crime lord. Hal intercepts some radio on his ring that says someone is headed to the hospital room that Alan is headed to (to visit his employee). But when Hal shows, Alan is punching a guy out onto another guy & asks Hal to follow him. Alan turns into GL & they go to Alan's office, GL Alan asking for Johnny Halliday. He's told he's in Studio Two. Alan enters & waylays Johnny. It comes out, how Johnny Halliday had been running the "crime-wave" by informing over GBC once he got police whereabouts from the News-Bureau. Tommy was gonna call the cops & the thugs & the hospital were there to silence him for good. Alan, talking w/ Hal, realizes that it was the small problem, it seemed, that led to the large.

Story by: Mike Friedrich
Art by: Gil Kane & Sid Greene

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ACTION COMICS WEEKLY, #614, August 23, 1988

[This synopsis is only concerned w/ the 1st story, a version of Hal Jordan's origin. The other stories within pertain to other DC Heroes like Phantom Stranger, Catwoman, etc.]

Story begins on title page where Hal Jordan - through what looks to be the power of the Guardians using his ring - is having a vision of Abin Sur & the crash site where Hal received the ring ("years ago"). The story is titled, "Bring Me A Man".

Right off, we learn that Abin Sur slightly messed up in regard to choosing a successor. Abin's "processes were chaotic" & the Guardians should have been the ones to choose. Also, it ends up that the ring failed to find anyone nearby "without fear" altogether, so it had to settle on someone w/ a "minimum" of fear - ends up scanning Earth, it was a toss up between Hal & Guy Gardner, but since Hal was closest in proximity to Abin, he was chosen. We then see, as Hal watches, exactly what went down. The Guardians explain how when the green power came in to move Hal & the flightless trainer to Abin's crash site, it also "rectified" the fact that Hal did have fear of death. It changed Hal @ that moment to have no fear. This knowledge ticks Hal off & he worries that the Guardians "lobotomized" him. The Guardians say they "merely rearranged [Hal's] psychic profile to eliminate all fear."

Scene then cuts to a woman w/ pointy ears (Arisia) walking down a city street thinking about Hal & her modeling career. She & Hal have been living together in a hotel in Chicago & now w/ her modeling career taking off, Arisia hopes Hal will be keen on the idea of staying longer in Chicago & moving into an apartment w/ her. Soon, she walks up on a scene where a youth is standing on the ledge of a building & a group of people, police, etc. are trying to dissuade him from jumping.

Story shifts back to Hal pleading w/ his ring to make him the way he was, before the psychic tampering. The Guardians remind Hal that Abin Sur's ring (that did the tampering) is no longer the ring he holds (Tomar-Re's). Despite this, Hal demands his ring to make him into a man that has fear. A green wave goes out from him, but Hal feels no different. It is then that Hal hears yelling outside & notices the boy on the ledge about to jump. When Hal begins to fly over to help, he notices how high he is & becomes fearful & freaks out, falling. Hal realizes his reaction is the "cumulative effect of everything the ring's been repressing" since he got a ring. He deals w/ it & makes it to the the ledge, though still shaking. It is through GL's struggle, that the jumper learns a lesson, to keep going & overcome your fear. The crowd, Arisia included, cheer GL as the boy climbs back inside the building through a window. Hal realizes he doesnt need to be fearless.

Writer: Peter David
Artist: Tod Smith
Colorist: Anthony Tollin
Letterer: Albert De Guzman
Assistant Editor: Dan Raspler
Editor: Dennis O'Neil

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DC SPECIAL BLUE RIBBON DIGEST, Vol. 1, #4, Sept/Oct 1980

This post does not pertain to this entire issue, for now. In this post I am mainly concerned w/ the first story in it. It's an advertisementless pocketbook reprint of the first half of Green Lantern, Vol.2, #1 w/ the 2nd known telling of Hal's origin story. I am interested in the variations of Hal's origin over the years, so I plan to mine that for a bit in subsequent posts.

This story begins w/ Hal losing to a huge, hairy, brown mohawked creature that sends out a yellow mental ray from its head. The name of the story is "The Planet of Doomed Men". We then see Hal doing his thing as a test pilot, but then has a mental "moment", ends up it is due to the Guardians who are summoning him to Oa; they end up splitting him to where his corporeal body remains on Earth. They question him about the transference of the "Power Battery" that happened a "year ago" & they wish to make sure he is trustworthy, etc. The origin story then begins of how Hal received the ring. The crashed alien ship, Abin Sur dying, having to pass it on, his ring locating Hal, who was in a flightless trainer model. Hal & flightless model end up sailing off into the air & to Abin's wrecked ship. During the recollection, the Guardians mention that they lost communication w/ Earth @ that time due to an ion-storm. The interesting thing is that they then mention the person called "Green Lantern". In other words, this origin story says that Hal is the one that comes up w/ the name "Green Lantern" upon seeing Abin's Power Battery. The Guardians do not know of the term until then. "We found that an individual named Green Lantern had come into possession of Abin Sur's power battery." We then see the story of Abin's meeting of Hal & the transference of the ring. Abin teaches Hal the ropes, & also lets him know about the yellow impurity = affect anything, except that which is yellow. Then Hal says, "the spaceman told me to take his special uniform"*. The Guardians eventually approve of Hal & send his second half back to his body & when he comes to getting out of the plane & so on is that he really wishes he had a date w/ Carol Ferris as now she is more into GL than him. But arriving back @ his crib he notices the lantern signal & the Guardians let him know that a planet named Calor in a nearby system needs help. The Guardians are impressed by Hal's response.

Hal ends up on Calor w/ a bunch of primitives asking how he can help & is eventually led to a cliff which makes him soon face-to-face w/ Dryg, the huge gorilla mohawked enemy. For whatever reason Hal's ring doesnt seem to affect Dryg, so he finally decides to use it to freeze Dryg, creating ice & such directed @ him. The idea works & Hal freezes Dryg in a cube. Hal then sees but does not interfere w/ the planet's ceremony of praise, as he is mostly concerned w/ nabbing a date w/ Carol Ferris.

Story: John Broome
Art: Gil Kane & Murphy Anderson

*Currently I am trying to figure out exactly when Hal's origin story changes to 1) the ring brings on the uniform (currently thinking it is Vol.3#1 though I have not read enough Bronze Age to fully determine yet) & 2) it was just Hal w/o flight trainer (or a test pilot crash) that came to Abin Sur. Also, it is interesting that this story attributes the name "Green Lantern" to Hal. Likewise, Hal is the one able to create an invisibility shield for the power battery & another detail, a year after receiving the ring, Hal is still unaware of the Guardians even though his "spirit" has met w/ them.

ROGUES GALLERY: