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:

GREEN LANTERN, Vol. 2, #156, September 1982

Issue begins w/ Hal cruising through the galaxies as GL & getting a "you are our only hope" mental signal from a place nearby that looks much like Earth. This baffles Hal since Earth is a billion light years away. The title of the story is "Judas World!" Due to the surrounding star formation, Hal remembers the planet as Pharon IV, but doesnt recall it looking like Earth. Hal charges his ring, says his oath, then swoops down to check it out.

Hal nears what looks to be Ferris Aircraft ("Southern California") & is met ecstatically by old chums Carol Ferris & Thom. Something seems odd to Hal, ie. too good to be true. A tidal wave hits. Hal calms it, then probes the people to tell him who they truly are. They finally give in, but the result rocks Hal to the point of disappearing. Ends up GL was simply playing a trick, instead of "disappearing" he became Hal Jordan of Ferris Aircraft & begins snooping around.

Soon, in a hangar gathering, it is revealed that these doppelgangers are Pharoids & there is some process of world duplication going on in regard to planet Sol III (Earth). These imposters will eventually replace the real versions of themselves on Earth. They will then install equipment on Earth that allows them to send Earth crashing into Dalgova, planet of the Pharoid's aeon-long enemies. After taking this all in, Hal is detected & quickly changes into GL mode & battles the foes. He finds he has an ally in one, Trigus. Ends up Trigus was the one who sent GL the mental help signal in space as Trigus isnt keen on the use of Sol III (& its innocents) to destroy Dalgova.

Hal intervenes in the "war" as it ends up the Dalgovians were also about to attack. He tries to settle the age long conflict as the sides realize they cant even recall the reasons for their "hatred" in the first place. This ultimately brings about a peace conference of sorts. Hal flies off w/ "for to wage a war is simple, but to wage a peace is the truest test of civiled beings!"

Writer: Mike W. Barr
Guest Artist: Gil Kane
Editor: Len Wein
Letterer: Annette Kawecki
Colorist: Tony Tollin

This issue ends w/ a Green Lantern Corps story titled "The Gladiator's Apprentice". We are introduced to Portworld, a planet in Sector 6, as well as an old-timer GL stationed there named Wylxa. He takes care of some pirates on a space freighter. Ends up Wylxa has a protege named Tahr (to be the GL successor for the sector), who is causing Wylxa a bit of grief, but mainly it becomes clear that Wylxa is a bit of a task master & seems never satisfied w/ the progress of his pupil. It isnt until Wylxa begins to remember his own youth, & his own shortcomings/errors, that he is finally able to loosen the reigns on Tahr a bit.

Writer: Paul Kupperberg
Artists: Paris Cullins & Pablo Marcos
Letters: Kubert
Colors: Jerry Serpe
Editor: Dave Manak

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GREEN LANTERN, Vol. 3, #1, June 1990

Issue begins w/ Hal Jordan standing on a cliff thinking deep thoughts about his life since he got the power ring (15 years ago). The ring has cost him a lot in life, his GL friends are on different planets, his Earth friends dont like him anymore, & his hair is now noticeably grey. Because of all of this, Hal dives off the cliff, which surprises some campers below as he suddenly, just before hitting the ground, transforms into GL, flying upwards into the sky. The story is titled, "Down To Earth".

Hal arrives @ Justice League Headquarters where he meets w/ Batman & others. They are glad to see Hal, the "original" GL & are eager for him to rejoin the JL. However, Guy Gardner appears & has it out w/ Hal & the others. It is clear that Guy has caused tension & also been involved w/ the ladies of the JL. Hal pulls a switcheroo & readies to leave, expressing to Batman his desire to live more like a normal person & forget about super powers for a while. Hal no longer wants the ring to define him.

Next is a page showing John Stewart flipping through channels on a television, each channel a bad news story, Stewart having a bit of an identity crisis in regard to being a GL.

Again, we have Hal w/ his deep thoughts, now walking some train tracks. "I flew small planes, sold insurance, even sold toys. But I lived." Hal jumps a train, hobo style, but after daydreaming about his times as GL, he's thrown from the train. He hitches a ride to Hope Springs, a town that used to be called Desolation (error in the voice bubbles here - find it!). Hal rolls into town & searches for a woman he once knew named Rose. It turns out she lives on a farm w/ her son & is a widow, due to her husband dying in the mines. Hal asks for work, but is turned down, though eventually allowed to stay for food & a cot.

Back to John Stewart freaking out. Talk about having killed people, needing to know if he was still a GL. He then flies off as if headed to Oa.

Hal starts in on helping around the farm, shirtless. Rose gives him some pointers. @ night Hal enjoys the stars, & spends some time w/ Rose's son Toby. But Rose hears Hal speaking about the galaxy & ends it. She eventually comes back out & stargazes w/ Hal; he wants to tell her what he's thinking "[a green flash in the void, caroming from light to light]" but instead tries to show her the Big Dipper, which she's never heard of b/c she is so grounded.

Page of John Stewart arriving @ Oa & it's a wasteland. He searches for the Guardian that stayed, he enters a cave, & finds a dead being.

Hal's doin farm work w/ shovel when Guy appears & starts harrassing Hal. They get into a tangle & Rose & Toby appear. Rose confronts Hal about being a super hero & storms off w/ Toby. Then, w/ conflicting emotions around the board, Hal grabs his jacket & leaves the farm. Back to the road, realizing that his ring finger is the "conduit to infinity"... "I will always be something more, & something less, than a man."

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

NEXT ISSUE

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GREEN LANTERN, Vol. 2, #58, January 1968

One of my favorite covers.

Book opens w/ a shot of Hal Jordan freaking out in what appears to be psychological turmoil. The title of the story is "Peril of the Powerless Green Lantern!" Story begins w/ Hal being congratulated for work well done @ the Evergreen Insurance Company by his boss, Mr. Lawford. Hal's given some time off & goes camping. While fishing, Hal notices an explosion from over the hills in Cosmidor City. He changes into GL* & flies to check it out. He zeroes in on the blazing Cosmidor Corporation ("chemical supplies & radiation labs") where he rescues some young ladies. Soon after, Hal begins to act a bit odd. He busts into David's Jewelry across the street to find some criminals looting it. Hal takes care of the criminals, but then makes off w/ the booty himself. Having a change of heart as he gets further away, Hal returns to Cosmidor City & returns the jewels to the owner, probably David himself.

Hal returns to his camp where he finally lands a fish. Later he goes to a drive-in movie where he acts a bit psycho. There is an earthquake which causes an avalanche. Hal changes to GL to help. After the disaster he ends up cleaning up the area w/ his ring. While everyone praises & thanks him, he feels funny & thinks something is not normal w/ himself. Scene shifts to the Guardians monitoring Hal & thinking he may be suffering from "combat fatigue". They decide to interfere. When Hal returns to camp, still as GL, he goes to recharge his ring, but finds it is no longer on his finger*. A Guardian appears in Hal's lantern & tells him that he needs to take a vacation from being GL.

For an entire day Hal loafs @ the base of a tree, but then hears the cry of a girl. A sister & brother are running from a grizzly bear. Hal, w/o the aid of the ring, manages to best the bear, who runs off chased by bees. Ends up the girl & boy (Eve & Buddy Doremus) are the offspring of the owner of Cosmidor Corporation. They invite Hal to rest @ their mansion. Hal takes them up on it & falls for Eve. During his stay @ Doremus Mansion, Hal realizes he heasnt had the "emotional disturbances" since he has been ringless & @ the same time the Guardians find an impurity within his ring that has been causing said disturbances.

One night Hal comes upon four thieves in the mansion, dons his GL suit* w/o ring, & takes the thieves on. It goes well until one of them hits Hal in the head w/ a statuette. They swarm Hal, pull pistols, & fire, but just as bullets near, the Guardians are returning Hal's ring & just in time it turns the bullets to dust. GL then captures the thieves. The Doremus family swarms in to laud GL. Eve runs up to make sure Hal is safe. GL follows, worried about Eve finding an empty room. Amazingly, Hal opens the door to greet Eve. Ends up that the Doremus Corporation explosion had caused the ring flaw & also, the Guardians "dematerialized" a duplicate Hal to trick Eve.

*It is interesting to note that in the Silver & Bronze Ages, Green Lantern actually "changed" into his uniform. For example, in this issue, Hal is able to wear the uniform w/o possession of the ring. A bronze age example is in GL Corps Tales V.1 #1 when Hal dons Abin Sur's uniform. It is w/ Volume 3 when this changes. The modern version, of course, is that the ring is what suddenly brings about the transformation into GL, suit & all.

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TALES OF THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS, Vol. 1, #3, July 1981

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Book begins @ Ferris Aircraft, in the Los Angeles area, where Tom (Thomas Kalmaku) takes Carol Ferris to Hal Jordan's office & shows her the "dead" power battery discarded there. They both feel this doesnt bode well for Hal, wherever he may be. Scene shifts to a ringless (& "former school teacher") Guy Gardner, in a catatonic state, in a hospital, watching the storm outside, wishing he had a ring & could respond to the Guardians call he can feel deep inside. Elsewhere on Earth is "architect" John Stewart who senses something awry, but figured the Guardians will let him know personally if his help is needed. We then learn that one Guardian is using all their might to protect Earth from the goings on in the rest of the universe. The issue is titled, "Triumph!" It is the final issue of a 3-part series.

More GLs arrive on Oa to find slain GLs tossed about. Hal hasnt stirred. Arisia recaps the tale of Krona & Nekron detailed in the previous issue, bringing us to the situation @ hand: a shrinking universe, a destroyed Central Power Battery, etc. Hal finally comes to & a melancholy discussion over Krona's superior power commences. Tomar-Re is ready to throw in the towel; however, Hal rallies his willpower (though he has to admit it would be nice to spend Armaggedon w/ Carol, Tom, Brothers Jim & Jack, Eve Doremus...), determined to beat Krona alone if he has to. Soon, Hal finds that all the other GLs have followed & are @ his side. The gang of GLs, using their rings, create a warp in the cosmos & disappear.

Guardians float about in space, straining to hold order on the universe & close the rift to the dimension of death. However, Nekron has his own plans & summons Krona, who attacks the Guardians, immediately killing one. The rift grows larger between dimensions. Nekron is eager to pass into the living dimension. The GLs arrive @ the rift & once again, confront Krona. A massive battle clash goes on & we witness Tylot (one of Krona's army), who was spared by the GLs in the previous issue/battle, change allegiances & suddnely become a GL. Tomar-Re is then approached by the spirit of his father, coming from the rift, tempting him to give in to the death dimension. A conflicted Tomar-Re abolishes his father's spirit. It is then Hal who has an idea. He has all of the GLs direct their energy to him & he flies into the rift & "into the dread domain of the lord of the unliving". Confronting Nekron head-on, Hal pleads to all the dead GL spirits to join in his cause & to Nekron's chagrin, they respond. Sensing the shift in power as Nekron is distracted, the Guardians are able to refocus & rout Krona & his army, who flee back through the rift. The Guardians then begin closing the rift, but Hal is still in the death dimension. It appears Hal is lost, when suddenly, the spirit of Abin Sur appears & pushes Hal back through the rift just before it closes. All is balanced once more in the universe. Tylot thanks the GLs & then disappears, leaving his ring. The Guardians escort the GLs back to Oa where they all celebrate. Soon after, Hal is honored by the Guardians, presented w/ the "crimson mantle of command" symbolizing the promotion to Leader of the Corps. But Hal turns it down. He likes being equal to everyone else. The Guardians then lead the ritual of ring recharge now that the Central Battery of Power has been fixed. After charging their rings, all of the GLs hail & honor Hal & Hal cries openly.

Scripter: Len Wein (from a plot by Mike W. Barr)
Illustrators: Joe Staton & Frank McLaughlin)
Letterer: Ben Oda
Colorist: Anthony Tollin
Editor: Dick Giordano

The CORPS CONFLICTS column @ the end of the issue (by Michael C. Carmichael) concerns itself w/ the origin of Hal Jordan's "oath", while also mentioning Alan Scott's oath. It is said that statistically, there are 3600 GLs, though only about 3000 say an oath. Of these, 100 say Hal's oath. It is also interesting, specified here, that Hal's world, Earth-1, & his oath, work "scientifically", whereas Alan's oath, & Earth-2, work "magically".

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TALES OF THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS, Vol. 1, #2, June 1981

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Book opens w/ the Guardians flying through space @ the edge of the universe after having fled Oa @ end of previous issue. This is 2 of a 3 book series. The Guardians are searching for the rift that allowed Krona back into their universe. They find it, but are expected. The story is titled, "Defeat!" The Guardians try to close the rift but are instead struck w/ dark lightning from a hand on the other side of the rift, referred to as "Krona's master". They are confronted by a terror on the other side that makes them realize the threat is much larger than Krona. One of the Guardians leaves the pack to warn the GLs of this realization.

Back on Oa, the GLs sift through wreckage, but Hal Jordan steps up & declares a call-to-arms to track down Krona & his minions as the GLs are now running out of time w/ the "Master Power Battery" destroyed (their rings cannot be recharged after 24 hrs have lapsed). Discussion follows. We meet a few more GLs: Galious Zed & K'Ryssma. The Honor Guard agrees & the GLs all take off to find Krona. Stel warps ahead & is blindsided by Krona. M'Dahna pronounces Stel dead when the others arrive. Hal deduces that the universe is contracting vs. expanding & the GLs speak of the "primal atom theory". Hal believes Krona is attempting to uncreate the universe. The GLs soon come face-to-face w/ Krona's "army". A battle ensues. Arkkis Chummuck has particular trouble w/ Gorokk as he is yellow & Arkkis' ring cannot affect him; however, mustering all his strength, Arkkis ultimately kills Gorokk. We watch as others fight, & finally, the GLs come out victorious, though losing many of their own in the process. Hal questions Tylot, one of Krona's survivors, hearing the tale of Krona's plung through dimensions into the "timeless domain" of Nekron, Lord of the Unliving. It is then revealed that b/c Krona was "immortal" but entered into the dark domain which made him also dead, an anomaly was @ hand, causing the dimensional rift between the two dimensions. Seeing the dimension of the living, Nekron sent Krona to destroy the immortal Guardians which would help enlarge the rift. As the GLs contemplate the gravity of the situation, the messenger Guardian arrives to tell them that Krona is attacking Oa while the GLs are tied up w/ his minions. Exhausted from his journey, & battle w/ Nekron, the Guardian promptly dies in Hal's arms. The rift grows larger.

Hal leads the GLs back to Oa where they confront Krona. Soon, the GLs find they have met their match as Krona has waylaid them all save Hal who taps into all the GLs power rings for a massive blast, but still Krona is not affected, besting Hal, though sparing his life as he wishes Hal to experience the destruction of the universe. Krona tells the wounded GLs to return to their native worlds so they can die w/ their own. He then enters a portal in the sky & disappears.

Scripter: Len Wein (from a plot by Mike W. Barr)
Artists: Joe Staton & Frank McLaughlin
Letterer: Ben Oda
Colorist: Anthony Tollin
Editor: Dick Giordano

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The CORPS CONFLICTS column (written by Michael C. Carmichael) @ the end of this issue centers around Tomar-Re & his history w/ the Guardians & the GL Corps. It tells of his first mission to save the people of Krypton, which was initially considered a failure; however, b/c of what happened w/ Superman, it eventually came to be seen by the Guardians as a "meant to be" for the universe. We are then schooled in the history between Tomar-Re & Hal Jordan, their duels w/ Sinestro, as well as Tomar-Re's elevation to Honor Guard & removal from normal GL business.

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TALES OF THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS, Vol. 1, #1, May 1981

Here we have the 1st issue in a 3 part series surrounding the Green Lantern Corps. The story is titled "Challenge!" & begins w/ Hal Jordan blazing through sector 2814 on his way to Oa in response to a call from the Guardians - he is met by new GL, Arisia, from sector 2815, who is starstruck. We learn that Oa is at the "heart of the universe". Once there, Hal speaks w/ many other GLs including Gk'd, Charlie Vicker, Stel, Katma Tui (who Arisia shows jealous toward), Xax, Arkkis Chummuck & Eddore, who sends Hal into a reverie about how he became a GL. Following we have the telling of Hal's origin story & how he got the ring from Abin Sur. "You will have power over everything -- except that which is yellow!" An interesting detail of this version of the story is that Hal actually removes Abin Sur's uniform & "dons" it himself.

After Hal finishes his tale, Tomar-Re & the Honor Guard appear on a stage, addressing the gathering GLs. The Guardians themselves then appear. We then have Hal telling another story, this time to Arisia, explaining why though the Guardians were magnificent, they were also to blame for the evil in the world. We hear the story of old Oa, the Paradise of the Immortals, & Krona's "unsatiable ambition" which leads to the unleashing of evil into the universe & b/c of this happening, the origin of the Guardians to combat it. There is mention of the pre-GL Manhunters proving "untrustworthy" which leads to "living agents" ie. the Green Lanterns. Hal goes a bit further, telling of his own tangle w/ Krona on Earth & the help he received from Alan Scott, original GL from parallel world Earth-2, until he is reprimanded by one of the Guardians.

Just as the Guardians are about to resume the announcement, it is too late. They are interrupted by the appearance in a "stellar screen" showing Krona & his minions. Krona is back & he announces his plans to destroy the Guardians & their "precious" universe. The entire GL Corps then joins in a ritual of charging their rings within the Battery of Power. Hal gives his oath, as do others. A few GLs notice something odd w/ the battery. It begins shaking. Then, unexpectedly, the Battery explodes. Many GLs, like Spak-Drom, die b/c of this. In the aftermath, Hal realizes that the Guardians are gone, though they communicate through a crystal that the GLs are now to find Krona & "put an end to his madness". Hal then poses the problem that w/ the Battery now destroyed, the GLs have less than 24 hours to defeat Krona as their rings will become useless. The remaining GLs then band together to find & beat Krona while @ the same time, Krona laughs mockingly "halfway across the galaxy".

Scripter: Len Wein (from a plot by Mike W. Barr)
Illustrators: Joe Staton & Frank McLaughlin
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Anthony Tollin
Editor: Dick Giordano

NEXT ISSUE

This issue also has a column titled, CORPS CONFLICTS, attributed to no specific writer. It tells the history of the Earth GLs' involvement w/ the GL Corps. We learn that the first Earth GL to be involved w/ a Corps battle was in 1928, when the Guardians feared the rise of one Earth kingpin, Al Magone. Eventually Magone was annexed to a prison planet, though once there, he did even more damage, eventually causing an all out battle. It was around this time that Roger Vicker was wrongly killed & his brother, Charley, joined the GL ranks. We then mainly read about Hal Jordan's dealings w/ the Corps, his battles w/ Sinestro, as well as the Qwardians.

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