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, 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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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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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

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