By John Broome, Gil Kane & various (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-4012-0759-5
After the successful revival and reworking of The Flash, DC (or National Comics as they were) was keen to build on the resurgent superhero trend. Showcase #22 (September-October 1959) hit the stands at the same time as the fourth issue of the new Flash comicbook (#108) and once again the guiding lights were Editor Julie Schwartz and writer John Broome.
The Space Age reworking of the Golden-Age superhero with the magic ring replaced mysticism with super-science. Hal Jordan was a young test pilot in California when an alien policeman crashed his spaceship on Earth. Mortally wounded, Abin Sur commanded his ring, a device which could materialise thoughts, to seek out a replacement ring-bearer, honest and without fear. Scanning the planet it selected Jordan and brought him to the crash-site. The dying alien bequeathed his ring, the lantern-shaped Battery of Power and his profession to the astonished Earthman.
In six pages ‘S.O.S Green Lantern’ established the characters, scenario and narrative thrust of a series that would increasingly become the spine of DC continuity, leaving room for another two adventures in that premiere issue. ‘Secret of the Flaming Spear!’ and ‘Menace of the Runaway Missile!’ were both contemporary thrillers set against the backdrop of the aviation industry at a time when the Cold War was at its height.
Unlike the debut of The Flash, the editors were now confident of their ground. The next two issues of Showcase carried the new hero into even greater exploits. ‘Summons from Space’ sent Green Lantern to another world: Saving an emerging race from a deadly threat at the behest of the as-yet-unnamed leaders of the Green Lantern Corps, whilst ‘The Invisible Destroyer’ pitted the Emerald Gladiator against the earthbound but eerie menace of a psychic marauder that lived on atomic radiation.
Showcase #24 (January-February, 1960) featured another spy-ring in ‘The Secret of the Black Museum!’ but Hal Jordan’s complex social life took centre-stage in ‘The Creature That Couldn’t Die!’ when the threat of an unstoppable monster paled before the insufferable stress of being his own rival. Hal’s boss Carol Ferris, left in charge of the aviation company by her father (a radical concept in 1960 when most women were still considered faint-fodder fluff) won’t date an employee but is happy for him to set her up with the glamorous, mysterious Green Lantern.
Six months later Green Lantern #1 was released. All previous tales had been dynamically drawn by Gil Kane and inked by Joe Giella, in a visually arresting and exciting manner, but the lead tale here, ‘Planet of Doomed Men’ was inked by the uniquely gifted Murphy Anderson, and his fine line-work elevated the tale (more emergent humans in need of rescue from another monster) to the status of a minor classic. Giella returned for the second tale, ‘Menace of the Giant Puppet!’, in which GL fought his first – albeit rather lame – super-villain, the Puppet Master.
The next issue originated a concept that would be pivotal to the future of DC continuity. ‘The Secret of the Golden Thunderbolts!’ featured the Antimatter Universe and the diabolical Weaponers of Qward, a twisted race who worshipped Evil, and whose “criminals†(i.e. people who wouldn’t lie, cheat, steal or kill) wanted asylum on Earth. This tale was also inked by Anderson, and is an early highpoint of tragic melodrama from an era where emotionalism was actively downplayed in comics. The second story ‘Riddle of the Frozen Ghost Town!’ is a crime thriller that highlights the developing relationship between the hero and his Inuit (then “Eskimoâ€) mechanic Tom ‘Pieface’ Kalmaku.
The Qwardians returned in #3’s ‘The Amazing Theft of the Power Lamp!’ and Jordan’s love-life again spun out of control in ‘The Leap Year Menace!’, whilst GL#4 saw the hero trapped in the antimatter universe in ‘The Diabolical Missile from Qward!’ nicely balanced by the light-and-frothy mistaken-identity caper ‘Secret of Green Lantern’s Mask!’ (this last apparently crafted by a veritable raft of pencillers including Kane, Giella, Carmine Infantino, Mike Sekowsky and Ross Andru). Issue #5 was a full length thriller which introduced Hector Hammond, GL’s second official super-villain in ‘The Power Ring that Vanished!’ a saga of romantic intrigue, mistaken identity and evolution gone wild. This was followed by another, the pure science fiction puzzler ‘The World of Living Phantoms!’ which introduced the avian Green Lantern Tomar Re, and opened up the entire universe to avid readers.
Having shown us other GLs, Broome immediately trumped himself with the next episode. ‘The Day 100,000 People Vanished!’ brought the Guardians into the open to warn of their greatest error: a renegade Green Lantern named Sinestro who, in league with the Qwardians had become a threat to the entire universe. This tense shocker introduced one of the most charismatic villains in the DCU and the issue still had room for a dryly amusing whimsical drama that introduced Tom Kalmaku’s fiancée Terga in ‘Wings of Destiny’.
These black and white collections are to my mind a much better buy for art fans who can more clearly see the mastery of design and rendering of artists like Gil Kane. The only regret is that occasionally a special circumstance cries out for colour. In the early 1960s DC production wizard Jack Adler created a process to add enhancing tone to cover illustrations. The finished result was eye-catching and mind-blowing, but examples, such as the cover of #8, really don’t work without glossy colours and tints. Never mind, though, as the contents of that issue, ‘The Challenge from 5700AD!’ are a fantasy tour de force: The Emerald Gladiator is shanghaied through time to save the future from a invasion of mutant lizards. Sinestro returned in the next issue with his own super-weapon in ‘The Battle of the Power Rings!’ (with Murphy Anderson once more replacing Giella on inks) but the real gold is ‘Green Lantern’s Brother Act’ which introduces Hal’s two brothers and a snoopy girl reporter convinced that young Jim Jordan is the ring-slinging superhero. This wry poke at DC’s house plot-device shows just how sophisticated Schwartz and Broome believed their audiences to be.
‘Prisoner of the Power Ring’ is your run-of-the-mill subatomic exodus tale with Atomic War anxiety overtones whilst ‘The Origin of Green Lantern’s Oath’ details three of the hero’s earliest exploits which led to him constructing the piece of doggerel he uses to time his ring’s recharging period. Although neither tale is a blockbuster, the increasingly loose and expressive artwork of Kane, especially on the latter (again with Anderson on inks) are an unalloyed delight of easy grace and power.
The readers were hungry for more on the Green Lantern Corps and ‘The Strange Trial of Green Lantern’ introduced another half-dozen or so simply to court-martial Hal Jordan for dereliction of duty in a saga of cataclysmic proportions, but ‘The Trail of the Missing Power Ring!’ focuses on drama of a more human scale when a young boy finds the power ring Hal has lost. Issue #12 returned GL to 5700AD thwart an interplanetary coup in ‘Green Lantern’s Statue goes to War.’ A balance between cosmic and personal stories was developing in the issues with two stories, and ‘Zero Hour in the Silent City!’ highlights Tom Kalmaku’s close friendship with Hal against the backdrop of bank robbers with a super scientific gimmick.
Green Lantern #13 was a true landmark as an interdimensional invasion led to a team-up and lifelong friendship between our hero and the Flash. Controversial for the time, ‘The Duel of the Super-Heroes!’, saw them share each other secret identities, a rarity then even among the close comrades of the Justice League of America. This full-length thriller was followed in #14 by the introduction of Balkan ultra-nationalist villain Sonar in ‘The Man Who Conquered Sound!’ a traditional fist-fest complemented by the return of Jim Jordan and that snoopy girl reporter Sue Williams. In the frothy romp ‘My Brother, Green Lantern!’ it’s revealed that she’s now romantically involved with the youngest Jordan sibling and, due to a slight mishap with the boy’s fraternity rings more certain than ever that her intended is the Emerald Gladiator.
Sinestro once more escaped the justice of the Guardians to return in #15’s ‘Peril of the Yellow World!’ a cosmic duel that tested GL’s bravery as much as the Space Race thriller ‘Zero Hour at Rocket City!’ tested his wits. The next issue took the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern/Carol Ferris romantic triangle to a new level. ‘The Secret Life of Star Sapphire!’ introduced the alien women of Zamaron. Readers of contemporary comics will be aware of their awesome heritage but for the sake of this review and new readers let’s keep that to ourselves. They select Carol as their new queen and give her a gem as versatile as a power ring, and a brainwash make-over too. Programmed to destroy the man she loves, Star Sapphire would become another recurring foe, but one with a telling advantage. The second story solved a puzzle that had baffled readers since the very first appearance of the Emerald Crusader.
Gardner Fox contributes his first tale in ‘Earth’s First Green Lantern’ Hal finally learns why his predecessor Abin Sur crashed to Earth in a spaceship when all GL’s could fly through space on ring power alone. A stirring tale of triumph and tragedy this short yarn is one of Broome and Kane’s very best.
This volume ends with a full-length espionage thriller from #17, also written by Fox. ‘The Spy-Eye that Doomed Green Lantern!’ again revolved around test pilot Jordan’s personal involvement in the US/Soviet race to the stars and is a fine example of a lost type of tale. In those long ago days costumed villains were always third choice in a writers armoury: clever bad-guys and aliens always seemed more believable to the creators back then. If you were doing something naughty would you want to call attention to yourself? Nowadays the visual impact of buff men in tights dictates the type of foe more than the crimes committed, which is why these glorious adventures of simpler yet somehow better days are such an unalloyed delight.
These costumed drama romps are in themselves a great read for most ages, but when also considered as the building blocks of all DC continuity they become vital fare for any fan keen to make sense of the modern superhero experience.
© 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 2005 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.