{"id":35199,"date":"2026-04-06T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T08:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=35199"},"modified":"2026-04-05T13:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T13:53:25","slug":"green-lantern-the-silver-age-volume-1-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2026\/04\/06\/green-lantern-the-silver-age-volume-1-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Lantern: The Silver Age volume 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy John Broome<\/strong>, Gardner Fox<\/strong>, Gil Kane<\/strong>, Mike Sekowsky<\/strong>, Carmine Infantino<\/strong>, Ross<\/strong> Andru<\/strong>, Joe Giella<\/strong>, Murphy Anderson<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-6348-5 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today marks the centenary of Eli Katz, who, as Gil Kane, worked from the Golden Age until his death (on January 31st<\/sup> 2000) to make comics the art form it is today. Diligent, resolute and always challenging himself, Kane was a trendsetting pioneer in style, in form and in comics philosophy. He was also a visual architect of the superhero revival in the Silver Age and a key component in the evolution of the Graphic Novel.<\/em><\/p>\n

Gil Kane worked as an artist, and an ever-more effective and influential one, drawing – and writing – for many companies since his 1940s debut: on superheroes, action, war, mystery, romance, movie adaptations and, perhaps most importantly, Westerns and Science Fiction tales. In the late 1950s Kane was one of editor Julius Schwartz\u2019s go-to artists for regenerating the superhero. Yet by 1968, at the top of his (admittedly much denigrated) profession, this relentlessly revolutionary and creative man felt so confined by juvenile strictures of the industry that he struck out on new ventures, jettisoning editorial and format bounds of comic books for new visions and media.<\/p>\n

His Name Is Savage<\/strong> was an adult-oriented monochrome magazine about a cold and ruthless super-spy in the James Bond\/Man Called Flint<\/strong> mould, co-written by friend & collaborator Archie Goodwin. It was very much a precursor in tone, treatment and subject matter to many of today\u2019s adventure titles. The other venture, Blackmark<\/strong> (also with Goodwin), not only ushered in an era of comic book Sword & Sorcery, but became one of the first Graphic Novels. Technically, as the series was commissioned by publisher Ballantine as eight volumes, it was also America\u2019s first comic Limited Series. Volume 1 launched in January 1971, with volume 2 just completed when the publisher killed the project. Albeit a generation Kane\u2019s junior, long term seasoned collaborator Roy Thomas reprinted those tales in Marvel\u2019s Savage Sword of Conan<\/strong> and Marvel Preview<\/strong>, with artwork rejigged to accommodate a different page format.<\/p>\n

In comic books Kane\u2019s milieux included Boy Commandos<\/strong>, Young Allies<\/strong> & Newsboy<\/strong> Legion<\/strong>, Johnny Thunder<\/strong>, Jimmy Wakely<\/strong>, Hopalong Cassidy<\/strong>, Rex the Wonder Dog<\/strong>, The Atom<\/strong>, Plastic Man<\/strong>, Robin<\/strong>, Batgirl<\/strong>, Batman<\/strong>, Superman<\/strong>, Flash<\/strong>, Hawk and Dove<\/strong>, Captain Action<\/strong>, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents<\/strong>, U.N.D.E.R.S.E.A. Agent<\/strong>, plus hundreds of genre yarns – romance, war, sci fi, western and horror – before landing at Marvel Comics to reinvent Amazing Spider-Man<\/strong>, Captain America<\/strong>, Thor<\/strong>, Hulk<\/strong>, Ka-Zar<\/strong> and Captain Marvel<\/strong>, co-creating Adam Warlock<\/strong>, Morbius<\/strong>, Iron Fist<\/strong>. He adapted John Carter, Warlord of Mars <\/strong>and other adventure fantasy properties and reinvigorated dozens of horror-hero and superhero stalwarts, all while filling in on seemingly every character and cover going…<\/p>\n

Restless and craving what the medium could still achieve, he created newspaper strip Star Hawks<\/strong> (in 1977 with Ron Goulart) and numerous special projects like Jason Drum<\/em> for Le Journal de Tintin<\/em><\/strong> and The Ring of the Nibelung<\/strong>. Also working as Gil Stack, Scott Edward, Stack Til, Stacktil, Pen Star and Phil Martell, Kane was a foundation stone of comics and remains a vivid, vital inspiration to future generations of creators and readers.<\/p>\n

With all that in mind let\u2019s revisit a character he co-created and who will be forever associated with Kane: the Silver Age Emerald Gladiator…<\/em><\/p>\n

After their hugely successful revival and reworking of The Flash<\/strong>, DC (or National Comics as they were) were keen to build on the resurgent superhero trend. Showcase<\/strong> #22 hit the stands at the same time as the fourth issue of the new Flash comic book – #108 – and once again the guiding lights were Editor Julie Schwartz & writer John Broome. Assigned as illustrator was action ace Gil Kane, generally inked by Joe Giella.<\/p>\n

This fabulous paperback compilation gathers Showcase<\/strong> #22-24 (September\/October 1959 to January\/February 1960) and Green Lantern<\/strong> #1-9 (July\/August 1960-November 1961) and reveals how a Space Age reconfiguration of the Golden-Age superhero with a magic ring replaced mysticism with super-science.<\/p>\n

Hal Jordan<\/em> was a young test pilot in California when an alien policeman crashed his spaceship on Earth. Mortally wounded, Abin Sur<\/em> commanded his ring – a device which could materialise thoughts – to seek out a replacement officer, 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<\/em> and his profession to the astonished Earthman.
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\nIn six pages \u2018S.O.S Green Lantern\u2019 <\/em>established 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. \u2018Secret of the Flaming Spear!\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Menace of the Runaway Missile!\u2019 <\/em>were both contemporary thrillers set against the backdrop of the aviation industry at a time when the Cold War was at its height. Unlike Flash\u2019s<\/em><\/strong> debut, the publishers were now confident of their ground. The next two issues of Showcase<\/strong> carried the new hero into even greater and more fantastic exploits. \u2018Summons from Space\u2019 <\/em>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<\/em>, whilst \u2018The Invisible Destroyer\u2019<\/em> pitted the neophyte Emerald Gladiator against earthbound eerie menace – a psychic marauder that lived on atomic radiation.<\/p>\n

Showcase<\/strong> #24 (January\/February 1960) featured another spy-ring in \u2018The Secret of the Black Museum!\u2019<\/em> but Jordan\u2019s complex social life took centre-stage in \u2018The Creature That Couldn\u2019t Die!\u2019<\/em> when the threat of an unstoppable monster paled before the insufferable stress of being his own rival. Hal\u2019s boss Carol Ferris<\/em>, controversially left in charge of her father\u2019s aviation company (an utterly radical concept in 1960 when most women were still considered fainting-fodder fluff), won\u2019t date an employee, but is deliriously happy for him to set her up with glamorous, mysterious GL…<\/p>\n

Six months later Green Lantern <\/strong>#1 was released. All previous tales had been dynamically drawn by Kane & Giella, in a visually arresting and exciting manner, but the lead tale here, \u2018Planet of Doomed Men\u2019<\/em> was inked by the astoundingly multi-talented 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, \u2018Menace of the Giant Puppet!\u2019<\/em>, in which GL fought his first – albeit rather lame – supervillain, the Puppet Master<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The next issue originated a concept that would be pivotal to the future of DC continuity. \u2018The Secret of the Golden Thunderbolts!\u2019<\/em> featured an Antimatter Universe and the diabolical Weaponers of Qward<\/em>: a twisted race who worshipped Evil, and whose criminals (i.e. people who wouldn\u2019t lie, cheat, steal or kill) wanted asylum on Earth. Also inked by Anderson, this is an early highpoint of tragic melodrama from an era where emotionalism was actively downplayed in comics. The second story \u2018Riddle of the Frozen Ghost Town! <\/em>is a crime thriller highlighting the developing relationship between the hero and his Inuit (then \u201cEskimo\u201d) mechanic Tom \u201cPieface\u201dKalmaku<\/em>.
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\nThe Qwardians returned in the all-Giella-inked #3, leading with \u2018The Amazing Theft of the Power Lamp!\u2019<\/em> before Jordan\u2019s love life again spun out of control in \u2018The Leap Year Menace!\u2019<\/em>, whilst GL <\/strong>#4 saw the hero trapped in the antimatter universe in \u2018The Diabolical Missile from Qward!\u2019<\/em> (Anderson inks) nicely balanced by light-&-frothy mistaken-identity caper \u2018Secret of Green Lantern\u2019s Mask!\u2019<\/em> This last was apparently crafted by a veritable round-robin raft of pencillers including Kane, Giella, Carmine Infantino, Mike Sekowsky and Ross Andru…<\/p>\n

Issue #5 was a full-length thriller introducing Hector Hammond<\/em>, GL\u2019s second official recurring super-foe in \u2018The Power Ring that Vanished!\u2019<\/em>: a saga of romantic intrigue, mistaken identity and evolution gone wild. This was followed by another pure science fiction puzzler \u2018The World of Living Phantoms!\u2019<\/em> (Kane & Giella), debuting avian Green Lantern Tomar Re<\/em> and opening up the entire universe to avid readers.<\/p>\n

Having shown us other GLs, Broome immediately excelled himself in the next episode. \u2018The Day 100,000 People Vanished!\u2019<\/em> brought the Guardians of the Universe into the open to warn of their greatest error: renegade Green Lantern Sinestro<\/em> who, in league with Qwardians, had become a threat to the entire universe. This taut, tense shocker introduced one of the most charismatic and intriguing villains in the DCU, and the issue still had room for a dryly amusing, whimsical drama introducing Tom Kalmaku\u2019s fianc\u00e9e Terga<\/em> in \u2018Wings of Destiny\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In the early 1960s DC production wizard Jack Adler devised a process to add enhancing tone to cover illustrations. The finished result was eye-catching and mind-blowing, but sadly, examples such as the cover of #8 here really don\u2019t work with the glossy pages and digitised colour-tints of modern reproduction. Never mind, though, since contents \u2018The Challenge from 5700 AD!\u2019<\/em> comprise a fantasy tour de force as the Emerald Gladiator is shanghaied through time to save the future from an invasion of mutant lizards…
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\nSinestro returned in the next issue – the last in this astounding cosmic collection – with his own super-weapon in \u2018The Battle of the Power Rings!\u2019<\/em> (with Anderson again substituting for Giella) but the real gold is \u2018Green Lantern\u2019s Brother Act\u2019<\/em>, with the revelation of Hal\u2019s two brothers and a snoopy girl reporter convinced young Jim Jordan<\/em> is secretly the ring-slinging superhero. This wry poke at DC\u2019s house plot-device shows just how sophisticated Schwartz & Broome believed their audiences to be.<\/p>\n

In those long ago days costumed villains were always third choice in a writer\u2019s armoury: clever bad-guys and aliens always seemed more believable to 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 Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights 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.<\/p>\n

Judged solely on their own merit, these are snappy and awe-inspiring; beautifully illustrated by a rapidly evolving graphic narrative superstar in ascendance: captivatingly clever thrillers that amuse, amaze and enthral both new readers and old devotees. This collection is a must-read item for anybody in love with our art-form and especially for anyone just now encountering the hero for the first time through his TV incarnation.
\n\u00a9 1959, 1960, 1961, 2016 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

Today in 1882 Spanish creator Salvador Bartolozzi<\/strong> (weekly Pinocchio<\/em>) was born, with The New Yorker<\/strong> cartoonist Chon Day<\/strong> arriving in 1907, Levi Katz<\/strong> in 1926 and crusading Filipino cartoonist Pol Medina Jr.<\/strong> (Pugad Baboy<\/em><\/strong>) in 1960. In 1980 Dash Shaw<\/strong> (Bottomless Belly Button<\/strong>, New School<\/strong>, The Unclothed Man In the 35th Century A.D.<\/strong>, Courier<\/strong>) joined that august grouping.<\/p>\n

In 1936 Frank Leonard<\/strong>\u2019s Mickey Finn<\/strong> strip debuted, and ran until 10th<\/sup> September 1977.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Broome, Gardner Fox, Gil Kane, Mike Sekowsky, Carmine Infantino, Ross Andru, Joe Giella, Murphy Anderson & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-4012-6348-5 (TPB\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. Today marks the centenary of Eli Katz, who, as Gil Kane, worked from the Golden Age until his death (on … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Green Lantern: The Silver Age volume 1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,324,383,75,76,290,332,82,225,107,169],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-aviator-strips","category-carmine-infantino","category-crime-comics","category-dc-superhero","category-dinosaurs","category-gil-kane","category-green-lantern","category-mystery","category-science-fiction","category-spy-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-99J","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35210,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35199\/revisions\/35210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}