Showcase Presents: Green Lantern, Vol. 1

Here's where the "green" Green Lantern gets started. The character of Hal Jordan develops throughout this tome that brings back to life the most mature plotting and themes of any early Sixties DC comics. Because of the interesting writing, this stands out among the Showcase and Marvel Essentials, and so it survives the harshness of black and white. It is a shame that color is apparently prohibitively expensive. I'm sure, especially with a character whose NAME IS A COLOR, the publishers held their breath when they released it. Yes, I miss the color A LOT, but this and a few of the other Showcases have enough nostaliga and entertainment value to make for good bedtime reading. Plus some of the key background material for Infinite Crisis originates in early Green Lantern mags. Put it all together with the value, and this is a very satisfying purchase. (Great marketing too--buying a few of these Showcase volumes prompted me to buy a few of the more expensive premium products DC has put out.) Enjoy!

While growing up I had a passion for reading all kinds of comics in my youth. Whether it was Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman or the Green Lantern I enjoyed reading the adventures all these heroes (Today they are called “Superheroes”). Lately, I have purchased numerous giant volumes of these early comic book series and recently bought this book (Showcase Green Lantern, over 500 pages) on Amazon. The Green Lantern never became as popular as some of the other superheroes like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman; however, many people enjoyed reading his adventures in comic books. The Green Lantern is actually an ace test pilot named Hal Jordan, who came upon a crashed strange looking craft and inside was a badly injured alien from another world. This man from another planet wears a powerful ring which has super powers. Before the alien dies he gives this magical ring to Hal Jordan in order to help mankind fight all kinds of evil. This ring can do just about anything as long it is not the color yellow. This giant 526 page text is filled with numerous Green Lantern adventures involving a variety of villains and even some romantic interests with his boss’s daughter, Carol Ferris, who loves the Green Lantern but has not idea their top test pilot, Hal Jordan, is the Green Lantern. If you are a fan of this comic book hero you may want to check out this Showcase volume. Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Martial Art and Warrior Haiku and Senryu).

DC's Showcase Presents series is something which makes this old comic book fan very happy. Presenting 500-plus pages of silver age (or later) comics in chronological order makes for a terrific way to purchase a huge chunk of a character's history for cheap. The catch - they're in black and white. While this is a nice way to showcase the pen and ink artwork of the period (sorry, colorists!), it does diminish a very appealing aspect of comics - especially one like Green Lantern, whose powers and vulnerabilities involve different colors to a high degree. Nonetheless, Green Lantern Volume 1 is a great buy. It's cheap, it's huge, and it presents the character, to my mind, that best exemplifies the period of the early 1960s. Hal Jordan is a test pilot who inherits a powerful ring that allows him to travel in space and join an intergalactic police force. I can't imagine a more exemplary character for an age and a country just beginning its space flights, harnessing new and powerful energies in both war and peace, and attempting to police the world in the Cold War. John Broome's writing is good, if simplistic in spots (a requirement of the era's Comics Code authority, unfortunately, which restricted violence, moral ambuguity, and all other sorts of things which make "modern" comics so interesting). But the stories still almost universally contain kernels of good sci-fi ideas. Time travel, antimatter universes, shrinking to subatomic size, all sorts of sci fi ideas populate these pages. Younger readers ought to find the stories exciting and entertaining. Older readers might be a bit more bored, but there's plenty of period subtext for the avid student of sociology or 60's futurism to enjoy. The art is the main draw, here. Gil Kane is unquestionably one of the greats of the silver age. His style here is fluid, uncluttered, and not quite as dynamic as his later stuff, but the elements are there. His layouts and anatomy are still creative and interesting. Watching his style evolve over 20 issues is a treat. Later volumes show his style progressing even further. In summary, this volume should appeal to any fan of the character, any student of the 1960s, and any appreciator of Gil Kane's art. Since I am all three, this was a certain buy for me. Other than this group though, I would say that this book is appropriate for Silver Age aficionados and bright, inquisitive kids. At this price, it can't be beat.

If you want the real Green Lantern and how he began and all the original stories, this is the volume to get! This is outstanding and awesome. I loved reading it and am sure I will again and again. I love these showcase volumes. I have a whole lot of them (they are a great way of collecting comics when you can't buy the originals - which cost way too much and you just want to read them anyway) I'm a fan of Green Lantern but love the original much better than the remake and his later replacement.

LOVE THIS COMIC! Blackest Night got me into Green Lantern mythos, but I'm sick of them rehashing the same old "destroy all the corps" theme. Love the stories in this. And as someone who's a huge fan of modern age Hal Jordan, I LOVE how silver age Hal Jordan was portrayed. Modern day writers could definitely take some cues from this. I will be getting Volume 2.

Well protected when shipped. And the book has no dents.

I love Hal Jordan, but this is not what I imagine when I imagine GL in his prime. The characters are for the most part stereotypical w/ Hal being a Han Solo-ish womanizer, Carol Ferris obviously being written by a man, and the villains for the most part don't have much depth or are forgettable. It is somewhat difficult to explain, but what I find to be the weakest aspect of this volume is how the art doesn't really pop. And it isn't because I am reading it in black and white, when I read reprints for some of these very same issues in Green Lantern: A Celebration of 75 Years my enthusiasm for the art was about the same. The action scenes mostly come off as stiff and are not very dynamic, which is shocking considering all the possibilities of what GL's ring can do. Enough negativity, now for the positives. Much like many silver age superhero comics of the era, the covers are actually quite good, and it is obvious a lot of effort was put into them. I especially love the rendering of issue 4 on the cover of the trade, it makes me happy to see it on my shelf. And many aspects about GL are set up, including The GL Corps, The Guardians of The Universe, his complicated relationship w/ Carol, his likable and unfortunately nicknamed Thomas "Pieface" Kalmaku, his costume, the famous oath, how his ring works, the vulnerability to yellow, etc. Additionally, many of the supporting Lanterns such as Tomar-Re, Chaselon, Stel, and Larvox appear in the background, which is always a treat for a hardcore fan like me. And while most of the villains are forgettable, some decent ones are introduced as well, such as Sonar, the Weaponeers of Qward, the lovely Star Sapphire, Hector Hammond before he was turned into a monster, and most famous one of all, the renegade lantern Thaal Sinestro. He actually appears multiple times throughout, debuting in issue 7. There is just something about Sinestro that is classically evil, such as the name, his devil-like appearance, his yellow power ring that was created in order to give the finger to the corps, everything! In conclusion, this is not a bad addition to your library, occasionally sexist standards for women aside. Some key aspects are introduced, it's cool to see characters like Sinestro, Hector Hammond and Hal Jordan himself make their debut, and there is some fun sci-fi/superhero action to be found here. Not to mention, the price is fantastic. Way to go Amazon sellers. The best metaphor I can give this collection is GL's first team-up w/ The Flash in this volume. It is cool to see them for the first time but their better work is elsewhere. If you're trying to get into Green Lantern in preparation for DC's Cinematic Universe or merely curiousity, I suggest the Secret Origin TPB by Geoff Johns, the previously mentioned Celebration of 75 Years which actually introduces other GL's such as Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, John Stewart and Kyle Rayner, or perhaps the excellent Animated Series. :)

Great value for true comic book readers, I read stories that would probably cost me hundreds or thousands of dollars if read in any other form thanks to this book.

i had some of the original comics in the 60s so this xmas present was really a bit of nostalgia. a lot of reading but i loved these stories and the drawing.

Die Druckqualität ist gut, Papier ist für den Preis in Ordnung. Was ich bei GL immer wieder faszinierend finde ist, wie viele bahnbrechende Ideen aus dem SciFi Bereich sich dort erstmalig fanden. Man sieht wie groß der Einfluss z.B. auf Matrix o.ä. war. Gil Kanes zeichnungen sind konventionell, gefallen mir persönlich aber unheimlich gut.

Hal Jordan, fut le deuxième héros a endossé la défroque du Green Lantern de la Terre, il traversa le silver age, et l'age moderne, avant de prendre la folie de gandeurs, se liquider tous les autres Green Lantern, et de vouloir refaire le monde comme il l'entendit sous le nom de Parallax, jusqu'a ce que son ami Green Arrow, le stoppe. Hal mourra pour sauver la terre, la Green Lantern est passée entre les mains de Kyle Raynor puis de John Stewart, Hal, lui, est devenu au delà de la mort le Spectre, l'agent de la colère divine, pour se racheter... Dans cet énorme volume, nous retrouvons les grands moments du Green lantern crée par Broome en 1959, ce jusque dans les années 70, 528 pages de bonheur de joie, avec Sinestro, Star saphire, et les autres... A ne pas manquer pour les nostalgiques du Silver Age et du plus grand Green Lantern de l'Histoire, Hal Jordan...

fast delivery, in good condition

DC's Showcase Presents series is a wonderful idea that really spoils the readers. Comic readers like myself from the 1960's are very happy Presenting 526 pages of 'silver age' Green Lantern what's more in chronological order is a brilliant way to introduce yourself to the wonderful Green Lanteren. What's more it is cheap- really cheap. The reason is that the stories are old, the paper cheap and no colour. The book is one of those fabulous thick as an old telephone book, slab of a book and printed on and in Black and White to boot BUT take note these things can go up and up in value. A second and forth volume of the Flash was selling at £30+ of late and people considered themselves lucky to get it as such a, 3 times as much as the original new, price. I've noticed quite a few of the first released really rocket up as there were snatched up and never to be sold but cherished and kept. The comics are the black and white versions and on thin paper that would make a fish and chip shop owner blush back in the days when you bought them wrapped in old newspapers. What is priceless however are the stories and art It's written by John Broome and Gardner Fox. With art by Gil Kane, Joe Giella and Murphy Anderson. (The cover is done by Kane & Giella.). A brief note here America comics had stories writers, drawers (pencillers) and inkers. But those drawings were coloured in by 'colourists'* a bit like the old paint by numbers sets we had as children (ask your Gran!) So no colour but no one ever bought the comics for the colours did they? (I didn't) The art and make no mistake the art is superb. Green Lantern along with Batman is one of DC's most original characters. the idea of a power ring and the Green Theme were original. True the stories are a bit tame but they were written for the 11 year old market- mostly boys and the 1960s world was a whole lot different from today. the cold war was 'hotting up'. The Second World war was still a recent memory. All our dads seemed to have fought in it with Granddads having fought in the First World War. Space travel was seen as a real def for the future with no Richard Branson in sight. Women had a different standing all twisted ankles and a need to be protected by a male's strong arms etc. Pieface the 'Eskimo' and his girlfriend are treated in a not too PC fashion. the dialogue is simplistic. This volume includes Green Lantern's first appearances in Showcase #22 through #24 as well as his first adventures in Green Lantern #1 through #17 True the plots are simple and not as mature as say Batman's Detective output nor Superman's for that matter - they needed to be for the readership age. (11+) As a comparison. Think of Championship quality compared to Premiership in that respect but they certainly entertain and the price is an absolute steal for 500 pages of historical comic entertainment. The good News is that Showcase has continued the series and there are now 5 volumes in total. here are a link to others. Green Lantern Vol. 2 (Showcase Presents (Paperback)) Green Lantern (Showcase Presents) Showcase Presents: Green Lantern v. 4 Showcase Presents Green Lantern TP Vol 05 (Showcase Presents (Unnumbered Paperback)) Cheaper than a couple of pints at the local. Safer than a Motorbike to recapture your youth. Better looking than a pair of tight Levis on a 60 year old bloke? Thanks for reading.# The First In A Fabulous Series Of Silver Age Super Hero Adventures.