ILLUMINATING THE GALAXY: THE LEGACY OF DC COMICS GREEN LANTERN

DC Comics' Green Lantern is a character whose legacy stretches across the vast expanse of the universe, captivating readers with tales of cosmic heroism, intricate mythos, and intergalactic adventure. From its inception, Green Lantern has evolved into a symbol of willpower, courage, and the boundless potential of the human spirit. At the heart of this captivating saga lies the influential role of Geoff Johns, a visionary writer who revitalized the Green Lantern mythos and contributed significantly to shaping the character's lore.

A Universe of Infinite Possibilities

Green Lantern, an iconic creation of Martin Nodell and Bill Finger in 1940, embarked on its journey as Alan Scott, a mystical guardian powered by a magical ring. However, it was Hal Jordan, created by John Broome and Gil Kane in the Silver Age, who propelled Green Lantern into the realm of science fiction. Jordan became a member of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic peacekeeping force that harnessed the power of will through advanced technology.

The Architect of Modern Green Lantern Mythos

Geoff Johns is a name synonymous with DC Comics' resurgence, and his contributions to Green Lantern have been transformative. Johns took the helm of the series in 2004, launching "Green Lantern: Rebirth," a pivotal storyline that reintroduced Hal Jordan as the iconic Green Lantern after his fall from grace as Parallax. This marked the beginning of Johns' ambitious exploration of the emotional spectrum, a concept that expanded the Green Lantern mythos into uncharted territory.

The Emotional Spectrum and Beyond

Johns' masterstroke was the introduction of the emotional spectrum, which divided the emotional spectrum into seven distinct colors, each corresponding to a different emotion. From the power of will represented by the Green Lantern Corps to the fear-based Sinestro Corps, and the love-driven Star Sapphires, Johns intricately wove these emotions into the fabric of the universe. This concept breathed new life into the characters, creating a rich tapestry of conflicts, alliances, and exploration.

Character Evolution and Redemption

Geoff Johns' tenure saw not only the elevation of Hal Jordan's character but also the evolution of many other Lanterns. Characters like Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, and John Stewart received renewed depth and significance, with personal journeys that mirrored the complexity of their respective emotions. Johns masterfully navigated their struggles and triumphs, enriching the lore of the Green Lantern Corps.

Legacy Beyond the Pages

Geoff Johns' impact on Green Lantern extended beyond the comic pages. His influence extended to other media, including animated series and live-action adaptations. The intricate lore he crafted has left a lasting impression on fans, ensuring that the Green Lantern mythos remains an integral part of the DC Universe's legacy.

Conclusion

DC Comics' Green Lantern is a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the vastness of imagination. From its early beginnings to the modern era shaped by Geoff Johns, the character has transcended boundaries to become a symbol of hope, willpower, and the potential for growth. As fans continue to explore the captivating tales of cosmic heroes, they owe a debt of gratitude to the visionary writers and artists who have illuminated the galaxy with the indomitable light of Green Lantern.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS THE FATAL FIVE

The fate of the planet rests on the shoulders of a reluctant Green Lantern and an unstable hero from the future in Justice League vs. The Fatal Five, the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe Movies. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC, the feature-length animated film arrives from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Digital starting March 30, 2019, and on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack and Blu-ray Combo Pack on April 16, 2019.

Justice League vs. The Fatal Five finds the Earth’s future hanging in the balance when the Justice League faces a powerful new threat – the Fatal Five. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman seek answers as the time-traveling trio of Mano, Persuader and Tharok terrorize Metropolis in search of budding Green Lantern, Jessica Cruz – whom they need to free remaining Fatal Five members Emerald Empress and Validus in order to carry out their sinister plan. But the Justice League discover an ally from another time in the peculiar Star Boy – brimming with volatile power, could he be the key to thwarting the Fatal Five? An epic battle against ultimate evil awaits!



Justice League vs. The Fatal Five will be available on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack ($39.99 SRP) and Blu-ray Combo Pack ($24.98 SRP) as well as on Digital ($19.99 HD, $14.99 SD). The 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack features an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc in 4K with HDR as well as a standard Blu-ray disc featuring the film and a digital edition. The Blu-ray Combo Pack features the film in hi-definition and comes with a DVD of the movie along with a digital download code. The movie is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence, some bloody images, language and partial nudity.

Bonus material that come along with the 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Digital editions of the film include:

• Battling the Invisible Menace (Featurette)– This featurette will explore the nuanced hero as many characters must deal with the everyday feelings of anxiety, depression, and other incapacitating emotions that we all must battle and overcome. 
• Justice League vs. Fatal Five: Unity of Hero (Featurette) – A look at how the pantheon of DC heroes has never been more diverse and inclusive, as writers and artists break boundaries and smash stereotypes. 
• Audio Commentary – Bruce Timm, Sam Liu, Jim Krieg and Eric Carrasco share their thoughts and insights on Justice League vs. The Fatal Five. 
• A Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe Movie, Batman: Hush – An advance look at the next animated film in the popular DC Universe Movies collection. 
• Sneak Peek Revisited: A Preview of Justice League Dark – John Constantine leads a group of misfit characters that use magic to vanquish their opponents. This is the dark version of The Justice League taking on the malevolent forces that go beyond our plane of existence. 
• Sneak Peek Revisited: A Preview of Justice League vs. Teen Titans – A glimpse into the characters known as the Teen Titans. 
• From the DC Vault: Justice League Unlimited, “Far From Home” 
• From the DC Vault: Legion of Superheroes, “Man of Tomorrow” 

Colonel Sanders Featured In Free Comic Book From Kentucky Fried Chicken

Demonstrating that geek is the new chic, Kentucky Fried Chicken has partnered with DC Comics to promote their restaurant chain at this week's 2015 New York Comic Con event by distributing a special one shot collectible comic book featuring Colonel Sanders.  In "The Colonel of Two Worlds" which is a parody of a classic FLASH story, the Colonel Sanders of our planet faces off against an evil Colonel Sanders from an alternate dimension.  When the evil doppelganger dressed in black attempts to both set up a criminal empire and market inferior fried chicken to KFC's, Colonel Sanders enlists the help of superheroes The Green Lantern and The Flash to help save the day and restore his tarnished image.  It's a comic book face off between a good and evil Colonel Sanders!  Who will prevail?  You'll have to read the comic book to find out!

Kentucky Fried Chicken will be distributing print editions of "The Colonel of Two Worlds" for free to attendees at New York Comic Con from October 8 through the 11th.  Can't make it to New York City?  Beginning October 8th, you can also view a free digital version of the comic book on the KFC website or download it via Comixology.

Yes this comic book is going to be cheesy but you have to give KFC some credit for being original and creative in marketing themselves to fans of the comic book culture.  Take a few moments to not take life too seriously and enjoy the geeky side of life by flipping through the pages of "The Colonel of Two Worlds."  I'm sure it will probably put a smile on your face.  Hmmm....I wonder if this comic book will be finger lickin good?!

Star Trek & the Green Lantern Join Forces in THE SPECTRUM WAR

It's not often that you see cross-overs between the fictional universes of competing comic book companies.  Maybe it is because they don't want to dilute their brands and intellectual property rights by meshing them with characters they don't have ownership rights over; or they don't want to provide a competitive or financial advantage to one of their competitors; or it just might be a big hassle publishers don't want to spend time and effort dealing with.  Comic book publisher IDW seems to be an exception to the cross-over prohibition though as it has had some fun creating entertaining limited series that unite one of it its key licenses Star Trek with other brands to attract new customers to its comic books and exhilarate its current base of fans.  First they had a cross-over 8 issue limited series a few years ago with sci-fi favorite Dr. Who that pitted the crew of the Enterprise along with the Doctor and his companions in a fight versus a united threat created by the Cybermen and Borg working together.  More recently IDW teamed up with rival Boom Studios for a 5 issue Planet of the Apes/Star Trek mini series that teamed up Colonel George Taylor with Captain James T Kirk versus villainous Klingons and gorillas as they deal with the "Primate Directive" on an Earth ruled by apes. Based upon the success of these two previous cross-overs, IDW is now joining forces with DC Comics for THE SPECTRUM WAR which unites the characters from the new Star Trek movies with the Green Lantern Corps.

Star Trek/Green Lantern #1 hits stores on Wednesday, July 8 2015 kicking off a six issue comic book saga called The Spectrum War which depicts the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise meeting the Green Lantern Corps. According to the teaser for this IDW/DC Comics joint venture, "Kirk and Spock make an unusual discovery on a lost world in the process igniting events that will change the fate of empires."  If you enjoy super hero adventures and sci-fi stories this seems to be a great fit that combines two popular brands within this comic book story.

I'm looking forward to picking up this first issue to check it out for myself.  Star Trek/Green Lantern #1 is 32 pages and priced at $3.99.  So what do you think.  Are cross-overs that merge franchises great or should characters just stay tied to their own fictional universes?

They're Back! DC giving 3D Comic Book Covers Promotion a Second Chance

DC COMICS likes to make a splash in September with special issues and promotions.  Last year it promoted VILLAINS MONTH which featured special one-shot villain focused stories with impressive 3-D covers.  Check out this 3-D cover from the JOKER issue of last year's Villains Month promotion:

DC's bringing the 3-D covers back this September for a month long event they have titled "Futures End."  Inspired by the newly created weekly comic book series of the same name (which I have to admit I haven't read yet), each of the monthly titles in DC's New 52 lineup during September will feature a stand-alone story that leaps your favorite super hero characters into a possible future five years ahead of the current timeline.  Each of these one-shots will feature a 3-D motion cover that hints at the story within the comic book. Here are a few samples of the upcoming 3-D covers, I think they look pretty sharp:

 

Hopefully DC has learned its lesson from the mistakes it made in VILLAINS MONTH. Last September, they didn't produce enough of the 3-D covers to meet demand and many of the publications were hard to get your hands on.  Also it appears DC over-extended its staff with all these one-shots because to be honest most of the stories were pretty badly put together and a lot of the artwork was lacking in quality. It seemed as if this whole promotion was rushed into distribution beyond the capabilities of the publisher.  So while you did have a nice cover for your collection with these 3-D titles (if you could fine the books),  the pages behind the covers weren't very impressive...which was pretty disappointing with how much potential the the promotion could have been with its theme.  Come on DC, comic book fans are as interested in checking out the histories, plots, and imagery of cool villains as they are your super heroes.  After last year's experience, I initially rolled my eyes when I heard they were doing a big September promo with 3-D covers again.

Than I picked up a new weekly series by DC titled BATMAN ETERNAL.  It is a year-long weekly serial celebrating Batman's 75th anniversary and I have to say I've purchased 13 issues now enjoying every one.  The artwork has been incredible and the stories are really well scripted.  This is what I thought VILLAINS MONTH would be like and while that failed Batman Eternal has exceeded my expectations.  If you haven't read this weekly Batman comic book series (most comic books are published monthly) and you are a fan of the caped crusader you have to grab it.  I believe BATMAN ETERNAL is the best comic book series that DC currently has on the market!  It utilizes a wide array of authors and artists from across all DC's titles to be able to meet its publishing demands and yet it meshes together.  So now I have a slimmer of hope that in addition to some cool 3-D covers, FUTURES END will also have good scripts and artwork making these comics coming out in September more like BATMAN ETERNAL than VILLAINS MONTH.

THE FUTURES END comic books will be published in weekly waves throughout the month of September.  So we'll be able to see from the first week if the titles are worth the money to purchase from weeks 2 - 4.  Of course, it is all about your own interests and tastes and even if the inside content isn't the best you may want to purchase the 3-D books just to showcase their covers for a collection.  I've also been told by some comic book retailers that they are getting plenty of allocations for every issue so the limited supply and price gauging issues of VILLAINS MONTH shouldn't be a problem this year.

Whether you are a new or long-time collector these 3-D covers are a nice addition to any collection.  I'd encourage you to keep an eye out for them this fall.  If you grab one off the shelf, send me an e-mail to thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com and let me know what you think of both the 3-D covers and the pages that fall in between.

Do Something Good ... Get Something Green

It is Week 3 of DC COMICS “Justice League” themed WE CAN BE HEROES campaign and they have already raised $95,000 dollars to fight hunger in Africa.  This week’s theme is GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW and making a donation provides you with some GREEN perks.

$10 – 5 DIGITAL DOWNLOADS ( Green Lantern Comic Books 2 –23 & Green Arrow 17–18.

$25 – FOREVER EVIL #1 Print Comic Book with We Can Be Heroes Variant Cover

$25 – GREEN LANTERN “EMERALD KNIGHTS” Blu-Ray animated movie signed by animator Bruce Timm

$45 – A collector edition FOREVER EVIL t-shirt

$50 – A Green Lantern Volume 1: Sinestro paperback signed by the creative team of Geoff Johns & Doug Mahnke

$75 – A limited edition Green Lantern lithograph

$5,000 – Get drawn into an upcoming issue of the Green Lantern comic book as a character

$12,500 – Spend the day on the set of the CW tv series the Green Arrow

There will be different perks available throughout the campaign so check back each week to see what is new.  Some items may sell out early in the week as happened with several items this week that I didn’t include in the list above.  New perks go up on Tuesdays…next week’s theme will be Aquaman, Flash & Cyborg. 

To participate in the WE CAN BE HEROES CAMPAIGN, visit:   http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dc-entertainment-we-can-be-heroes-justice-league-edition

DC COMICS had decided that it’s charitable focus for the company will be through an ongoing campaign called WE CAN BE HEROES which utilizes their Super Heroes to raise money to assist with Hunger Relief efforts in the Horn of Africa.  Throughout the year, DC is holding periodic campaigns which allows fans to donate money to the campaign, receive some unique and interesting swag for their contribution, and get a tax deduction too!  Donations to WE CAN BE HEROES will be used to assist three non-profits: SAVE THE CHILDREN, MERCYCORPS, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE.