Green Lantern John Stewart Appreciation Thread

[Desh]

I know Cosmic Odyssey had a trade at one point. I'm guessing it's out-of-print by now but that's no big loss because apart from the art that story was terrible. Same with Katma's death for that matter.

Yeah, that Action Comics Weekly stuff will probably never make trade. And I honestly don't think putting Cosmic Odyssey in trade or Katma's death will do anything to really help John Stewart. Sure, those are huge moments in the character's history, but it's not like either of those are really well loved or often demanded. What would be nice to have in trade is the rest of Steve Englehart's Green Lantern Corps series, which features John's marriage to Katma, and plenty of great moments between the duo:



And, of course, Mosaic badly needs to be put in trade. With DC focusing more on John lately (his own comic series, his appearance in the free comicbook day issue of Futures End, the Sector 2814 volumes 2 and 3 trades), I have my fingers crossed that they'll collect Mosaic sometime soon.

[king of hybrids]

i would really like to see those trades, by all accounts they sound awesome.

Actually, the Hawkgirl that was on the show was killed off during the time the show was airing. The one with the solo series was a different character.

that would be by johns hand, no?

as for the reincarnation thing; there did need to be some rationalization with the amount of hawks, especially when there was a not-necessarily-commerical reason for keeping the golden age ones in continuity (if you've already ticked off moore, ellis, millar, waid, rucka etc; you don't add to it by ticking off gaiman by declaring his thing non-canon*) at the time. now though, you can bring bring back shayera (As hawkwoman or without an alias; keep kendra around for the reincarnation stuff/hawkman romance; or ship katar over to earth-2)

*same reason Miller was seemingly able to block johns (At the height of his influence) from using carrie kelley in a multiverse setting, or tomasi using her after requiem

[Desh]

now though, you can bring bring back shayera (As hawkwoman or without an alias; keep kendra around for the reincarnation stuff/hawkman romance; or ship katar over to earth-2)

They brought Shayera back in The Savage Hawkman, and I hear she died again! This was not that long ago.

What would I do? I would wait for the 2015 Crisis and bring the Shayera Hawkgirl back with the look and characterization she has in the cartoon and that would be that (for looks, specifically the first two seasons when she wore a mask). That is just the one that everyone knows and loves and there is no good reason not to use her in the comics.

[king of hybrids]

her young justice look isn't to bad either.

honestly, since the hawkman fans are more easily placated than hal fans; bring shayera back as described as hawkwoman, and import kendra in as hawkgirl

there, shipping wars averted (ye gods the shipping wars...)

[Rey Leopard]

I have a question for John Stewart fans that came into my mind after reading Rick Remender’s interview about Sam (The Falcon) Wilson taking over the mantle of Captain America.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=54167

Remender mentions that The Falcon’s criminal “Snap” Wilson persona doesn’t actually exist. That it was a creation of the Red Skull to try to defame Sam. I applaud removing this from Sam’s history. When Marvel changed Sam’s origin to make him a criminal it damaged the character for years. It also probably turned off many potential fans.

Do you think DC should recon the destruction of the planet Xanshi out of John’s history? Cosmic Odyssey damaged the character of John Stewart for many years. Maybe it is time to erase that stain so we can move on just like Marvel is doing with the Falcon. Should we as fans start campaigning for this? What do you guys think?

[Desh]

Do you think DC should recon the destruction of the planet Xanshi out of John’s history? Cosmic Odyssey damaged the character of John Stewart for many years. Maybe it is time to erase that stain so we can move on just like Marvel is doing with the Falcon. Should we as fans start campaigning for this? What do you guys think?

Interesting question. Honestly, the destruction of Xanshi led to one of John Stewart's best stories; Green Lantern: Mosaic. However, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited show that John Stewart doesn't need to have the destruction of a planet on his hands to be a fascinating character. If it was up to me... yes, I think I would have taken away the destruction of Xanshi AND the death of Katma Tui when the New 52 started. Doing that would not have been an ultra convoluted and hamfisted retcon like what Hal Jordan got in Green Lantern: Rebirth. It would have just been a new take on the character in a new universe, and I would not have included those two elements from the old take, both of which were horribly handled.

I'm disappointed that those aspects weren't changed when the New 52 began, and I'm really disappointed that it was Van Jensen who confirmed Katma to be dead. I never had a lot of fath in Tomasi where John Stewart is concerned, but Van Jensen really seems to care about doing what is best with the character, and I just don't see why he did that with Katma. I don't see what her death adds, especially since it is NEVER referenced anymore. Jensen could have just left the whole thing alone and held out the possibility of her not being dead.

That's why, as I mentioned earlier, I told Jensen via Twitter that I would appreciate it if he winds up writing John's New 52 origin, that he uses the opportunity to separate Hal Jordan from it. It's just better for the character to have a more independent origin, and I'd hate to see the opportunity to have that done passed up just for the sake of honoring some outdated continuity from 40 years ago.

So yeah, I think John could have used more retooling when the New 52 started, but he basically didn't get much, because, I suspect, Tomasi didn't care enough to do it, and a great deal of Green Lantern history was carried over with the reboot.

As for removing it from his history now... I honestly don't see how that can cleanly be done. John just went through a year long arc that greatly involved his relationship with Fatality and gave him more character advancement than he's had since JL/JLU. You remove Xanshi from John's history, you remove Fatality, and that whole arc and all the cool things that happened in it are all for naught.

[Rey Leopard]

You make very good points that maybe I didn’t consider. How about we don’t out and out remove the destruction of Xanshi but discover that there was more to the story. The conclusion would be that John did not really fail to save the planet but only thought he did. This way we can keep all the history that has been established in the New 52 but get that stain of him causing the destruction out.

[Desh]

You make very good points that maybe I didn’t consider. How about we don’t out and out remove the destruction of Xanshi but discover that there was more to the story. The conclusion would be that John did not really fail to save the planet but only thought he did. This way we can keep all the history that has been established in the New 52 but get that stain of him causing the destruction out.

Now, that can work! To tell you the truth, in Cosmic Odyssey, had Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern been there to try to stop that bomb, chances are it would have been a yellow bomb that was on fire. But I'm sure a story can be thought up to absolve John Stewart of the mistake he made. I'm all for that. I don't think Martian Manhunter was even present for that situation in the New 52, so whatever happened, I don't think it happened the way we know of it, so there is A LOT that can be explored and made up to make it far less damning.

Also...

her young justice look isn't to bad either.

honestly, since the hawkman fans are more easily placated than hal fans; bring shayera back as described as hawkwoman, and import kendra in as hawkgirl

there, shipping wars averted (ye gods the shipping wars...)

I like this idea, too, except for one small nitpick. I think the name "Hawkgirl" has higher marquee value than "Hawkwoman," and I think Shayera deserves it, since she's pretty much the one who made the name famous and most people equate it with her. I would prefer Shayera to use the name Hawkgirl and Kendra to call herself something else. But that's just my total ideal situation. Honestly, if they did exactly what you're suggesting I'd still be really happy.

[The_Greatest_Username]

that would be by johns hand, no?

as for the reincarnation thing; there did need to be some rationalization with the amount of hawks, especially when there was a not-necessarily-commerical reason for keeping the golden age ones in continuity (if you've already ticked off moore, ellis, millar, waid, rucka etc; you don't add to it by ticking off gaiman by declaring his thing non-canon*) at the time. now though, you can bring bring back shayera (As hawkwoman or without an alias; keep kendra around for the reincarnation stuff/hawkman romance; or ship katar over to earth-2)

*same reason Miller was seemingly able to block johns (At the height of his influence) from using carrie kelley in a multiverse setting, or tomasi using her after requiem

Actually, Johns was the one to bring Shayera out of comic limbo during his Hawkman run. She was killed off by another writer in the Rann-Thanagar war by another writer.

As it stands now, you could have Kendra on Earth-2 where she could thrive (the writer seems more interested in using Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman, though) and the Thanagarian Hawks exist on the main Earth. Jeff Lemire (the current writer of JLU) has expressed interest in her because of his fondness towards the Silver-Age Hawkman stories, so we'll see where it goes from there.

The first eleven issues are. It's a really spectacular series, but very different in tone and style from other Green Lantern comics. The whole series can be had on eBay for relatively cheap. Usually in the ballpark of $15-20.

I go on mass comic buying sprees every month. I'll be adding it to my list.

[Desh]

I go on mass comic buying sprees every month. I'll be adding it to my list.

Awesome! Hope you enjoy it! o__ob

Also, everyone should check out Red Lanterns #33 on sale this Wednesday. John Stewart looks to play an important role in it:

[Rey Leopard]

Now, that can work! To tell you the truth, in Cosmic Odyssey, had Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern been there to try to stop that bomb, chances are it would have been a yellow bomb that was on fire. But I'm sure a story can be thought up to absolve John Stewart of the mistake he made. I'm all for that. I don't think Martian Manhunter was even present for that situation in the New 52, so whatever happened, I don't think it happened the way we know of it, so there is A LOT that can be explored and made up to make it far less damning.

Thanks for the input. I am going to send a few emails to DC relating my thoughts on this subject. I hope that other John Stewart fans will contribute to this discussion.

[Geralt of Rivia]

Awesome! Hope you enjoy it! o__ob

Also, everyone should check out Red Lanterns #33 on sale this Wednesday. John Stewart looks to play an important role in it:

Awesome the two current best Lantern books finally connect.

[Desh]

Thanks for the input. I am going to send a few emails to DC relating my thoughts on this subject. I hope that other John Stewart fans will contribute to this discussion.

If you have a Twitter account, you may also want to tweet Van Jensen with some of your views. He's the writer of John's book and has direct contact with the editors, so he'd be the first guy I'd go to. There's also a good chance he'd read what you say and reply back to you with something sincere.

I'm not sure if you'd get that type of consideration by sending some faceless person at DC an e-mail.

[Anthony Shaw]

Awesome! Hope you enjoy it! o__ob

Also, everyone should check out Red Lanterns #33 on sale this Wednesday. John Stewart looks to play an important role in it:

This looks great. I was expecting Tomasi to bring this sort of character building instead of what he produced (the Guy Gardner Show).

[Rey Leopard]

If you have a Twitter account, you may also want to tweet Van Jensen with some of your views. He's the writer of John's book and has direct contact with the editors, so he'd be the first guy I'd go to. There's also a good chance he'd read what you say and reply back to you with something sincere.

I'm not sure if you'd get that type of consideration by sending some faceless person at DC an e-mail.

Sounds like a good way to proceed. I will take your advice. I do have a Twitter account. Thanks.