John Stewart Appreciation 2019

[Armor of God]

Here's a list of writers, who has a bad history with John Stewart in a book. Their history involves John being written to look bad and/or they intentionally sideline him for another (white) Green Lantern. This is a list of writers that needs to STAY AWAY from John Stewart. They deserve no second chance:


Judd Winick - Responsible for killing his sister, had John almost be a gang banger in his origin story (yes, this was written. Very racial stereotypical). Not only this, but had John make endless complaints about how much of a failure John is as a Green Lantern and John admitting that Guy and Hal are better Green Lanterns.

Mark Waid - Made it seem like Kyle could easily beat John, confined John to a wheelchair, despite the fact that he has been VERY successful on the DCAU animated series

Geoff Johns - Made John irrelevant in ALL stories after Rebirth, brought up past tragedies, written him as a black best friend to make Hal look good in Rebirth

Peter Tomasi - Had his favorite Guy Gardner save John out of trouble, made Guy the more focus in stories, John killed off a Green Lantern, only had Guy Gardner appeared in the origin story of GLC issue 0 and left out John's origin story, he made Guy the only important character when Hal was in the dead zone and had John do a boring side mission such as putting Mogo back together again while having Guy do the fun stuff at the main event, made Fatality John's love interest (made no sense whatsoever).

Tony Bedard - Again, had his favorite Kyle save John out of trouble, made Kyle more of the focus in stories, written for John to kill off a Green Lantern such as Mogo.

Christopher Priest - Responsible for killing off Kat (as what has been said in this thread by Anthony and Vampire).

Tom King - Killed off John, made him a black best friend, written him to be out of character for Hal to look good. I had no problem with Hal being the center of the story, but the way he written John was unnecessary.

I left out Tom Taylor, because he did use John as a leaguer in the Justice League/Power Rangers crossover. If it wasn't for that, he would have made the list as well.

DC should've done way better than this. This is totally uncalled for. No excuses here.

So to any new John readers, it's not recommended to read stories from those writers, because they don't care much for the character as they should have and you won't see any good John stories in those books.

So once Starlin is added you're essentially telling everyone to ignore almost everything that was published with John Stewart other than Mosaic.

[Sodam Yat]

So once Starlin is added you're essentially telling everyone to ignore almost everything that was published with John Stewart other than Mosaic.

Yes, that's correct. Oh, crap, I forgot about Starlin. Thanks for reminding me.

And there's other good stories with John. Mosaic isn't the only one.

[Sodam Yat]

Neal Adams signing appearance.

February 9th. Royal Collectables NY. 3PM-6PM

Thanks for the heads up!

Speaking of Neal Adams, he did an amazing interview at Baltimore Comic Con:



John Stewart gets mentioned at the 4:40 mark.

HUGE respect for this guy. He said he wanted a college educated professional man and NOT a gang banger type of character. It's great to see an amazing artist that happens to not be a POC to create one of the biggest minority characters at DC. He was against the idea of making the character a black stereotype and refused to create the character if DC decided to go against the idea of making him an intelligent character, but rather a stereotype.

Neal Adams is an amazing person!

[SecretWarrior]

So once Starlin is added you're essentially telling everyone to ignore almost everything that was published with John Stewart other than Mosaic.

Jensen gets love here.

[Vampire Savior]

So once Starlin is added you're essentially telling everyone to ignore almost everything that was published with John Stewart other than Mosaic.

Mosaic love!

It's a sad state of affairs, but I think that was the last time John did anything truly worthwhile and noteworthy in comics.

[Sodam Yat]

Jensen gets love here.

Jensen is an amazing John Stewart writer. I would love to see him write another John Stewart solo.

Mosaic love!

It's a sad state of affairs, but I think that was the last time John did anything truly worthwhile and noteworthy in comics.

^ Looks like Desh's artwork. I love the art.

[Sodam Yat]

I'm looking forward to this big event.

[Sodam Yat]

by steelscarlet

I like how John's lantern emblem is glowing

[skyvolt2000]

Had no idea it was Priest who killed Kat

A LOT of his run with Green Lantern is not in trades. I don't think any of the Action Comics weekly run are in trade. Along with Vixen's first appearance that was in that series.

I'm tired of being upset, let's get back to something positive, shall we? If you had control of a John solo era, what would you incorporate? I'm talkin' villains, love interests, family, other supporting cast, feats, new concepts, the whole shebang.

With Hal Jordan around and the powers that be-that will never happen. Even if it would be best for business. I mean Into the SPiderverse showed you how you can have various Spider-Folks and make it work.

Even if you restricted Miles & Peter to major films in theaters and the rest to Netlfix or direct to dvd-you have a line of folks to use to expand that franchise.

That is what is needed here. SO you can do a variety of stories instead of trying to make one person-the every GL.

[Sodam Yat]

With Hal Jordan around and the powers that be-that will never happen. Even if it would be best for business. I mean Into the SPiderverse showed you how you can have various Spider-Folks and make it work.

Even if you restricted Miles & Peter to major films in theaters and the rest to Netlfix or direct to dvd-you have a line of folks to use to expand that franchise.

That is what is needed here. SO you can do a variety of stories instead of trying to make one person-the every GL.

I certainly can't speak for the comics, but isn't that what they're kind of doing with other Lanterns in animated films/shows? They're allowing other lanterns get their shine, without constantly keep using the same Green Lantern in every media. Although it wasn't like this during the Johns era. But I'm glad that all changed.

[Cosmic Emerald 23]

A LOT of his run with Green Lantern is not in trades. I don't think any of the Action Comics weekly run are in trade. Along with Vixen's first appearance that was in that series.




With Hal Jordan around and the powers that be-that will never happen. Even if it would be best for business. I mean Into the SPiderverse showed you how you can have various Spider-Folks and make it work.

Even if you restricted Miles & Peter to major films in theaters and the rest to Netlfix or direct to dvd-you have a line of folks to use to expand that franchise.

That is what is needed here. SO you can do a variety of stories instead of trying to make one person-the every GL.

I'm speaking in a hypothetical context. Let's say everything is more balanced and even in terms of lantern representation, with John getting his long overdue attention with a "solo era" (nobody's getting replaced, so everybody chill out). I'm looking for everyone's unique take on the character's direction from where he is now.

[lemonpeace]

I'm speaking in a hypothetical context. Let's say everything is more balanced and even in terms of lantern representation, with John getting his long overdue attention with a "solo era" (nobody's getting replaced, so everybody chill out). I'm looking for everyone's unique take on the character's direction from where he is now.

I would start by keeping the UV/human power ring angle Snyder introduced and I'd give him a redesign. I know, John's costume is super sleek and classic but I think redesigns are part of the fun with characters. I'd give him a beard and a mini fro but keep the fade (pretty much BL hairstyle in Young Justice: Outsiders but with a fade) and a suit that's still very sleek but (admittedly taking some queues from Guy) adding some outerwear to make him real a little less uniform. I want his outerwear (be it a vest hoodie or a jacket of some sort) to be visually different from Guy tho. This redesign will not come until a few issue into the run tho, there needs to be a reason he feels he needs to. I would have his first arc in deep space taking on something big, fun, and cosmically powerful. The point is to give him room to flex, I want lots of action and it should act as a showcase for how powerful he is. However, he will not take the Big Bad down with raw power alone. He will have to win the day with not just strength but also his innovation and ingenuity. John's been the Lantern who's kept in space the most so we use that. He's read the book of Oa, he's worked alongside the Guardians, he's been a Guardian, he's lead the Corps, he's lived amongst aliens; imagine all the things he's learned. He should be one of the greatest minds in the DC pantheon given his experience and that needs to be established under no circumstances is he nor any other Lantern ever to be referred to as "The Greatest of them all" ever. Also, Hal Jordan is not allowed to be mentions unless he serves a purpose. If you can make the scene work without bringing him up then he does not need to be brought up. John should be fun, charismatic, badass, someone you want to be. So we're pulling a Geoff John's and Parallax-ing his stoic military man-isms. At the beginning we will establish the reason he has been like that is because he was traumatized by his mistakes and the things he's seen in the lime of duty. Through his first arc epic (depending on how well Snyder handles John) he will start to become less stoic and start dealing with his trauma as he's mastering his new abilities and by the end (I'm thinking a 8 issue arc so around issue 7 or the end of 6) he'll put all that to bed for good and THAT'S when he'll get his redesign; his beard will be growing throughout this arc and will be full on by #6. The beard represents a new kind of maturity and confidence for the character and by issue #8 or #9 (which I imagine to be feel like the end of a miniseries) we should be dealing with a more self-assured, charismatic and emotionally intelligent John Stewart who draws on his complex architect mind, not exclusively but more so than his military mind. He's a warrior poet, not a foot soldier. My boy is The Master Builder, we gotta put some respect on that name. After this arc of self discovery I want to bring him home to Earth and use this newfound maturity to tackle issues on earth. We've seen in Christopher Priest's short Justice League run that the league is a bit out of touch and I want him to be the social consciousness of the team; using his experience with different interstellar cultures and his personal experience as a black man (oh hell yeah my John will be unavoidably/vocally black and will speak on black ****) to provide that needed perspective and it will also inform his moves when providing his tactical expertise. This part shouldn't take more than an issue or two. Once I've set all this up then I will start setting up his base of operations and supporting cast, starting with confirm that Lynn Stewart (the wife or ex-wife of Black Lightning) is his sister. Katma is staying dead, Martian Manhunter, Barry Allen and Guy Gardner are his closest hero friends, and we'll build from there. That's all I got off top.

[Sodam Yat]

I'm speaking in a hypothetical context. Let's say everything is more balanced and even in terms of lantern representation, with John getting his long overdue attention with a "solo era" (nobody's getting replaced, so everybody chill out). I'm looking for everyone's unique take on the character's direction from where he is now.

If I had full control over the John Stewart character at DC, I would:

1) Use an A-list creative team. I want the character to be pushed to the fullest. John is as equally important as a Green Lantern as anyone else. I would have an A-list writer like Scott Snyder writing on the book. So far, his writing on John is solid. Thanks to Scott Snyder, John doesn't come off as the stoic black best friend type anymore. John even has his own sense of humor in Justice League. Scott Snyder is one of the few writers I trust so far. I would have a good artist like Kenneth Rocafort, Jason Fabok, or Ivan Reis doing the art.

2) Since it's been confirmed that John and Barry are going to build a close friendship, I would have Barry make some sort of guest appearance in the book. Have him play a role (big or small), where John needs some assistance.

3) Let Hawkgirl be John's love interest. It's been long overdue. Been waiting for that relationship to happen for decades in the comics. And I would make sure that a writer don't try to undo that relationship, because he/she is a fan of someone else.

4) John Stewart will be guest starring in other titles. John is a series regular on one of the biggest DC titles. There's no reason for him not to appear as a guest star in other books.

5) I would restrict writers, who had a history of treating John unfairly away from the character.

6) The name of John's book will be All-Star Green Lantern. Since there's no All-Star Green Lantern book, that would be the book John will star in. The UV/Invisible Spectrum will be mentioned in the book, along with his origin story.

[Vampire Savior]

I'm speaking in a hypothetical context. Let's say everything is more balanced and even in terms of lantern representation, with John getting his long overdue attention with a "solo era" (nobody's getting replaced, so everybody chill out). I'm looking for everyone's unique take on the character's direction from where he is now.

I think I would resurrect the Mosaic concept. Everything that John Stewart needs to be a strong leading man, Gerard Jones was giving him.

His iconic environment, or "city" was the Mosaic World. No one else in the DC Universe occupied that space. It was all John's. His love interest was Rose Hardin. Though she began as a Hal Jordan love interest, it was pretty clear that her end destination was to be with John Stewart from her inception. His supporting characters were all the wacky aliens on the Mosaic. And I think it's safe to say that Mosaic is probably John's most loved story. DC just decided to piss all of it away when they did the whole Parallax thing with Hal Jordan and got rid of every Green Lantern. I would retell the story, but do many things differently so it wouldn't be a total retread.
Some things I would do:

Retcon the original as not having happened (this is basically how DC treats the story anyway) and retell the origin. Remove Hal Jordan from it and make needed adjustments to make the story work for the current DC Universe.

Tone down the psychological and philosophical elements of the comic and make it more mainstream, both in terms of writing and artwork. This may disappoint some people, but I would want John to be an idealized superhero, not a oddball in an oddball book. The book can still have some of the wacky elements of the original series, but would have more action and adventure and wouldn't depend so much on far out-ness.

I would not have John become a Guardian of the Universe. He should stay a typical Green Lantern because, ultimately, I believe that's how most of his audience wants to see him.

Katma stays dead. I'd stick with Rose.

One reason why I would want to resurrect Mosaic is because nothing with this character will stick--be it supporting cast, villains, concepts, or whatever--without consistency. The reason nothing sticks with John and why he's such an empty character today is because whoever gets their hands on him wants to do their own thing and ignore everything else (besides Xanshi), or do nothing at all with him, or just have him trail behind Hal Jordan in some multipart crossover "epic," and it's just an endless cycle of that. I would go back to something that many people who know the character identify him with, and that some people are nostalgic for. That's the same thing various writers do with Superman, Batman, and so on, and that's how those characters have built iconic villains, characters, and set pieces. If Mosaic is the niche that John has found, I would work with that and not let it be totally forgotten.

EDIT:
I forgot something.

There will be NO mention of any kind of Emotional Spectrum or Invisible Spectrum or anything like that in the book. I would act like the Geoff Johns run never even happened.

Also, the only other Earth Green Lantern that would make appearances would be Guy Gardner. I don't think I would use Hal Jordan, and definitely not Baz or Cruz. I don't think I would use Kyle Rayner, either.

[Sodam Yat]

I know I'm late, but John Stewart and the Justice League appeared in Batman 64:







Taken from the preview

It's nice to see John Williamson give John Stewart some dialogue. His writing on John comes off more of the fun type and doesn't appear as stoic like how other writers would define him as.

John Stewart is still close friends fried Guy Gardner. Great to see Guy's name being mentioned, despite him being in current limbo.

Also, John asks Barry to hang out at a burrito place. I guess the writers are already setting up to build a close friendship with John and Barry. I wonder whether Williamson is going to have John guest star in The Flash book? I'm glad that Scott Snyder isn't the only writer who's acknowledging their friendship building. It's great to see other writers like Williamson follow the same approach.