Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 Discussion/Spoilers

[Rakzo]

The Anniversary specials don't stop and this time we're given one for a franchise I actually love. DC has once again gotten some of the prominent writers that have worked on the Green Lantern series... and James Tynion IV (Yes, yes, there are other writers that don't really have a history with the series in this special but still this rubs me the wrong way and I will talk about it in a bit). That being said, every author who has a famous run is present here (Aside from Gerard Jones because of obvious reasons) and they all deliver their own interesting tale that share a lot in common with their respective past works.

We open with James Tynion IV and this is admitedly not the best way. First of all, I have to say how tired I am of his stories that are never particularly well-written and can be pretty derivative, worst of all is that he appears everywhere these days and let's just say I had enough of him this week with Batman. Second, he writes about Alan Scott and I have to wonder, why didn't DC ask James Robinson who actually has a real history with Alan and understands his character? Tynion is not bad and he seems like is hinting about Alan having a male romantic interest like what Robinson did on Earth 2 but still is nothing impressive and feels like a wasted opportunity. Gary Frank's artwork is no waste though since he elevates this story with his wonderful storytelling to acceptable levels.

Then comes Geoff Johns who tells a story about Hal believes he's going to die and decides to give a final message to his friends and loved ones. It's all perfectly in-character, sharing a lot of themes from Johns' run and even developing Hal further than before, all of this ending in a pretty comedic way. Ivan Reis is fittingly handling art duties and the little details he provides are wonderful like Guy and Kyle being closer like they were in Peter Tomasi's Green Lantern Corps, Batman smiling because of Hal's message and Ollie laughing the most.

Cullen Bunn arrives with a story about Sinestro which is appropriate considering how he handled the ongoing book about the villain which was also solidly done for the most part. Is all about how Sinestro can't help but keep being obsessed about the Green Lantern Corps and trying to make it better in its own way which once again, is really accurate to his character. Doug Mahnke handles the art and is really solid as always with a lot of detail in every aspect.

The late Dennis O'Neil gives us a story that is suited around the time where Hal and Ollie were the "Hard-Traveling Heroes" and I must say, while I had problems with how O'Neil wrote them during the 70s, I must say that he did a better job here being able to make them both more likable, showcasing Ollie's classic flaws and Hal having a wiser behavior, I'm glad that O'Neil was able to tell this story before his passing, is really good. Mike Grell, another classic creator, especially for Green Arrow, delivers the pencils and his work is perfectly fitting for the tone of the tale and time.

Kyle Rayner gets the spotlight written appropriately by Ron Marz who created him and wrote his initial run. Many of the same themes that Marz touched during his work concerning carrying the torch and being the only Green Lantern around for that era are revisited and they also get a proper resolution. Darryl Banks' artwork is decent and follows the script clearly.

Guy Gardner, Kilowog and the rest of the GLC also get a segment written by their long-time writer Peter Tomasi to deliver yet another charming story about their unity and one of their oldest members, really reminds me of his run. Fernando Pasarin also delivers solid artwork with expressive characters and clear storytelling.

Charlotte Fullerton McDuffie (Wife of the late Dwayne McDuffie) and Chris Cross write a story heavily inspired by the Justice League animated series and centered around John Stewart and Hawkgirl which is all in memory of Dwayne McDuffie which is heartwarming and the tale itself is decent. Jordi Tarragona handles the art and is equally solid and follows the plot appropriately.

Robert Venditti offers a final story about the main 4 Green Lanterns of Earth in their later years which is quite fitting considering how relevant they were during his run, Venditti creates a lot of touching scenes about them remembering each one of their moments, particularly the ones centering around Guy and it all pays off at the end. Rafa Sandoval is on art duties and his flexible and expressive work is always appreciated.

Jessica Cruz also get her own segment written by Mariko Tamaki and it's all about her anxiety disorder which is nothing new and I don't think Tamaki explores it much further than that, the story is just okay. Mirka Andolfo's pencils are pretty vibrant though.

Finally, Simon Baz gets his part with a story handled by Sina Grace that it's all about how he has to live with being a Muslim in a society that hates. It's highly political with many typical themes that you could expect from it but most importantly, it emphasizes Simon's empathic nature because of what he had to live and I believe is an interesting take on the character. Ramon Villalobos' art is wonderful with a pretty unique style that tells the story perfectly.

Overall, a pretty great special and my favorite so far. Good work.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I really liked the Alan and Hal stories. The rest were fine. Fairly middle of the road.

[Gaius]

Think this is the one of the stronger anniversary issues. Ones I particularly liked where the Tynion, Johns, O'Neil, and Venditti stories.

[lemonpeace]

Venditti's story was easily my favorite! Fullerton's was a nice one too, i thought it was funny essentially naming the McGuffin milestonium; that was cute.

[married guy]

It's a shame they couldn't get Beau Smith to write a short Guy story.
Not sure about the Alan revelation to be honest. While it was perfectly fine for Earth 2, I think it's something that could go very bad very quickly if not written well.
And any excuse for Marz to write Kyle is a bonus.

[K. Jones]

I liked this special a lot. I liked the other specials this year but this one feels the most cohesive. It's got really smart selections of writers and very smartly paired artists to go with them. I'll agree that Tynion sticks out as being like, "huh why Tynion in this?" but I like that story fine as a taster for Alan Scott, and having the Gary Frank art gives it that classic style and ties it to Doomsday Clock pretty beautifully. We can certainly talk about all the specifics in each story.

Johns & Reis had a great sense of nostalgia.
Bunn & Mahnke felt great. That Sinestro run is still recent enough that it's way fresh in my memory. Bunn never had Mahnke on art chores but Mahnke obviously drew the crap out of Sinestro all around Blackest Night and Brightest Day and just prior to Bunn's joining the post-Johns era, so it didn't feel out of place. And it was a great little story.
Venditti's felt like another coda to his run, definitely specifically that rather than a glimpse or day in the life situation.
Tomasi & Pasarin was great, a great callback to their short Emerald Warriors series and their pickup on Corps in the New 52. Tomasi's definitely "the definitive" Guy Gardner writer at this point.
I like the new writers tackling the new Lanterns and the art was pretty lovely. The stories were simple and effective.
John Stewart getting a McDuffie tribute story was a lovely sentiment. Nice guest spot from Polaris, too.
Kyle getting a revisit from Ron Marz was poignant.
Hal & Ollie and a meditation about ... meditation ... and non-violent policing, as a pick-up game of Hard-Traveling Heroes and the last published work of Denny O'Neil almost made me cry with its relevance. Grell did a great job, too. Grell never really tackled the GL&GA team-up in his legendary Longbow era, did he? In that way this almost feels like a LOST CHAPTER set between Denny's Hard-Traveling run in the 70s and Grell's takeover in the 80s.

[HsssH]

Weirdly enough I thought that Johns/Reis story was the weakest one. Half of the pages were "wasted" for a generic set up and Hal using one of his last calls for Batman felt out of place.

[Rakzo]

Weirdly enough I thought that Johns/Reis story was the weakest one. Half of the pages were "wasted" for a generic set up and Hal using one of his last calls for Batman felt out of place.

Johns probably still feels sorta guilty for how he treated Bats during Green Lantern: Rebirth.

Seriously though, it felt fitting considering that Batman was the one who constantly challenged Hal early on and that kinda motivated him to return.

[j9ac9k]

Johns probably still feels sorta guilty for how he treated Bats during Green Lantern: Rebirth.

Seriously though, it felt fitting considering that Batman was the one who constantly challenged Hal early on and that kinda motivated him to return.

I don't buy Hal's line that he might still be Parallax if it weren't for Bruce - how?? By saying he never trusted him and that he wasn't worthy of being redeemed? With only three messages to send, a love-letter to Batman was a waste of space and doesn't feel right to me. I also don't see the point of making Hal the butt of a joke in a book celebrating GL's anniversary.

[Frontier]

Johns probably still feels sorta guilty for how he treated Bats during Green Lantern: Rebirth.

Seriously though, it felt fitting considering that Batman was the one who constantly challenged Hal early on and that kinda motivated him to return.

I mean, Hal/Batman was kind of a thoroughline across Johns' DC career even if there are more believable people I think Hal would want to leave a last word with.

[Gaius]

Weirdly enough I thought that Johns/Reis story was the weakest one. Half of the pages were "wasted" for a generic set up and Hal using one of his last calls for Batman felt out of place.

Yeah, I was surprised of the two Hal stories, I preferred the O'Neil one.

[poroto678]

This was amazing.

It had my favorite GL artist. Mankhe, Reis, Sandoval, Frank, uff! such geniuses. Manhke's Sinestro is just magnificent.

That Kyle bit was wonderful. We need more of him. I would love Marz on it. That Sarah Stone art? MY GOD that was perfect.

I've seen several comics labeled as 'love letters', but this is the greatest of them all.

[Robanker]

Weirdly enough I thought that Johns/Reis story was the weakest one. Half of the pages were "wasted" for a generic set up and Hal using one of his last calls for Batman felt out of place.

That it wasn't Oliver Queen tuned me out entirely.

[Frontier]

That it wasn't Oliver Queen tuned me out entirely.

Or Barry. Or Tom. Like, y'know, his actual best friends...

Like if this was Clark I think his last three calls might be Kara, Lois/Jon, and maybe Batman, but that's it.

[HsssH]

also don't see the point of making Hal the butt of a joke in a book celebrating GL's anniversary.

Honestly it is not even that, but I didn't really like that in a book that celebrates GLs Batman was present at all. Ollie I'm ok with since there are lots of important history there. I could also see Flash here, or Justice League as a team. But Batman is like, if you asked any GL fan what they like about the franchise I'm pretty certain that nobody would even think about mentioning Batman.