Hal Jordan: The Green Lantern Appreciation 2021

[Captain Nostalgia]

Thanks on the Morrison advice guys. I usually like to read comics for brain candy, (Geoff Johns style ect) but I'm intrigued with the Morrison's impenetrable writing. I am going to give it another go.

Lol, on the GL Board....I was one of the Hal brigade trouble makers back than demanding his return, but not a ring leader.

I remember getting on and having all these guys 15 years older than me leading the charge, and the Green Lantern board erupting into utter chaos and open warfare and name calling. (I am not certain but I think I recall a thread called should we kill Kyle?)

It was crazy! I can't imagine it being much fun being a mod back then, kudos to you.

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It was crazy! I can't imagine it being much fun being a mod back then, kudos to you.

It was not exactly a barrel of laughs back then, but it did have a happy ending. I doubt anyone back then would have guessed that Hal Jordan's return would be the beginning of a run that would go on to become DC's #1 property for a time. The GL franchise has gone through so many ups and downs over the decades, so I'm a little more Zen about the current ebbs and flows than some.

The monthly grind of comics isn't really what lasts anyways. It's the great stories like New Frontier that will continue to get passed on to new readers over and over again. That's the stuff that matters, far more than how often the character is appearing in the comics. And for all the years when characters have been forgotten or been sidelined, the good ones always get dusted off and brought back sooner or later. It's all a matter of time and patience.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

This story really cannot be praised enough. There's a reason that New Frontier keeps getting reprinted over and over again like Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come, and All-Star Superman.

[HsssH]

The monthly grind of comics isn't really what lasts anyways. It's the great stories like New Frontier that will continue to get passed on to new readers over and over again. That's the stuff that matters, far more than how often the character is appearing in the comics. And for all the years when characters have been forgotten or been sidelined, the good ones always get dusted off and brought back sooner or later. It's all a matter of time and patience.

Very good point here, I wonder now, do other Lanterns really have any "evergreen comics"?

[Johnny]

Guys, I don't want to be a broken record here and this isn't meant to be an attack on anyone, but when Hal Jordan was appearing twice a month in a comic with his name in the title, in addition to the big company-wide event, and his Earth One book, this thread was still unrelentingly grumpy about how poorly Hal was being treated, so I totally understand how this current situation is going to be less than ideal for some of you.

However, this is supposed to be an appreciation thread, not a never-ending stream of whining and complaints about how it's not 2008 anymore because all that's going to do is drive fans away, just as the John Stewart appreciation thread drove away anyone who didn't want to engage in endless rants about how Didio and Johns were conspiring against that character for a loooooonng time. Trust me, I've got an inbox full of messages from posters who avoid both the Hal and the John threads because of how negative we are.

This isn't to say that this thread needs to be a non-stop orgy of "Isn't it awesome that Hal Jordan no longer has a solo book and isn't a mainstay of the League anymore! Yay!" I'm not asking anyone to push down their feelings or censor themselves. All I'm asking for is a little more Hal Jordan appreciation with this Hal Jordan appreciation thread.

Let's try, if only for a little while, to spend more time celebrating the character we love than we do than lamenting that he's no longer DC's top priority. Or at least try to keep things in perspective. I mean, Aquaman just starred in a giant blockbuster that made a billion dollars and he doesn't even have a solo title right now.

That's it. Sorry for ranting. I'll promise not to do this again for at least six months

Also, let me say that I truly love coming to this thread most of the time. There's so much great discussion here and I love the awesome pictures posted regularly. I just wish we would focus more on that instead of the fact that Hal Jordan is an unfortunate casualty of pop culture's collective readjustment from straight white guys as the default hero (and that he's mostly known for a mediocre Ryan Reynolds movie)

Thanks for bearing with me as I got this off my chest and I hope no one takes it personally.

Hey perspective is always a good thing. I was one of the people who stopped visiting the John thread even though I enjoyed talking to many of the folks that post there, because I couldn't take some of the grumpyness. We don't need that here. In any event I just got a year closer to what I perceive Hal's age to be and it's crazy how I was around Kyle's age when I found this place and now I'm getting closer to "uncle Hal" instead. At least I dress better tho!

[Vordan]

Very good point here, I wonder now, do other Lanterns really have any "evergreen comics"?

No and that’s part of the problem they have. John had Cosmic Odyssey but Gerald Jones getting outed as a pedo ruined that. Kyle & Guy don’t have anything.

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No and that’s part of the problem they have. John had Cosmic Odyssey but Gerald Jones getting outed as a pedo ruined that. Kyle & Guy don’t have anything.

I would argue that Guy has Giffen & DeMatties’s JLI and Kyle has Morrison’s JLA, so both of those guys will be just fine in terms of having stories that people are going to revisit endlessly.

[Johnny]

[WallyWestFlash]

Hey perspective is always a good thing. I was one of the people who stopped visiting the John thread even though I enjoyed talking to many of the folks that post there, because I couldn't take some of the grumpyness. We don't need that here. In any event I just got a year closer to what I perceive Hal's age to be and it's crazy how I was around Kyle's age when I found this place and now I'm getting closer to "uncle Hal" instead. At least I dress better tho!

Ha. I actually have that jacket and its my favorite so I resent that.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I would argue that Guy has Giffen & DeMatties’s JLI and Kyle has Morrison’s JLA, so both of those guys will be just fine in terms of having stories that people are going to revisit endlessly.

And both were fairly prominent in Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps as well.

[HsssH]

I would argue that Guy has Giffen & DeMatties’s JLI and Kyle has Morrison’s JLA, so both of those guys will be just fine in terms of having stories that people are going to revisit endlessly.

I now don't remember it very well, but didn't JLI turn Guy basically into a joke till Tomasi/Gleason salvaged him in GLC? And GLC itself was fun, but I think never reached that next level.

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I now don't remember it very well, but didn't JLI turn Guy basically into a joke till Tomasi/Gleason salvaged him in GLC? And GLC itself was fun, but I think never reached that next level.

Guy was definitely a joke in JLI, but, for most of the run, it was a good joke.

I don't need Guy to be some badass **** kicker, I just need him to be a compelling character.

[Frontier]

I now don't remember it very well, but didn't JLI turn Guy basically into a joke till Tomasi/Gleason salvaged him in GLC? And GLC itself was fun, but I think never reached that next level.

I think GLC made him more serious and compelling but JLI set a lot up for his modern characterization and stuff important to his character.

That and the one-punch.

[liwanag]

[Gaius]

So on another note, I usually read everything headlining Hal, but I couldn't get into Morrison's GL run, but now that it's complete. Do you think it deserves a second go. Worth the read, yes no?

I'd at least give it a second shot, at least Season One. I read it in trade and I think it works better there for me at least. Though "Emerald Sands" is probably one of my favorite standalone GL issues.

This story really cannot be praised enough. There's a reason that New Frontier keeps getting reprinted over and over again like Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come, and All-Star Superman.

Story that made me a Hal fan and a preference for the other characters in Cooke like writing like Clark, Diana, and Barry.