Green Lantern Franchise: What Would YOU do?

[Redjack]

I could simply gather that information from other sources.

In short don't tell me that 5G was based solely on sales and marketing. They should be making heroes and targeting them to the fastest growing demographics not virtue signaling. $$$ not politics please.

I'm telling you, you have no idea what you're talking about. Was that not clear?

This way of thinking is corruptive and toxic to our hobby and is based entirely on supposition and bad feelings.

Sort of like how this fun thread got derailed. See how that works?

[skyvolt2000]

I've crunched the numbers on the GL's with the data available. Before DC went off the direct market, Jo Mullen's Far Sector was selling below 20,000 by issue #3, (which is entering cancellation territory) and was cancelled after 12 issues which is usually indicative of a really bad run.

Far Sector was a 12 issue MAXI series. What part of a limited series is hard to understand?

https://www.cbr.com/green-lantern-fa...ertigo-spirit/

The latest Young Animal title takes the imprint to the Green Lantern mythology with Green Lantern: Far Sector. Created by acclaimed sci-fi novelist N.K. Jemisin and fan-favorite artist Jamal Campbell, the new maxi-series debuted in November with a darker, more procedural and political take on the Green Lantern Corps' regular DC Universe activities.

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/maxi-series

max·i-se·ries n.
A serialized publication or television show that tells a self-contained story and has more issues or episodes than a miniseries, especially a comic book series of at least 12 issues.

Other examples are
Tom Taylor's Seven Secrets at Boom Studios that is ending at issue 18.
In fact most books now at Image are Maxi-series with a set end in mind like many of the Vertigo books did back in the day and even the Milestone books.

Well if it's Didio I know he's not following sales

This is the same Dan that let Teen Titans turn into a mess and how many selling characters got derailed under him?

[Captain Nostalgia]

I'm telling you, you have no idea what you're talking about. Was that not clear?

This way of thinking is corruptive and toxic to our hobby and is based entirely on supposition and bad feelings.

Sort of like how this fun thread got derailed. See how that works?

Your the one who came on and gave a pious political speech about feelings kid, not me.

I'm talking about sales and marketing, and that DC does not adhere solely to market forces.

If you think that Jo Mullens (The worst selling GL of all time) is the best prospect to increase sales as Green Lantern's 5G over (Hal, John, Kyle, Guy, & Jessica).....and that's the only reason she was picked, well then.....we strongly disagree.

[Sodam Yat]

Although, I'm no real fan of hers, but I don't really think that's fair with Jo Mullens' case. Her comic was never intended to be an ongoing series.

[Aahz]

Market studies have proven "diverse" movies for example, in aggregate, outsell those that are mono-ethnic and it doesn't matter what ethnicity is involved. Even without the numbers in front of us we know this must be true. How? Because nearly every modern movie is more ethnically and gender diverse than its analogous counterpart from even ten years ago. Hollywood wouldn't do that if there wasn't a financial reason to do so. Nor would tech or automotive. No chance.

All these shifts are attempts to bring in a wider, more diverse audience because that means more money. The end.

Problem is imo that with comics staring a "minority character", the marketing (or the stuff the writers say in interviews or on social media) often sounds like "minority character, by minority writer, for minority readers", and at that point you are not reaching a wider audience (which you will in most cases anyway not reach because the marketing will be anyway mostly only seen by people who are already in the hobby) but you are becoming more niche. And that means less money.

[9th.]

Problem is imo that with comics staring a "minority character", the marketing (or the stuff the writers say in interviews or on social media) often sounds like "minority character, by minority writer, for minority readers", and at that point you are not reaching a wider audience (which you will in most cases anyway not reach because the marketing will be anyway mostly only seen by people who are already in the hobby) but you are becoming more niche. And that means less money.

What book would you say was marketed in this way? I can tell you right now, most people that complain about that stuff get angry at their own assumptions rather than what's actually in the book. Just because something was meant to appeal to one group does not mean another can't find any enjoyment in it.

[Restingvoice]

This is the same Dan that let Teen Titans turn into a mess and how many selling characters got derailed under him?

Yep. Exactly.

[Redjack]

Problem is imo that with comics staring a "minority character", the marketing (or the stuff the writers say in interviews or on social media) often sounds like "minority character, by minority writer, for minority readers", and at that point you are not reaching a wider audience (which you will in most cases anyway not reach because the marketing will be anyway mostly only seen by people who are already in the hobby) but you are becoming more niche. And that means less money.

You may be surprised but I agree with this assessment.

A good deal of what's wrong with both the Big 2 comics and the audience reception of those comics boils down to poor marketing. It's something over which the creatives have zero input or control.

[WebLurker]

It is more like "here kids look at this shinny new toy uhh ah isn't it neat? Never mind that stack of toys you already have and love over in the corner just look at the new shinny one that almost none of you really asked for or want". That sums up Jo Mullins Green Lantern.

So, she's going to become the next Hal Jordan? The character fans see as sucking the spotlight from the characters they love?

[bretmaverick2]

I’d come up with a reason to permanently make Hal Jordan a GL in space. No more earth adventures.

I’d make the only earth Green Lantern John Stewart. Except for the JSA’s GL, Alan Scott.

The other earth based GL s would lose their rings.

[Robotman]

The GL franchise is a mess because there’s just not enough room for all the human Lanterns DC has created. It’s divided the fan base far too much. Hal and John will always be at the front of the Green Lantern franchise but the fact that Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz (the two GLs created created between 2012 and 2014) have already been eclipsed in less than 10 years shows the mismanagement on full display.

I think the rainbow Corps. was an attempt to give each human Lantern a new identity but it didn’t take. Though I liked Guy as a Red Lantern.

I guess I would keep Hal in space, as a part of Morrison’s GL story was showing that Hal doesn’t doesn’t really have a normal earth life and almost feels uncomfortable when he’s not out adventuring in the galaxy.

John works well in the Justice League so I’d keep him there. I would be fine with him staying the Emerald Knight. It’s a cool name. They would have to introduce that concept in an animated movie or something for it to have any staying power in pop culture circles.

I wish they would have kept Jo as a future tale Green Lantern. An out of regular continuity next generation Lantern.

Growing up, Kyle Rayner was one of my favorite characters but unfortunately he doesn’t really have a place anymore. I could see them killing him off. It would be a big deal as he’s played a big role in the DCU in the past but the franchise would benefit by having one less human GL.

[NathanS]

I get where Morison was coming from, but I don't know it feels very rooted in the late 60s and 70s period where Hal was wondering and had no clear status quo or supporting cast. But you hit that Wolfman's run (DC why is this not out yet!?) and just how good he can be with one just starts to sing. So I'm torn on just throwing that away. Now I have some vague story ideas but nothing concrete as to what to do with all the human Lanterns... it's a task. I fully admit Hal is the GL I know best and that my huge series re-read has only just reached his exile means I have a lot more Hal thoughts juggling around the noggin than others since Guy hasn't really shown up yet and there's been only a bit of John.

Still, I know some of the many GLs a bit to have vague thoughts about what could be done with them if for some reason I was put in the pilot seat. You know after the panic attack. Notably, even in the early 90s it seems they thought that three human lanterns were too much so Guy was kicked out and got the yellow ring and John had the whole Great Builder first none-oan Guardian thing that ended up going nowhere. I'd be tempted to drive into relationships how someone without fear who is both a maverick who pushes back on authority but also can work in a system so well. So free-spirited yet so disciplined functions. What is it to be a man without fear? Who is so passionate and prone to diving in, yet once in the thick of it can be done methodically. he can be a bundle of contradictions, and yet at his best a can carry a warry smile that invites the reader to find the fun in the whole adventure because he can. Yet can be passionate that when his anger is aroused it's not something to get in front of. That's more... thoughts on the character that keep evolving but well that's what fun to dig into and play with. Space should be important to Hal stuff, but I feel some grounding on Earth creates an interesting contrast for a person who can be so full of contradictions already.

So Guy is likely my first choice to maybe stick in another corps. He did the Red thing well and was sort of the first Yellow Lantern before that was even a thing. Kicking Guy from the GLC made sense in that his connection to the space side of DC didn't matter much for what become one of his first real big break-out roles, being in the JLI. And his Gardner and Warrior stuff were also mostly Earth-centric which does conflict with the other corps being more space centric. Where ever he ends up he would likely be a smaller picture person. He wants action and he has a strong loyalty to those close to him. I would likely play with that. More than Hal he's the rebel and not quite fully fitting in and finding a strange place makes the most sense to me.

John is often the big picture guy in contrast. His first real attempt at his own status quo was MOSIC and kind of Darkstars, but... well that was a blah series. Still, it's amusing to me both of his are in space and we look to be continuing giving him a corner that is his own in space despite his original more down-to-earth elements. Of course, a lot of that also came from being the newest Lantern at the time and that period is long gone. Him being so big picture he's looking across the universe is fitting. As people have said seeing what exactly Emerald Knight is and how it works would be my move. Might have some ideas on him knocking around the back of my mind, but no point pushing them out prematurely when someone is offering an idea and I haven't really seen that it is in full.

Kyle is... tricky. I'm a strong believer in the power of a character's core idea. And with Kyle so much of that was tied into being the last of a once-great organization. And being a normal person just thrown into that confusion by chance. now that he's seasoned, now that the organization is no longer part of lost history, I'm not fully sure where it leaves him. He can do the most interesting constructs I suppose and his run saw a real focus on constructs to the point where he never even did a simple ring blast he always made some kind of blaster. I'd say that makes him the focal of the view that GL is about imagination in contrast to others, especiallyHal that who focus on will. that could work as a niche maybe. But I'm not sure it's enough.

For the others, I'd want to do more re-reading of their stuff to make sure I have a grasp on them to suggest anything, outside of my temptation to put Jo back in Far Sector and keep developing that as its own fun unique corner of the DCU.

[Robotman]

Totally forgot that Guy had a yellow ring for a long while. I don’t know why DC doesn’t just allow the human Lanterns to permanently wield the different color spectrum rings.

[Daedra]

I've been waiting to see how the latest round of resetting the GL status quo ends until making my own fanboyish pronouncements about "how I'd do it" - it just seems rude to do such things in the middle of such stories.

But now that the arc is over (and John's gonna be Dead For Crossover Purposes for a few months), no *does* seem as good as time as any to indulge in such things.

In times past, crusty old fanboy that I am, I probably would've advocated for a status quo very much like that of the mid-70's, at least in terms of the GLC as a whole - isolated space knights, very few team-ups, etc.

But, taking some aspects of the recently-ended arc in mind, this is my current feeling about how I'd probably re-arrange the franchise:
- There are 6 active Corps.
- The Corps are of varying sizes. The Green Lanterns are the largest, and have the greatest reach in the Universe.
- The Green Lanterns are based on Oa. There is a central power battery, and it powers the batteries and rings of all 6 Corps.
- The Guardians run the Green Lantern Corps, but they have recently retreated from the trivial millennium-to-millennium affairs of the Universe. Green Lanterns are typically rather surprised when the get a direct communique from the Guardians.
- Most of the rules, procedures, and so forth about *being* a Green Lantern are encoded in the ring AI.
- Green Lanterns, as a general rule, do not go to Oa unless summoned. Which they generally aren't.
- Green Lanterns, as a general rule, do not team up with GL's in other sectors, unless they're ordered to, or ask for permission. Again, this won't happen often.
- The Green Lantern structure is flat - there are Green Lanterns, and there are Guardians. No Honor Lanterns, no Alpha Guardians, no Torchbearers, no Super-Duper Green Lanterns, no nothin'.
- Blue and Violet Lanterns are allied with Oa, but do not submit to the Guardians. The Reds and Yellows remain openly hostile to varying degrees. The Indigo Lanterns, upon finding out that they were awkwardly jammed into the spectrum by Newton and aren't a real color, have disappeared

As for the Earth-born Green Lanterns, wellllll...
- Hal is assigned to the explore the great unknown sectors beyond the Guardian's vision, which represents some 40+ percent of the universe. He comes home to participate in crossovers, and may very well take Carol on his journeys.
- John is the Emerald Knight, and not technically a GL. While characters to tend to inevitably regress to the mean, let's leave him where he is for now and move on to...
- Jessica and Simon are the Green Lanterns of Sector 2814A (did I mention there were 7200 Sectors now, each with two GL's?), and tag-team as members of the JLA. They tend to explore a lot of weird new races that no one knows much about.
- Jo and Guy are the GLs of Sector 2814B, and they raise a lot of heck uncovering cosmic conspiracies in established races of the sector.
- Kyle? Blue Lantern. Either that, or he's on mop-up duty in the Vega System (which, mysteriously, isn't in 2814 for some reason).
- Kelli is not a Green Lantern, but she eventually figures out how to rebuild her Gauntlet and tap into the all-battery, gaining access to all the ring powers.

Obviously, all of this would need to be rejiggered if John ever regresses back to GL status. But we'd burn that bridge when we get there.

I like the idea of a 6 colors only spectrum as indigo belongs to the tertiary colors and kinda opens the way for a 12 colors lantern corps and it would be too much. By the way indigo is a real spectral color, the only non spectral color here would be magenta because unlike the others it cannot be reproduced by a single visible light frequency but it is the result of our brain combining red and violet/blue light.

[HsssH]

What book would you say was marketed in this way? I can tell you right now, most people that complain about that stuff get angry at their own assumptions rather than what's actually in the book. Just because something was meant to appeal to one group does not mean another can't find any enjoyment in it.

It doesn't have to be spelled out. If you talk a lot about, for example, black kids needing black characters to identify with then it is natural to assume that white (or asian) kids won't be able to identify with that character.

Is it wrong assumption? Often it is, but thats on marketing, not on people who have more entertainment options than time.