Geoff Johns's Green Lantern circa Dec 2004 to May 2013 / What is your verdict?

[Trigger]

I would say he was firing on all cylinders until Sinestro Corps Wars. Blackest Night was good, but there were certain things that got a bit crazy. After that the quality steadily fell since Johns had so much on his plate.

[JLange]

One of the best runs of a comic, IMHO. Loved every storyline up until the First Lantern. It felt like the original idea would have been great if it had been given proper attention but I think he may have had too much on his plate. It seemed like a story he had a great idea for, but didn't get the proper time to devote to it. All in all, a spectacular run with great art.

[toddx77]

Johns Green Lantern was the first Green Lantern run I read, I haven't read any previous writers runs and the only time I have read a pre Johns Green Lantern is in some kind of team back prior to 2003. However I still gave say 5 stars because he had me hooked from Rebirth. I liked the different color lanterns he introduced and each arc was always great. I felt like his best work was around the middle of his run: Sinestro Corps War, Secret Origin, Rage of the Red Lanterns, Agent Orange, and Blackest Night.

[Wulfmir]

There was a noticeable fall in quality after Blackest Night, I mean after that point Geoff Johns was basically steering the DC universe. He was just doing too many things at that time. But before that everything was simply the best comics on that day.

[PyroSikTh]

5/5, without hesitation. It's not the best comicbook run ever written (that goes to Morrison's Batman), but it's hands down my favourite. Blackest Night is my favourite single book (both comics and novels). It single-handedly turned me from a casual trade reader to a first-thing-I-do-on-a-Wednesday-morning-is-buy-more-comics.

However I can't say it's perfect. I hated Rebirth when I first read it because it was a horrible introduction to non-Batman comics. It was so seeped in the decade that came before, of which I had no knowledge; didn't know who anyone was or why they were as they were. Took me over a year to decide to churn on, and from then I was sold.

Sinestro Corps War to Blackest Night was easily the highest point of the franchise, when the emotional spectrum got introduced. It's hard to believe someone hadn't thought of it before.

Between Rebirth and Sinestro Corps War is, in my opinion, the run's lowest point. It was a bit messy and still trying to find it's feet. It definitely picked up in the lead-up to the war though.

Brightest Day/New Guardians (whatever you want to call it) was another low point, but War of the Green Lanterns was fantastic.

Secrets of the Indigo Tribe was great, and Revenge of the Black Hand was great, but Rise of the Third Army and Wrath of the First Lantern got bloated by all the tie-ins. I read everything on my first read through; all four titles. There was a distinct lack of Third Army, and even though it was split into chapters, First Lantern felt very disconnected and as such dragged on way too long. However I recently read just the Green Lantern issues plus the essential tie-ins (GLC 16, GLC Annual, GLC 19, GL:NG 19) and it read a hell of lot better. I'm very curious to see how these are collected up in the upcoming Omnibi though. Part of me hopes they keep it lean with only the stuff Johns wrote and some essential tie-ins (at least GLC 16 and the Annual, otherwise there's no fluidity between Third Army and First Lantern).

I've read the whole run maybe 4 times from beginning to end though, sometimes just Green Lantern, and sometimes all the Green Lantern titles, and it never gets old.

[PennyDreadful]

See, I thought that Johns gave all four Earth Lanterns a chance to shine. I also think Larfleeze is a hoot (though best in controlled doses).

Here is my main criticism:

Under Johns, the Indigo Tribe are sociopaths who only become good, benevolent people when they wear the rings. The Star Sapphires, meanwhile, turn bad guys good via their crystals (see: Fury). This concept of bad guys turned good through external means/brainwashing was done previously in Johns' Flash run (see: Rogue War). It carries some unfortunate implications to me. Anyone else feel the same way? I'm not bashing Johns. I just find this to be a very troubling concept.

[Godzilla2099]

Geoff Johns's Green Lantern was the BIBLE for me.

Its what got me back into collecting comics. If anything was worth waiting nearly a decade for, its Rebirth.

On a scale of 1 to 10. 15

[Nomads1]

Very good. Not perfect, though very little really is, but, overall, a solid run. Blackest Night and the Sinestro Corps War stand out as some of my favorite events, and among the BEST of the last decade or so. Oftimes I do think he got a bit carried awway with the whole emotional spectrum and his almost compulsive need of tying everything together, but it was still, unarguably, a great run. Not my favorite Johns work, though, I stiull prefer his worl on the JSA.

Peace

[Desh]

So...Geoff Johns committed the sin of being more into Hal Jordan than he was into John Stewart, and therefore his entire run on Green Lantern was bad...

That's what you really want to say, right?

I'm sensing a lot of animosity from you directed at me in particular. I don't feel this is productive or necessary, and I think you should probably try to let go of that. I'm pretty sure I've told you this at some point in time before. And even if that is my reason (which it, in itself, is not), so be it. I have the right to like or dislike anything for whatever reason I please. Again, you'll just have to come to terms with not everyone liking stuff that you do.

No, actually, it wasn't. It actually made sense as Johns was sort of building up to it for several years. But, like you said, you hadn't even been reading the comics at all until after he left, so.....

Plus, as such, Geoff also gave us the Templar Guardians, who are awesome little guys, and I love them.

It doesn't matter if it makes sense for his stories or not. Anyone can write something to fashion whatever they want. I think the idea is inherently bad.

[Geralt of Rivia]

Johns' first few years on the book from Rebirth thru Blackest night were very enjoyable, spanning quite a few good to great arcs/crossovers. Concurrently, GLC was really good when Gibbons was writing it IMO; afterwards I kind of fell off and wasn't really paying attention anymore and kept reading only the main GL book.

There was a bit of a rough patch after that with Brightest Day and War of the Green Lanterns though, and it wasnt until the New 52 that the quality recovered: the first year with the Sinestro and Hal partnership was really good but then the two big crossovers that followed - Third Army and First Lantern - were very disjointed and quite forgettable for the most part; but in spite of that, the final issue is a real gem.

So I voted 4, rounded up.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

I'm sensing a lot of animosity from you directed at me in particular. I don't feel this is productive or necessary, and I think you should probably try to let go of that. I'm pretty sure I've told you this at some point in time before. And even if that is my reason (which it, in itself, is not), so be it. I have the right to like or dislike anything for whatever reason I please. Again, you'll just have to come to terms with not everyone liking stuff that you do.

I'm not projecting any animosity on you. I just feel like you should just cut to the point and say what you really feel. I've seen enough of your comments to know that you're mostly upset about Johns not utilizing John as much as you'd like. You have even accused him of just straight out hating John and trying to orchestrate his death in the comics.

Thing is, about that, its blatantly untrue, and there is probably no evidence to support it. Johns never portrayed John in a bad light and always showed the relationship between Hal and John to be one of mutual respect and friendship. He actually showed a John Stewart trying to atone for the sin of blowing up Xanshi (something that Starlin had him do) and who wasn't an angry jerk, for a change. So, that you hate...but when someone comes along and shows Hal and John at odds with each other and almost at each others' throats, you love it?

Let's be honest here, I think we both know that if Johns had chosen to use John Stewart as the main star of his War of Light epics and giant space operas, that you'd be worshipping the ground on which he walks.

It doesn't matter if it makes sense for his stories or not. Anyone can write something to fashion whatever they want. I think the idea is inherently bad.

Well, if its well done, I think that he should commended on that, if only for the execution. Throughout his run, Johns planted the seeds of a growing animosity between the Guardians and the Corps, starting with the Secret Origin arc. It continued on with Ganthet and Sayd leaving the other Guardians in pursuit of a life that didn't simply eschew emotion and feeling. Little by little, it built up until eventually coming to a head.

The point I'm trying to convey here is that, even if a move by a creative is shocking to some, if its executed well, it deserves praise. Geoff Johns taking the Guardians down the path he did was one of those moves.

[Serotonin]

Great run until Blackest Night. Then it went down in quality. I believe once Sinestro became a Green Lantern again in the new 52 era reboot, the run went way down. As low as it was at the end of Johns run, it was still leaps and bounds better than the book has been since Johns has left. The typical creative after Johns curse continues. He built such a foundation, added so much more with all the different lanterns. How do the stories not write themselves at this point?

I miss looking forward to Green Lantern every month. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give John's run an 8.5.

[The Darknight Detective]

Not perfect in any way, but, overall, the Johns era was solidly above average and gave the GL franchise the biggest share of the comic-book pie in its history.

[Desh]

I'm not projecting any animosity on you. I just feel like you should just cut to the point and say what you really feel. I've seen enough of your comments to know that you're mostly upset about Johns not utilizing John as much as you'd like. You have even accused him of just straight out hating John and trying to orchestrate his death in the comics.

I don't like Johns' stories, concepts, or the style of his storytelling, and I don't like a lot of the characters he uses, primarily Hal Jordan, and especially HIS take on the character. That's pretty much cutting to the chase. I can't be more direct than that. You'll just have to take my words for what they are.

Thing is, about that, its blatantly untrue, and there is probably no evidence to support it. Johns never portrayed John in a bad light and always showed the relationship between Hal and John to be one of mutual respect and friendship.

Nothing to say about this.

He actually showed a John Stewart trying to atone for the sin of blowing up Xanshi (something that Starlin had him do) and who wasn't an angry jerk, for a change. So, that you hate...but when someone comes along and shows Hal and John at odds with each other and almost at each others' throats, you love it?

John had already atoned for "the sin" in Green Lantern: Mosaic. There was really no need for Johns to regress the character when there was a massive story about 30 issues long about him getting over it and moving on.

Let's be honest here, I think we both know that if Johns had chosen to use John Stewart as the main star of his War of Light epics and giant space operas, that you'd be worshipping the ground on which he walks.

Hahaha! Hell no. I've got pretty much nothing good to say about color corps and I'm glad John Stewart has very, very little to do with that incredibly redundant and silly stuff.

The point I'm trying to convey here is that, even if a move by a creative is shocking to some, if its executed well, it deserves praise. Geoff Johns taking the Guardians down the path he did was one of those moves.

I'm sure some would say the same about the relationship between Carol Ferris and Kyle Rayner. Remember that next time you encounter such folks.

[PyroSikTh]

I'm sure some would say the same about the relationship between Carol Ferris and Kyle Rayner. Remember that next time you encounter such folks.

I'd be shocked if anyone suggested the sudden, out-of-the-blue pairing of Carol and Kyle was better than the years-long, gradual hinting of the Guardians not being saints. From a writing perspective at least, they're polar opposites.