Last week DC Comics announced via the Associated Press
that Geoff Johns will be ending his legendary run on Green
Lantern with issue #20 (vol. 5). l received
the news via Twitter. I am lucky to be counted among the Green Lantern Twitter
community and my thanks goes out to all the Fanterns who are kind enough to include me in their
discussions.
Geoff has done much work in expanding the GL mythos and I
would be frustrated if he was replaced by someone who did not cherish the source
material as he does. My favourite fanboy
catchphrase is “In Johns we trust.” As
well as the obvious disappointment of losing one of the greats, my immediate
thoughts after reading the news were occupied with the future. If I were in control at DC I would switch
Peter J. Tomasi up to the main Green Lantern title and get Tony Bedard back to
what he does best writing Green Lantern
Corps. Green Lantern: New Guardians would
make a great title for a new creator to find their feet in the massive and
presumably daunting world of the GL universe. I tweeted my fanciful wish list to mixed
reaction.
Imagine my surprise then the following day when further
news hit my feed that it wasn't just Geoff that was moving on. It was all change at GL with writers calling it
a day on all four lantern books. While
other fans cried 'foul' to DC I couldn't believe my luck. I was convinced my premonition would come to pass. In my interpretation of Johns' blog post on DC’s
own website he is bequeathing the upkeep of the legacy to Tomasi. Of course, you could take it as a final
thank-you to Tomasi before he too moves on to pastures new but I chose not to.
Johns won't be completely detached from the green as he
shifts his focus over to Justice League. In light of the news of his departure it seems
like Simon Baz might be a bit of a parting gift from Johns to himself. Only the Chief Creative Officer of DC could
get away with creating a brand new lantern to pack in his box of tricks for his
new project. Solicits reveal Baz will be
feature in the government sanctioned super team, Justice League of America.
I am hoping for a bold ending from Geoff Johns for a run
that rescued the franchise from relative obscurity in 2004 and put the character front
and centre in the DC Comics line up. Perhaps more so than ever before. I mentioned in a previous post that I think he
should decimate the coloured Corps of the emotional spectrum and strip Green
Lantern back to basics. This would give
whoever takes over a fresh crack at the whip without being encumbered with the heavy
burden of living up to Johns' legend. With the levels of power wielded by the
First Lantern in the current crossover arc a complete do-over is entirely
possible.
I don't know where this tactic would leave New Guardians. Perhaps the book will be
ended which I hope is not the case. As an alternative direction Kyle and whoever
joins him could be literal Guardians of the white light of life.
Personally I am just about done with Red Lanterns in its current format despite my anticipation of the Inversions return. Maybe some new blood (no apologies
for the double meaning) could be just what this title needs.
The impact of Johns’ departure cannot be
underestimated. At the same time he
leaves behind a comic book franchise that is in high demand from the fans. A few readers may drop off and follow him to
his other books but then again, if DC play their cards right, this could be the
jumping on point for new readers who missed out on the fresh beginnings
experienced in most other titles with the publication of the New 52.
Only this morning fellow lantern aficionado @CorwinC sent
me a link to the news released via MTV Geek revealing the names of all of the
writers and artists who will be taking the reins of the GL universe. As ever, my predictions were 100% wrong. All four titles (possibly five if the debate
around Larfleeze breaking out of Threshold holds water) have brand new creative
teams. A clean sweep. Not that I am disappointed. Robert Venditti has had nothing but good
press for his work on X-O Manowar at Valiant Comics.
And Billy Tan’s first art release speaks for itself. They will be working together on the main Green Lantern title. Similarly the other names in the mix are
being lauded as team-ups with great potential.
I'm excited to be in on the ground floor of a new era in the lantern
mythology. Venditti has already set
himself a massive challenge in his first interview since the news broke, “If we
execute the story the way we hope to, it’ll tie together every Lantern of every
Corps who has ever appeared in any comic book. Ever. We’re
going all in.” I only hope he realises
he is talking about a billion years of history here!
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| Green Lantern by Billy Tan |
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