Green Lantern vol. 1 #85

Issue: Green Lantern vol. 1 #85

Title: "Snowbirds Don't Fly"

Credits: Neal Adams (art) Dennis O'Neil (story)

Cover Date: September, 1971

Synopsis: As Oliver Queen is walking down the street, he's ambushed by a group of junkies looking to steal some money for a fix. He fights them all off, channeling his anger at Black Canary for breaking up with him into an epic smackdown.

All is well until one of the junkies shoots him with a crossbow. Wounded, Ollie crawls along the sidewalk, ignored by a passing couple, and a police officer. Finally he collapses in an emergency room and receives help.

Once he's patched up, he asks to see the arrow, only to find out that its one of his own!

Intrigued, he decides to investigate the local drug hierarchy. He calls in Hal Jordan as backup, since the arrow through his shoulder will make archery impossible for a few weeks. They hassle a junkie they find in the basement, and from him get the local of a couple of the lieutenants in the organization.

They pay the dealers a visit (one of which has a collection of ancient weapons, including crossbows) only to find Ollie ward Roy in the room with them! Ollie assumes Roy is there undercover and doesn't say anything. The dealers give up the head honcho, and the two heroes run off to confront them.

Unfortunately, the dealers are craftier than the Emerald heroes gave them credit for, and they manage to conk Hal on the head with a wrench. With GL down for the count and a um arm, Ollie is quickly overwhelmed. The dealers decide not to kill them, but to shoot them full of heroin and then call the cops, disgracing the heroes.

Luckily, Roy followed and manages to talk a stoned Hal into getting them the hell out of there. Back at Ollie's place, Hal wonders why anyone would use drugs, since he's come off the high and feels terrible.

Roy tries to explain that its possible a young man who's father figure ran off to go gallivanting around the country might turn to dope as a replacement. Ollie, oblivious, sees Hal of, only to walk back into the room to see Roy shooting up!

Thoughts: This is it guys. This is the storyline that made this run famous. As a matter of fact, I first found out about it because it was featured on a history of comics special on the History Channel. This issue manages to avoid hitting the reader on the head too hard, but you can still tell that O'Neil and Adams were really trying with this one. Obviously drugs were and are a massive problem, so the message is definitely good, I just wish the creators had found a slightly less heavy handed way to do it.

Still, the image of Speedy (wasn't the name just asking for it) shooting up in Ollie's living room is a definitely a powerful one, especially since Roy's turn to drugs was precipitated by Ollie running off on his quest to save America. Irony!

Spotlight:: Green Lantern vol 1 #84

Issue: Green Lantern vol. 1 #84

Title: "Peril in Plastic"

Cover Date: July, 1971

Credits: Denny O'Neil (scripts) Neal Adams (art)

Synopsis: Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris, newly reunited after last issue, have spent several lazy weeks getting to know one another on the beach. Towards the end of their jaunt, Carol tells Hal she plans to see a revolutionary doctor in the next town by the name of Palm. Hal agrees to let her go on her own and decides to use the time to visit Green Arrow.

Ollie is now shacked up in a disreputable part of town. Without his fortune, he can't exactly afford penthouses anymore. The two chat for a few minutes, until a report comes over the radio about an failing dam in a nearby town...the same one that Carol is in for her doctor visit!

Hal flies off, and using his power ring, manages to patch up the dam. Unfortunately, the fact that the guardians have weakened his ring means that all the activity has left him almost too tired to stand. In the aftermath of the rescue, Dr. Palm, who also happens to be mayor, comes out and insists on throwing GL a party and presenting him with a key to the city. He also attaches a small device to Hal's uniform, which randomly sprays perfume in his face.

After a strange ceremony, attended only by Dr. Palm and on a plastic stage, GL prepares to leave. Dr. Palm isn't too keen on this idea, and has his goons chase GL down. His will sapped by the perfume, GL cannot escape, but does manage to send his ring to Ollie just before passing out.

Unfortunately, Black Canary picks that moment to show up, and distracts Green Arrow just as the ring drops into his apartment. They go out to dinner, but have a fight at the restaurant and split up. Ollie returns and finds the ring, reasoning that Hal wouldn't have sent it away unless it was an emergency. He puts it on, recharges it, and heads for Piper's Dell and Dr. Palm.

Meanwhile, GL awakens, trussed up in a strange chair. Dr. Palm is revealed to be the Black Hand in disguise, who has hooked up with shady financial backers to use brainwashed workers to produce shoddy goods in Piper's Dell. To prove that the population is totally under his control, he lets Hal and Carol go, only to have them face a mob of angry civilians. The mob traps GL and Carol at the edge of the dam, only to have Green Arrow arrive just in time. He gets the power ring back to GL just in time. Hal then uses the ring to contain the mob and trap Black Hand in his own crappy plastic products.

Thoughts: Again, you have to give O'Neil and Adams props for tackling such am important issue (rampant consumerism at the cost of individuality) but again they end up beating you over the head with it. Literally. At one point, Hal and Carol are pummelled with plastic bricks. The Black Hand ends up trapped in a plastic prison of his own making, etc. And to think, credit cards were a fairly new thing back then!

Also: It took me a couple read-throughs to get the Dr. Palm/Black Hand connection. I blame the late hour.

Next Time: The Main Event, the reason this series is famous...Speedy on drugs!

Spotlight: Green Lantern #83

Issue: Green Lantern #83

Title: "and a Child Shall Destroy Them!"

Credits: Denny O'Neil (scripts) Neal Adams (cover,art)

Cover Date: Apr-May 1971

Synopsis: As an old man and his granddaughter are walking down the street, a young woman bumps into them. She apologizes, but the old man is incensed, and tells his granddaughter to punish her. Suddenly, the woman falls to the ground in pain...

Green Arrow, Green Lantern and Black Canary drive to a secluded private school. Dinah has taken a job there as the phys ed teacher, a move she hopes will get her life back on track.

They're greeted by the cook, Grandy, and his granddaughter, Cybil (who we've already seen before...). Soon they're introduced to a man named Jason Belmont, who owns the school. He greets them warmly, but Grandy insults the heroes.

Outside, Ollie and Hal find a strange woman hanging around their car. They approach cautiously, only to find the woman is in a wheel chair, and none other than Carol Ferris! It turns out she was the woman the little girl attacked previously, an attack which has left her paralyzed from the waist down. Jason Belmont is her fiance, and she fears he is in danger.

Ollie, Hal, and Carol decide to drive into town to contact the authorities. Suddenly, the building starts to shake itself to pieces! Hal manages to save them with his ring, but the car is destroyed. With one weird incident too many, the trio decide to head back to the school to get Dinah.

Meanwhile, Dinah lets her class out a few minutes early, as she muses on the fact that the children are creepily orderly and calm all the time. She's confronted by the cook who promises to punish her for violating the rules (letting her class out early). Dinah is confused as to why the school's cook is dressing her down. Worried, she changes into her costume and decides to investigate.

She's again confronted by Grandy and Cybil. Grandy gets a bit grabby, so Dinah put him into the floor. Incensed, he orders Cybil to hurt her too. Dinah is overcome by pain as the rest of the zombie like children carry her off to Grandy's dungeon. Grandy arrives in the dungeon and knocks over a wasp nest, then leaves. Dinah covers her face with her wig and prays for rescue.

GA, GL, and Carol Ferris arrive at the school. They try to sneak around to investigate, but a creak in a floorboard is enough to alert the children to their presence. Hal and Ollie get pelted by school supplies, a problem a man with a Green Lantern ring handles easily enough.

Grandy and Cybil arrive, and Grandy tries to get her to hurt these people too. Cybil resists, saying that she wants to be like the other kids, but a smack from Grandy is enough to set her straight. Ollie and Hal collapse with pain; pain so distracting Hal cannot use his ring. Ollie manages to let loose with a "vortex arrow" which produces a light and sound show powerful enough to overwhelm the senses.

Our heroes manage to find Dinah before too much damage is done, and are in the process of evacuating the school when Grandy pisses Cybil off one too many times. The building starts to fall apart around them, but Ollie and Hal manage to get everyone to safety, everyone except Grandy and Cybil.

Outside, Green Lantern realizes that he's been fooling himself into thinking he was over Carol, and pulls his mask off and reveals himself to be Hal Jordan. Carol admits that she still loves him as well, and they walk off together in the rain. As they do, the "camera" moves to Hal's abandoned mask...with Cybil standing over it!

Thoughts: Well, for a relatively low key issue, a lot happens. Carol Ferris shows up as a paraplegic, Dinah shows off her teaching chops, and our heroes must fight a lonely little girl. Probably the biggest event of the issue is Hal revealing his identity to and expressing his love for Carol Ferris...in front of her fiance...who doesn't object as he carries her off into the sunset. Definitely a strange issue.

Spotlight:: Green Lantern #82

Issue: Green Lantern vol.1 #82

Title: How Do You Fight a Nightmare?

Credits: Denny O'Neil (scripts) Neal Adams (art)

Cover Date: March, 1971

Synopsis: Green Arrow pays a surprise visit to his beau Black Canary, bringing her a dozen roses he just "happened" to have with him. Suddenly, a pair of strange, harpy like creatures attacks!

After a goof with a gas arrow drives them from the room, Ollie and Dinah notice that the harpies have disappeared. Concerned about all the weirdness, Ollie decides to call in Hal Jordan (with a telegram, which I found delightfully quaint).

Hal flies out in response to Ollie's summons, but notices the same harpy creautres from before. He follows them to a disco (more 70's fun!) but they vanish to reveal The Witch Queen! She villain uses her sorcery to trap Hal in another dimension.

Meanwhile, Ollie and Dinah investigate the florist where Ollie purchased the roses from earlier. As Dinah reminisces about the flower shop she owned with her husband (a career she would return to later) a fist punches Ollie through the window.

The culprits turn out to be a trio of massive Amazon warriors. They attempt to take Ollie with them, but Dinah gives them a good old fashioned ass-whupping. The women show their respect for Dinah by explaining what's going on and leaving Ollie alone. The Amazons are from a prehistoric culture that was exiled to another dimension by a scorned man. Ever since, they;ve been distrustful of men. They were contacted by the Witch Queen and told that the men they were after (including Ollie) had been abusing women. Now that they know the truth, they lead the pair back to the area where the Witch Queen contacted them.

Meanwhile, The Witch Queen gets a visit from her brother: Sinestro! It turns out that the staff she used was not magical, but powered by Sinestro's yellow power ring! Before Sinestro can recover his ring from the staff, Ollie fires an arrow through the center, pinning it to the wall. Sinestro challenges Ollie physically, but one punch sends the intergalactic villain to the floor. Dinah takes out the Witch Queen just before she tackles Ollie, much to his chagrin.

It turns out that only one male may be present in the dimension of the Amazons, so Dinah follows the lady warriors back to their home to rescue Hal. They get there just in time, as Hal is about to be executed for the crimes the Witch Queen accused him of. The Amazons vouch for him and Dinah,and the two return to Earth. Ollie finds the incident hard to believe, but Dinah and Hal assure him he's not imagining things!

Thoughts: Kind of a blah issue. Again, not sure what they were trying to say, other than demonstrating once again that Black Canary (and other woman) are fully capable of taking care of themselves. Also, I found it strange that they chose to use Amazons, since the DCU already has Amazons running about...

Spotlight: Green Lantern #81

Issue: Green Lantern vol. 1 #81

Title: Death be my Destiny!

Credits: Neal Adams (pencils) Denny O'Neil (scripts) Dick Giordano (inks)

Cover Date: December, 1970

Synopsis: Continuing from our last issue, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Black Canary accompany their Guardian friend back to Oa for trial. Despite their best efforts, he is soon found guilty of imperiling a world to save one person. He is stripped of his immortality and sentenced to spend the rest of his days on Maltus, the Guardian's planet of origin.

The quartet arrive on the planet expecting to find it sparsely populated but instead find it covered in a seething sea of sentients.

Consulting the planetary archives (and interviewing its keeper) they discover that several decades ago, a strange comet passed over the planet. The dust from the comet seemed harmless at first, until the Maltusians ceased being able to have children. As the population aged, a revolutionary scientist named Mother Juno colleced gene samples from the populace. Using these, she was able to artifically create new people for the planet.

Un fortunately for the Maltusians, she refused to stop, even after the crisis was over and they were able to have children again. The planet has grown more and more crowded, until water became strictly rationed and fresh food was barely a memory.

Determined to help the Maltusians, the four head to Mother Juno's lab. After a long fight against her specially bred guards, she is defeated not by the superheroes, but by her own people, who have followed our heroes to the lab.

Our Guardian friend decides he can do much good for the Maltusians, and refuses GL's offer to go back to Earth with them. He is content to spend the rest of his (now limited) life easing the suffering of his ancestral world.

Thoughts: Well, this was certainly an improvement over the last issue! At least this time, the book had a clear plot and you could tell exactly what the authors were trying to tell you. The overpopulation theme seems a bit more...big picture than what they were going with before. I mean, individual racists are one thing, but an entire planet suffering from too many people is another. My favorite bit was probably Ollie using a Sap Arrow (the kind you knock someone out with not the kind that comes from a tree) to defeat one of Mother Juno's over-sized guards.

Spotlight:: Green Lantern #80

Issue: Green Lantern #80

Title: Even an Immortal Can Die!

Credits: Neal Adams (art) Denny O'Neil (scripts)

Cover Date: October 1970

Synopsis: Our Emerald Trio (Ollie, Hal, and the Guardian) continue their trek across the country, but discuss ending it as they're all ready for some stability. Just then, a truck driver veers into their lane, forcing our heroes' truck off the bridge and into the water below.

Hal uses his ring to bring them up to the surface, and they're rescued by a passing tramp freighter. The captain tells them that he's transporting industrial, waste recently banned by the government, to a facility for disposal.

Later, the ship's boiler overheats, knocking out Green Lantern and forcing the crew to dump the )explosive) waste overboard. Ollie is dismayed at being forced to dump the waste into the river, but agrees that it was their only choice.

Hal is severely injured, and the Guardian's time on Earth has weakened him to the point that he can either douse the fire and clean up the pollution, or he can transport Hal to the hospital. He chooses to save his friend, but this choice is not without consequences.

Shortly after Hal's recovery, the Guardians back on Oa send an image to the trio. They condemn their brother's choice to save one person over the health and welfare of many. He is to stand trial on Gallo, home of the Tribune. The Tribune are a race even older than the Guardians, who sit in judgment of immortals who stray.

The trio arrive on Gallo to a chilly welcome by the Gallan robots, who force them to give up their weapons. Hal hands his over willingly, but when Ollie protests, the robot attacks without warning. Obviously outmatched, Green Arrow quickly surrenders.

The three arrive in the courtroom, but something is amiss. There is a human looking man on the bench, and all the jurors are robots. When Ollie and Hal try to protest, they are quickly fitted with devices that cover their mouths. The judge sentences the Guardian to death with no testimony and no time for deliberation.

Hal and Ollie are dropped into a holding cell with two other beings...who turn out to be the real Triune! The man behind the bench eas the mechanic in charge of maintaining their robots. He went insane at some point, and recently used the robots to usurp their power.

Hal and Ollie escape and manage to retrieve their weapons and use them to defeat the Judge's robot minions. Ollie stops him from escaping just as Hal releases the Guardian from his execution machine. Relieved, the Triunes are anxious to return to their duties, but a comment from Ollie convinces them to consider their mission carefully before continuing. Meanwhile, the Guardian declines to continue his journey with the Emerald Duo, deciding instead to remain behind and face justice for what he has done.

Thoughts: I don't really know what to think about this issue. What was it trying to say? The death penalty is bad? Robots are bad? The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one)? I really have no idea. The art was good, and it was nice to see Ollie use his brain to escape the holding cell, but outside of that, the issue was rather forgettable. I think that's a shame, since this is the first issue in the run that I haven't really enjoyed.

EDIT TO ADD: Something I forgot to mention the first time around, but check out that cover! I didn't enjoy the story, but that is some kick-ass cover art!

Spotlight: Green Lantern #79

Issue: Green Lantern vol.1 #79

Title: Ulysses Star is Alive!

Credits: Denny O'Neil (scripts) Neal Adams (cover, art)

Cover Date: September, 1970

Synopsis: Our story begins with two well dressed gentlemen about to shoot a Native American man in the woods. Green arrow and Green Lantern arrive just in time to stop them, and are justifiably curious as to what is going on. The suits explain that they have a claim to the reservations timber reserves, and this man had been fighting them on it. GA and GL argue over what to do, and both decide the other is wrong.

Green Lantern decides to head to the city, where Abe Star, son of the chief mentioned in the title was last seen. He is said to posses the last copy of the agreement between the natives and the government, granting them sole rights to the timber on their reservation. GL arrives just in time to see the man's apartment building burn to the ground. He is only barely able to save him, and learns that all his documents went up in the fire. Still determined to prove Ollie wrong, to prove that breaking the law is not necessary to get justice, Hal flies to Washington to visit a friend in Congress...

Ollie decides on a different tack. Dressing himself up in a glowing yellow native costume (where do they get these things?!) he pretends to be the ghost of Ulysses Star, the last great chief of the tribe. He manages to get both the tribe and the lumberman to believe that he is a vengeful ghost. The lumberman decide to attack the next morning anyway.

The fight goes down at the border of the contested forest. The natives have Black Canary (still on the reservation, recovering from the events of last issue) on their side, but are outnumbered by the burly lumberjacks. Just then, "Ulysses Star" shows up, tipping the balance back in favor of the natives. Before anything can be resolved, Hal arrives and breaks up the fight. Ollie is incensed that Hal is interfering, and they get in a knock down, drag out fight. Nothing gets resolved, however, as a log slips off its moorings and whacks them both on the head.

The story ends with the native leader heading back to Washington with Hal's friend in Congress. No one is confident that anything will be done soon, but they decide they must try. The two suits from the beginning of the story are dragged off in cuffs, having been implicated in the apartment fire from earlier in the issue. Hal, Ollie and the Guardian discuss the nature of man and his seeming inability to give up violence, and the issue ends,

Thoughts: I really liked how this issue detailed each hero's approach to solving the problem, with Ollie going for theatrics and direct violence, and Hal choosing to find evidence and work within the system. It turned out neither approach really worked without the other, and I think it made our heroes realize that neither of them were wholly in the right. I also liked that Black Canary is still around, giving aid to the needy and fighting for what she believes in. The kid's got spunk.

Now, I know that O'Neil and Adams were going for relevance and cultural sensitivity here, but you can tell from this issue that they were still products of their time. I mean check out that cover! That's not offensive or anything! But hey, at least they were trying...

Spotlight:: Green Lantern #78

Issue: Green Lantern vol. 1 #78

Title: "A Kind of Loving, A Way of Death!"

Credits: Neal Adams (cover, pencils) Denny O'Neil (script)

Cover Date: July 1970

Overview: As Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and their Guardian companion continue their journey, we make a brief segue to that Blonde Bombshell, Black Canary. We meet up with Canary as she confronts a small gang of bikers on an isolated dirt road. The bikers decide that they really like Canary's chopper, and that they should go ahead and take it from her. This turns out to be a giant error, as the issue points out, Black Canary is one of the world's greatest martial artists. She quickly drops the entire gang, but one of the bikers recovers enough to run her down.

The scene then switches back to Hal and Ollie, as they come upon an Indian Reservation. Starved, they grab some beans from the town's only restaurant, just in time to stop the very same bikers from taking what they want and killing the proprietor. Ollie uses a net arrow to capture one of the toughs who tried to escape on his bike, but notices something odd about his ride. It is the very same motorcycle that Superman made for Black Canary! (The editorial note tells us this happened in JLA #75) After interrogating (read: beating the crap out of) the dastardly biker, they get the story out of him. Just as they're leaving, the owner of the restaurant they ate at makes a snarky comment about the white man's abuse of his people. Unaware of this aspect of humanity (which both Ollie and Hal are ashamed of) the Guardian decides to stay behind while Ollie and Hal go looking for Black Canary.

They manage to track her down near the road the bikers left her on, but all is not right. She seems enthralled by a strange man name Joshua. After failing to convince her to come with them, Hal and Ollie back off to try and decide what to do. Hal and Ollie have a brief falling out (and fistfight) when Hal suggests that Dinah might just not like him anymore. Furious with Hal, and himself for losing control, Ollie runs off, only to find Joshua and his followers at the firing range. As his followers (all women, natch) practice their shooting, Joshua rants and raves about how white people cannot coexist with people of other races. Being a horrible racist is bad enough, but he then instructs the women under his thrall to attack and wipe out the nearby Native American village.

GA sets off a flare arrow to summon help, but is struck down by a bullet grazing the back of his head. Hal arrives in time to disarm and capture most of the women, but Joshua and Dinah manage to escape. They find a wounded Ollie on their way back, and Joshua orders Dinah to finish him off. She tries, but a flood of memories wash over her: her husband Larry, who was killed by Aquarius, her time with the League, and finally, her love for Oliver Queen. Now free of Joshua's influence, she drops the gun, while Hal drops Joshua.

Ollie recovers, and comments that even though Joshua used his powers to enthrall Canary and the other women, that he must have found something within them to work with. The potential for bigotry is within all of us, and it is up to us to resist it. Dinah helps Ollie back to the truck, while Hal reminds the reader that Joshua was not the first of his kind, nor will he be the last.


Thoughts: Alright, so this issue was a bit heavy handed. You can tell that Adams and O'Neil were really trying on this one. Their message is a good one of course, but it got in the way of the story in several places. Green Lantern fans will definitely rejoice in this issue, as this is the first of the O'Neil/Adams run where Hal does NOT blindly trust authority to the point of absurdity. It was great to see Black Canary, and the splash page of her memories was the high point of the issue for me (see below, almost reminds you of Ditko, eh?). I like that we're reminded yet again that Black Canary (and by extension, women in general) are not helpless damsels in need of rescuing. BA drops those bikers like a bad habit. It was only when one of them ran her over that she got into any trouble.




Also: Get a load of that cover! Nothing says 1970 like Hal Jordan back-handing a hippie!

Next week: Another Adventure Comics story (I don't own Green Lantern #79...yet, its on the way)

Spotlight:: Green Lantern #77

Issue: Green Lantern #77

Title: Journey to Desolation

Credits: Neal Adams (cover, pencils) Denny O'Neil (script)

Cover Date: June 1970


Synopsis: As Hal Jordan, Oliver Queen and their Guardian of the Universe companion (does this guy ever get a name?) continue their journey to find America, they stumble across a mining town named Desolation, and straight into an ambush. Ollie and Hal bail out of the truck and engage their attackers in battle. Ollie makes short work of his opponents with his mad archery skills, but Hal's ring mysteriously fails him at a critical moment in the battle.

After questioning their attackers, GL and GA realize that the attack is a case of mistaken identity. The leader of the group, Jacob, explains that the group is made up of disaffected miners from the nearby town of Desolation. Desolation is ruled by a ruthless mine boss name "Slapper Soames" (you'd think he would have used some of his power to pick a better nickname...) who keeps the townsfolk in conditions little better than slavery. The miners have finally risen in revolt in response to Slapper's latest affront: trumping up charges against local troubadour Johnny Walden. Johnny will hang at down if nothing is done.

After a brief argument (where Hal again shows a naive trust in anything resembling authority, legitimate or not) Ollie and Hal agree to help the miners attack Slapper Soames and save Johnny Walden.

Unfortunately for them, Slapper has built himself something resembling a modern bunker, complete with artillery and hired thugs in the form of Nazi war criminals (must be a profitable mine...). Regardless, the battle is joined. Initially, the miners do well. After all, they have 2 highly skilled superheroes on their side. Things start to go south when Hal gets a message from the Guardians that his ring has been partially depowered (since he's not working his regular beat) just in time to get in the middle of a firefight and wander into a cloud of knockout gas (thanks, Guardians!)

Meanwhile, Ollie gets pistol whipped and brought into Soames' headquarters. Luckily for Ollie, he was only playing possum. He manages to defeat most of the mine boss's thugs before being betrayed by Jacob. Jacob, it turns out, is working for Soames. He's leading the miners in revolt only so Soames has an excuse to kill off the feistier ones, leaving the rest more docile than ever. Just as Ollie is about to be shot, Hal intervenes and melts Jacobs gun.

The bad guys defeated, Ollie laments that even with their victory, the miners don't really have much to look forward to... the end.

Thoughts: Alright, one thing right off the bat. As soon as Hal complained about his "power beam" not "going far enough," I made all kinds of jokes in my head involving erectile dysfunction drugs (if your power beam remains erect for more than 4 hours, contact your local Guardian immediately...). Aside from that, I thought the issue was great. I think part of it was that the situation they faced was actually a serious problem. Company towns like Desolation existed all over the Old West, even into the 20th century. Of course, I doubt situations quite like that existed in 1970. Still, the issue was well done, and managed to avoid sounding quite as preachy as the last issue.

Green Lantern's crisis of conscience continues, and continues to remain believable. His naive trust in anything resembling authority is a bit of a stretch, however. Green Arrow gets to demonstrate his usefulness in a fight in this ish (and his vulnerability to pistols in the back of the head) so as a fan of the Emerald Archer, I found that pretty satisfying. Neal Adams continues to please with his art, especially that incredibly melodramatic cover!

Thoughts anyone?

Green Lantern #76

Overview/Review: Green Lantern #76, co-starring Green Arrow
Writer: Denny O'Neil
Artist: Neal Adams

Overview: Well, I think everyone knows the history behind this particular issue, but just in case, here goes: This is the first issue of what would turn out to be a landmark run of Green Lantern. The first of DC's attempt at producing relevant comics, these issue (running from Green Lantern 76-89) began in April of 1970. The series put together two Emerald themed DC characters, Green Lantern and Green Arrow, who engaged on a cross country journey to find America and help out the little guy. The run featured frankly astonishing art by Neal Adams and themes of corporate corruption, social injustice, and even drug abuse penned by Denny O'Neil.

The plot revolves around Hal Jordan flying over Star City, preparing to visit his JLA teammate Green Arrow, who he has not heard from in quite some time. Spying what appears to be a ruffian attacking a respectable looking businessman. Green Lantern swoops down and gives the tough a ride to police headquarters, then returns to check on the suit, who thanks him profusely. Just then, the Emerald Crusader is hit in the head by a soup can, followed by a further rain of garbage and refuse from the street and even the windows above. Not understanding what's going on, GL threatens to beat the crap out of the nearest assailant, which prompts a response from the heretofore unseen Green Arrow.

Ollie explains that the "businessman" is really the local slum lord, who plans to demolish his crappy building, evict the tenants (who have nowhere else to go) and build a parking lot. After hearing this, GL heads over to the fatcat's penthouse and spends a fruitless hour trying to talk him out of his plans. After he's rudely dismissed and manhandled by the man's hired thugs, Hal losses his temper and nearly strikes the man he rescued shortly before. This act incurs the wrath of the Guardians, who reprimand Jordan for hassling a man who has committed no crime. They order him out for some busy work, diverting an asteroid strike on one of Saturn's moons. Incensed by the lack of concern the Guardians are showing, Hal returns to Earth and enlists Green Arrow's help in bringing the slum lord down.

Previously, the villain of our piece had out a hit out on Green Arrow. Knowing he was walking into a trap, Green Arrow had planted a recording device, hoping to get the thugs to implicate their paymaster. They did, but a stray bullet fired during the struggle demolished the recorder. Lacking any hard evidence, it looks like the bad guys will walk away clean. Just then, Hal returns and comes up with an idea. He and Ollie intercept the thugs on their way back to the penthouse. Then Hal, disguised as one of the hitmen, manages to get a confession from his boss...right in front of Star City's district attorney, who Hal had disguised as the other thug.

Of course, Hal's scheme pisses off the Guardian's again, since they explicitly ordered him to stay out of it, but a passionate speech by Green Arrow gives the Guardians pause. Ollie points out that they have no right to interfere in strictly human matters, especially none of them have ever even been to Earth. The Guardians decide that Ollie has a point, and send one of their number to Earth to see what's what. Of course, he'll need people to show him around, and who better to do that than our heroes, Green Lantern and Green Arrow.

Thoughts: Whew, that summary is almost as long as the issue itself! In case you missed it, A LOT happened in this issue. We're introduced to the idea of Green Arrow as a social crusader. We also have Hal Jordan's crisis of conscience. Hal is used to black and white, good guy/bad guy worldview, and the realization that the world really doesn't work that way throws him for a loop.

Overall, I really enjoyed the issue. It did bring up several good points about how superheroes tend to focus on giant monsters and saving alien worlds, but tend to ignore the social injustice in their own backyard. The issue managed to avoid being TOO heavy handed, although you could tell there were parts where they tried just a bit too hard.

As far as the characters themselves, I felt that the creative team did a really good job with both of them. Hal Jordan, the former military, super-powered lawman makes a great contrast to the social crusading, non-super-powered Oliver Queen (leaving aside the fact that Queen was a billionaire himself). I anxious to see how those two will play off each other in future issues, especially the ones where Ollie's failings are thrown in his face (thanks Speedy!).

What do you guys think? Comment away!