The upcoming show, HBO Lanterns, has been dividing online social media fans for months now. The multiple trailers and online clips have been polarizing. Some fans can’t wait for the show. Others believe the show is creatively dead on arrival because the showrunners divert so much from the source material.
The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic force of space cops. Each Lantern has a power ring that can make energy constructs from their imagination, courage, and willpower. Green Lantern comics are known to be cosmic space operas and adventures.
HBO Lanterns is a budget-conscious TV show that will feature the two most popular Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, investigating a mystery in Nebraska. Most of the show will occur on Earth, which does not sit well with most fans.
Here are nine of the greatest Green Lantern comics to read to get ready for HBO Lanterns. These stories will give you a primer of what to expect on the show.
1. Emerald Twilight (1994)
This story will give you a great idea of why critics of HBO Lanterns love Hal Jordan so much. It is a very tragic story that bestows a lot of pathos on an older Hal Jordan. The supervillain Mongul and an evil Superman variant destroy Coast City, Hal’s hometown. Over seven million people have been killed.
Overcome with grief, Hal tries to recreate Coast City and even the dead as energy constructs.
The Guardians of Oa, who oversee the Green Lantern Corps, forbid Jordan to do this. Hal goes insane with grief, killing several of his Green Lantern colleagues to steal their power rings. He then goes to the Central Battery on Oa and tries to drain the battery. The Guardians create a new ring for the newest Lantern, Kyle Rayner, to stop Jordan.
The Emerald Twilight paperback is hard to find on Amazon. Issue #49 is the infamous issue where Hal slaughters members of the Green Lantern Corps to steal their power. A near-perfect copy of this issue is worth almost $130.
2. Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004)
The 1994 DC editorial team, who made Hal Jordan a murdering villain, became villains to fans of the era. Some unhinged fans even sent the editorial team death threats because Hal Jordan became a villain. Like Kyle Chandler as an older Jordan, who may be set up to die in HBO Lanterns, fans hate not seeing Jordan as the main hero.
After a decade of Kyle Rayner as the main Lantern, writer Geoff Johns brought back Hal Jordan. It was explained that Jordan was under the possession of a space parasite, Parallax, and was never evil. Johns also brought in a new emotional spectrum of new Lantern Corps characters to add to the mythos.
The 1,500-page compendium collects Green Lantern comics from this historic era. Buy it now at Amazon for only $51.
3. Sinestro Corps War (2007)
Sinestro will make a supporting appearance in HBO Lanterns. The character is a fan-favorite in the comics. Sinestro, a former Green Lantern, creates his own power rings with the power of inducing fear in others. Then, Sinestro creates his own corps to go to war with the Green Lanterns, who must now muster even more willpower and courage to stop them.
4. Blackest Night (2009)
Death itself becomes the archenemy of the Green Lantern Corps. Nekron, a powerful embodiment of death, uses his powers to reanimate numerous dead Green Lantern members, superheroes, and villains as Black Lanterns. The Black Lanterns are zombies; they gain their powers from death, and want to rid the universe of all life and emotion.
This legendary story is both a body horror and a cosmic epic beloved by fans. When fallen heroes rise as Black Lanterns, powered by the emotion of death. This crossover event would help readers understand how the Lantern mythos connects to the greater DC mythos — and how emotion literally fuels existence.
5. Brightest Day (2010)
Following Blackest Night, the Brightest Day storyline examines themes of rebirth and redemption in the Green Lantern mythos. Now, there are multiple emotional Green Lantern spectrums, or factions, like the Yellow, Red, Indigo, Orange, Blue, and Violet. The leaders of each spectrum unite their abilities in the aftermath of Blackest Night to learn how and why the event took place.
Hal Jordan, Sinestro, Star Sapphire, Atrocitus, Larfleeze, and others join forces to make sure the Black Lanterns never rise again.
6. Green Lantern: Secret Origin (2008)
HBO Lanterns will feature the origin of Hal Jordan and his journey to becoming Green Lantern in his youth. This comic features the Modern Age retelling of Hal Jordan’s origin. Green Lantern Abin Sur crashed on Earth, dying. As he dies, his ring autonomously seeks out a worthy successor and finds military test pilot Hal Jordan.
After accepting the ring, Sinestro, a close friend of Abin Sur, becomes Jordan’s mentor and teacher. This modern origin redefines Jordan’s relationship with Sinestro, the Guardians, and grounds the Green Lantern mythos in human emotion and moral ambiguity. This comic is the definitive starting point for anyone new to Green Lantern comics. It is also a great tonal reference for the upcoming HBOLanterns.
7. Green Lantern: Mosaic (1992)
John Stewart was aesthetically modeled after actor Sidney Poitier in his debut, Green Lantern #87 from 1971. Stewart was originally an architect, but his origin was later changed to make him a former Marine. Aaron Pierre’s portrayal of Stewart in HBO Lanterns will feature his background as a former Marine training to become a Green Lantern.
John Stewart’s 1992 solo series is one of DC’s most underrated gems. An insane alien collects various cities and creates a melting pot of various alien cities on an alien planet. Stewart is given the task of maintaining the peace among the diverse alien cultures on a patchwork planet. Stewart becomes a philosopher, a leader, and a moral anchor as much as an authority figure on the planet.
Mosaic explores race, identity, and existential purpose — themes that deeply influence HBO Lanterns, since Stewart is a lead character.
8. Green Lantern Corps: Recharge (2005)
After years of chaos, the Corps is being reborn. Several Green Lanterns have died in the line of duty. The Guardians of Oa also sense that a new cosmic war is brewing. So, they start a new recruitment drive to draft a new era of Green Lantern Corps members. Veteran members like Kilowag, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, and John Stewart are present.
However, the newest young recruits have some resentment towards being drafted into the corps. This story focuses on the Guardians rebuilding the Lantern organization and reestablishing its intergalactic brotherhood. It’s a fascinating look at institutional recovery and the politics of cosmic law enforcement.
9. War of the Green Lanterns (2011)
An alien force, Parallax, has taken control of the Central Battery of power. It has also put the minds of the Guardians of Oa and most of the Green Lantern Corps under mind control. Only a select few Lanterns, including Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Sinestro, and others, now have to fight their colleagues to stop Parallax and restore order.
HBO Lanterns
HBO Lanterns will premiere on August 16 on HBO. Fans are eagerly awaiting the show to confirm their best or worst expectations. If you are a casual or new to the IP, be sure to read the comics on this list before watching the show. The characters in these comics are the purest and best versions of them, not the adaptations you will see on this show.
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