MAD Magazine has been a staple for satire and parody for over half a century. Recently, the usual gang of idiots started up their own blog. It has a lot of what you’d expect, past highlights, current stuff, and  random idiocy. One thing I expected was previews of the current issue, and they didn’t disappoint. What did surprise me (in a good way), is the way they’re going about it.

This month’s issue, #510 features one of MAD’s famous movie parodies, featuring who else, Green Lantern. I think this is interesting in a couple of ways, first it’s nice to know that Warner as a company doesn’t have a problem with making fun of itself, seeing as they own MAD, DC, and of course Warner Pictures, so it’s a trifecta of incestuous humor. The peerless artwork of Tom Richmond also sets this apart. Have a sneak peek at The Green Lunkhead!

While this is really cool (the background Lunkheads being the most inspired), the MAD blog also offers a rare look at the original pencils for this double page spread. While it’s pretty similiar, there is a pretty significant difference in “Hack Boredom’s” ring construct…

Oh MAD, how I wish you were ballsy enough to use the one-fingered salute in the final artwork. MAD #510 is due on shelves June 29th, reserve yours today!

This year has been dubbed the “Year of the Geek” with regards to the blockbuster movie season. With Thor, Super 8, and X-Men: First Class under our belts already and Captain America: The First Avenger and Cowboys and Aliens just around the corner there is no lack of choices for whatever your geeky tastes are. Entering the geeky fray this weekend is Warner Bros. and DC’s Green Lantern – a rare foray for WB and DC into their relatively untouched roster of superheroes aside from Batman and Superman. So how does Green Lantern stack up? Unfortunately not that well . . .

Perhaps where this film suffers the most is a rushed, and undeveloped story and a gross under-use of some potentially interesting characters. The film really jumps right in to bestowing the power ring to Hal Jordan who is shortly after inheriting a power ring from the dying alien, Abin Sur, is whisked away to the Green Lantern base-planet of Oa. Here we are introduced to three Green Lanterns we will see shockingly little of after they attempt to train Hal Jordan in the ways of being a member of the Green Lantern Corps. After becoming frustrated and beaten down by his would-be trainers Kilowog and Thaal Sinestro, Hal simply gives up and returns home. Yes, after less than one day spent traveling to Oa, learning about the Green Lanterns, and getting frustrated because he can’t immediately wield his ring as well as some the the Corps’ best members, Hal Jordan returns to Earth and gives up. Running parallel to Hal’s story, we have Hector Hammond, a scientist and son of a U.S. Senator, become exposed to some remnants of the yellow, physical manifistation of the power of Fear, Parallax, when he is summoned to study the body of the deceased Abin Sur. This of course putshim on track to becoming the film’s main – but relatively weak – antagonist. The film whisks along at a steady pace as it desperately attempts to set up some romance between Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris and present scenarios on Earth that forces Jordan to don his ring and become a hero – including a crashing helicopter and an increasingly crazy Hector Hammond drunk from the power and influence of Parallax. It’s not long before our hero prevails in a relatively anti-clamactic showdown with Parallax and he is accepted by the Green Lanterns as a formidable member.

Nearly all of the main characters aside from perhaps Hal Jordan himself suffer from a lack of character development. Ryan Reynolds does a decent enough job as Hal Jordan, and we do see his character grow a bit over the course of the movie from being a brash and arrogant pilot, to being quite humbled, to finding strength and confidence in himself once again by the end of the film. Blake Lively as Carol Ferris wasn’t terrible casting, but does little more than serve as a love interest for Hal – though, she does have one of the funniest lines in the movie in a scene that I don’t want to completely ruin, but it involves the iconic (and not really effective in “real life”) way in which classic superheroes have hidden their identity over the years. Peter Sarsgaard doesn’t get much to do in the film as Hector Hammond aside from being crazy on screen and screaming a lot. Frankly, I thought Hammond was an incredibly one-dimensional villain that the writers tried to provide some humanity for with an unconvincing troubled relationship with his father and being “in love” with Carol Ferris – things that supposedly helped attribute to his going insane and evil, but fell flat. As a villain, Hammond never seemed that menacing or much of a threat.

Perhaps the most grossly underused character of the film is Mark Strong’s Sinestro. I really enjoyed Strong’s portrayal of the character but he was given shockingly little to do in the film. Most of his screen time is spend standing in front of the Green Lanterns giving a speech, or standing in fron of the Guardians giving a speech. There are a few scenes in which he’s given more to do, but they are rather brief. The scene in which he attempts to help train Hal is pretty strong as he not only physically pummels this new human Green Lantern, but also completely demoralizes him while doing so. There was obviously a lot of contempt for Hal since he is now the bearer of Sinestro’s mentor’s ring and it would have been nice to see more development in the relationship between Hal and Sinestro – especially for anyone who is familiar with the comics and knows where the Sinestro/Hal thing is heading. In this film, the two interact very little and it seems the progression of Sinestro’s disdain for Hal to his respecting of Hal happens too suddenly and with little impact since their relationship wasn’t really expanded upon.

There was also little use of some other familiar Green Lanterns that could have played a more expanded role in the film, such as Tomar-re and Kilowog – perhaps two of the more recognizable Green Lanterns from the source material, especially Kilowog. It seems as though they made their brief appearances, and then were essentially forgotten about until the end of the film.

As far as the special effects go, this was one of the aspects of the film I thoroughly enjoyed. I was quite concerned about the full-CG Green Lantern suits, but I thought the fit the characters well. Each Green Lantern donned a suit that was clearly a Green Lantern uniform, but varied a little depending on the wearer’s physical appearance – for example Tomar-re is a “fish-like” alien, there for you can see some scale details worked into his suit. The power ring manifestations were also well done.I was concerned how well they would translate on screen with the possibility of looking too cartoony, but the folks working on the visual effects for this film seemed to have taken a lot of time on the look and feel of all the CG in this film and it definitely paid off. This is a film that I’m sure most expect to be heavy on the computer generated special effects, frankly, it almost had to be, and it seems the studio allowed to ample budget to make sure the effects didn’t look cheap or too cheesy.

As for the climax of the movie and the battle between Hal Jordan and Parallax, I felt there could have been more. What was included wasn’t bad by any means, and it was quite exciting, but it seemed all too brief and Parallax for supposedly being such a large threat to the Green Lanterns as whole was fairly easily disposed of by such a new, human member of the Corps. It was fun though to see Hal Jordan truly become a Green Lantern and have confidence in the power he weilds and take it to a giant yellowy-brown glob of pure fear.

Some of this may sound a bit nit picky, but I hope none of it comes off as fan-boy anger. In the interest of full-disclosure my superhero “expertise” (if you could even call it that) tends to lean towards the world of Marvel superheroes. I’m not super familiar with Hal Jordan and the Green Lanterns aside from knowing the basics from Justice League cartoons and some collected storied in trade-paperback form, so I felt like I was able to go into this film with little expectations and an unbiased view on the character. The fact is, I didn’t hatethis film at all, but I also didn’t think it was that great. Most of my frustrations come from seeing some really good potential in this film and Warner Bros.’ inability to expand and capitalize on that. There were numerous opportunities for the script to expand on some character development and relationships, weave plot lines together better, and really produce some incredible action and visuals with all of the freedom that the Green Lantern power ring allows for. Ultimately though, the entire film felt quite rushed and at times just downright didn’t make sense on a few occasions.

I can’t recommend just skipping Green Lantern all together, but I wouldn’t recommend rushing out opening weekend either. It’s great to see DC and Warner Bros. exploring other heroes from the DC roster and I hope they continue to do so instead of just dipping into the Batman and Superman well over and over again. There just seems to be some of that “magic” lacking that Marvel has seemed to be able to tap into with the likes of the Iron Man films and the universe they’ve created that’s leading up to The Avengers. I honestly hope WB and DC can find their own stride with their films so we can see other superhero greats get the big screen treatment, but if Green Lantern is any indication of how they plan on handling these films, there is definitely room for improvement.

Of all the Green Lantern origins I planned to do for GL month, this is the one I’ve looked forward to the most. When this character debuted, he was the center of one of the first big internet fan outbursts. While I would have to agree that the circumstances behind this characters debut could have been handled better, ultimately it was worth it. I had been out of comics for a while, and hearing about this guy got me excited. I mean, a brand new yet familiar character that I could get in on the ground floor with? That’s a no brainer. While his early adventures are a bit clunky, he remains one of my favorite characters. Don’t think that my affection for the guy means I’m going to pull any punches with the comedy though. Without further ado, let’s delve into the Secret Origin of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner!

Kyle’s debut starts with a “SKRASSH” as he’s thrown through a shop window on Rodeo Drive! Yup, we’re joining the nascent Lantern on his first mission, and if his internal monologue is any indication, he has no clue what he’s doing. We find Kyle battling an armored foe called “Ohm”, you know like the electrical unit? Three guesses as to what his power is. GL hasn’t really got a handle on what exactly a Lantern ring can do, but as we’ll see, it’s not like he was given an instruction manual. Still, being rather brave (possibly stupid), Kyle leaps at his foe, and he’s met with a fisttodaface!

Yes folks, he got hit so hard that he flashbacked!

And so, we’re taken back to the previous night where a Nine Inch Nails be-shirted Kyle (he’s so edgy and 90’s!) knocks on the door of his ex-girlfriend Alex. He begs her to let him in, espousing about his boundless charm. She, not being stupid, isn’t buying it. She reminds him (and tells us) that Kyle is a bit of a slacker with no sense of responsibility. For whatever reason (plot), she lets him in, and as she shuts the door, Kyle puts the ring on and tries to surprise Alex…

"I've told you Kyle, I'm just not into the cosplay thing!"

Alex is pretty unimpressed, telling Kyle that this is the dumbest stunt he’s ever pulled.  Kyle pleads his case, explaining that yeah, it’s ludicrous and nigh-impossible for him to just end up with  a genuine GL ring, but that is indeed the case. To convince her, he recounts his origin, which takes all of one panel, so uncomplicated it is. Being believable is another story, however.

“No Alex, I only has a couple of drinks. Why do you ask?”

So after that quick recap, Kyle goes on to say he doesn’t know what the heck is happening, but he had to tell somebody. Alex pretty much tells Kyle that he’s a dumbass for not making the connection to Green Lantern. Kyle is still playing the idiot, so Alex explains that it’s the same costume and everything, while also establishing her profession as a photojournalist. It seems she got some pictures of Hal Jordan right before he went nuts and killed a bunch of his fellow Lanterns, but it really turned out he was just possessed, and the Lanterns weren’t quite dead, and, that’s really another story. So let’s just put it out of our minds, shall we?

Anyway, Kyle finally puts two and two together. He wonders if he can fly like Hal did, and lo and behold, just by thinking about it he starts to levitate above the couch. He takes off the ring, seeing as he really doesn’t know how to use it. Alex asks what’s he going to do with it. Kyle thinks the answer is obvious: he’s going to be a hero! Alex scoffs at that, because Kyle can’t even get steady work in his day job of Freelance Artist. If nothing else, Kyle is supremely confident. He lays out his master plan to Alex. They’ll move to New York, Kyle will do the hero thing, and she’ll take pictures. It can’t miss! Alex is really uncertain, but eventually she comes to a decision…

Cute as a puppy, that Kyle. Drools about as much, too!

Cut to the next morning, Alex whisks Kyle off the couch (good for her) and tells him to hurry up and get dressed. Apparently, some whackjob is tearing up Rodeo in an armored suit. Managing to avoid police cordons, Alex sets out to take pictures of the fracas. Kyle suggests that he should ring up some heroics, but she tells him to stay put. Well, she actually tells him not to do anything stupid like he usually does. Kyle assures her he’s all about responsibility now. That lasts for say, three seconds or so…

Admit it, if you had the ring, would you just sit back and relax?

Admittedly, when Kyle jumps into battle, he looks sufficiently impressive, but seeing that all he knows how to do is fly, it really quickly becomes apparent that he’s fighting a losing battle. In fact, when he confronts Ohm, Kyle tries to intimidate him instead of making a giant green boxing glove or something. Ohm instantly sees through the false bravado and start beating the bejeezus out of our hero’s emerald derriere. We’ve finally come full circle, and Kyle to his credit, keeps coming back up to the plate, but Ohm easily counters Kyle’s clumsy attempts at fisticuffs. Alex decides that her would-be boyfriend needs some coaching, so she tells him to you know, defend himself instead of getting trounced repeatedly. Kyle does what he can, managing to make his first ring construct, but Ohm is still pretty unimpressed.

"Just ask Vic Mackey!"

Ohm’s electrical assault continues and Kyle manages to eat a few thousand volts. At this point, Kyle has about had it, and gets a bit cocky. Normally, you’d think this would spell doom for the rookie hero, but it works for him, thankfully.

"I mean come on, 15 minutes is probably all I'm going to get anyway!"

This really turns the tide of battle. Having knocked Ohm down, Kyle uses the ring to laser cut the suit open with little effort. While fearlessness and honesty are the main requirements for a Green Lantern, Kyle proves that a quick, creative mind and supreme confidence have their uses as well. When Ohm is out of the suit, he’s laid out with one punch from Kyle’s mighty energy-infused fist. The battle over, Alex is snapping pictures and asks if Kyle is all right. Kyle, still coming off the high of the battle, feels pretty great actually. Before they can say too much more, a crowd gathers to thank their hero. It’s pretty clear that he’s being mistaken for Hal. Kyle lays it on a bit thick for the masses…

"Now if you'll excuse me, there's a kitten in a tree I have to save!"

Alex pulls Kyle away before his head gets any bigger, and later that night, they discuss the day’s events. After a while, the conversation comes to Kyle’s look. Kyle contends he likes the costume, but Alex explains that if they want to do this right, Kyle needs his own identity as a Green Lantern. They don’t want him to continually be confused with Hal, because honestly, who wants that? Kyle thinks about it for a while, using his skills as a graphic designer to come up with something that is quintessentially 90’s, but is still somehow endearing, crab mask and all.

"Like, Hal's never going to come back and you won't be overshadowed due to a sense of nostalgia, I mean, for isntance."

And so, a hero is born! True, it’s not the best start a hero ever had, but considering that the Guardian gave him the ring pretty much threw him into the deep end of the pool, he did pretty well. As his career would go on, he’d unfortunately lose Alex, but that’s a can of worms I wont be opening here. Kyle went on to have a great run as the only Green Lantern, eventually resurrecting the entire Green Lantern Corps and paving the way for Hal Jordan’s return. He gets poo-pooed on more than he should, but in my opinion, he eventually became a better Lantern than Hal. While he hasn’t been as much of a headliner since Hal’s return to prominence, the fact that he’ll be leading his own team in the DC relaunch gives me hope for Kyle’s future.

This story was originally published in Green Lantern Vol. 3 #51. It was reprinted in the Green Lantern: New Dawn trade paperback and is also available digitally.

Ah, but that’s not all! Lantern month isn’t over! I wanted to make sure all of Earth’s GLs were covered, but we still have two more columns to go, and over 100 prominent Lanterns and their respective villains that I could cover! That’s where you come in! Do you have a favorite GL that you’d like to see featured on Secret Origins? Let us know in the comments!

You may remember our X-Men t-shirt contest.  Well, the folks at JunkFoodClothing.com have offered us ANOTHER of their awesome vintage t-shirts (which you can also own for just $32)

There’s probably going to be a run on everything Green Lantern as soon as the movie hits, so order yours quickly- get it online from JunkFood instead of braving the mall, etc.

So, with the X-Men shirt I asked for people to tell me which was the best lineup of the team. With this, similar question, but with Green Lantern.

I’ll be the first to admit that I know very little of the Green Lantern DC continuity. I know the basics, and I’ve always liked the characters, but couldn’t keep up with everything. Even with Hal Jordan, there have been different takes on him, such as in the re-imagining in Justice League: The New Frontier.

Actually, the GL’s I know the best are John Stewart from The Daily Show the Justice League animated show and Justice League: Unlimited. Speaking of animated series, the Guy Gardner incarnation in Batman: The Brave and the Bold has also been truly excellent.

So here is my question: who is the greatest Green Lantern of all? Of all of those who have ever worn the green power ring and spoken the oath and held the title of a Green Lantern, who is the best?

Leave your answer in the comments section and we’ll give the shirt to the answer we like most. Make sure when you leave a comment you are signed in with an email address we can reach you at to inform you if you’ve won.

In brightest day, in blackest night, no t-shirt shall escape our sight!

Green Lantern month continues this week! Last week covered Guy Gardner (and Hal Jordan, kinda). This week, we see Guy again, for a couple of seconds before we’re introduced to the newest recruit in the Corps. Like Guy, he was largely ignored for a while after being introduced. Also like Guy, he became a full-fledged Lantern in the 80’s. His career and history have had more ups and downs, retcons and rewrites than most. He’s endured it all to become one of the most recognized Lanterns in the public eye. Now, I give you… The Secret Origin of Green Lantern John Stewart!

Our story opens with Green Lantern Hal Jordan charging his ring, when all of a sudden an earthquake hits! One thing you have to love about older comics is that they get right down to business! GL gets right to saving people, just like he should. It seems the quake wasn’t too bad. That’s what the narration says anyway. It was still bad enough to totally destroy one of the city’s bridges! Living up to comic book cliché, there is of course a bus full of schoolchildren on the bridge when it’s on the verge of collapse. That bus has a bona fide hero on board, and he manages to get everyone away to safety, except for one little girl. Who is this hero? Well, it’s mild-mannered gym teacher Guy Gardner, of course!

"Got to try my 'Guy the Magic Clown' routine to lift her spirits!"

Actually what Guy does is incredibly brave and completely fearless, just like a Green Lantern should be. He’s calmly trying to help his young charge return to safety, but as fate would have it, the girders holding the bus collapse and the bus full on smacks Guy with all of the force gravity can muster. Hal is on the scene and “saves” them both, but to be honest, he was there before the bus collapsed. I think he’s being negligent in his GL duties. Even though Guy has been saved, he’s pretty banged up…

The least Hal can do is take Guy to the hospital. The docs tell Hal that Guy is lucky to be alive, but even so he’s gonna be bedridden for at least six months! Now, six months in comic time can be an issue or two, or considerably longer. In this case, it is a lot longer. Nine years, to be exact. Hal is actually a bit of a jackass in this scene (no surprise), as he monologues about how he was counting on Guy to take over for him soon. He even goes as far to say that he’s deliberately been neglecting his duties. What a guy! Seriously, if he hadn’t been neglecting his responsibility, Guy wouldn’t have been injured. Jerkwads stick together it seems, because just then a Guardian of the Universe contacts Hal and tells him that another alternate needs to be picked ASAP. Hal of course agrees. The Guardian already has someone picked out, and we’re introduced to him in an oh-so-70’s way…

Tough talk from a guy in an ascot, I must say.

Actually, our potential Lantern was actually taking the initiative to stop a rather racist policeman hauling some neighborhood kids in for playing dominoes. Now knowing how these things go, you might think this pig would physically assault John with some flimsy excuse, but the pig’s partner is actually a well-adjusted type of guy and tells his compatriot that he indeed was in the wrong. Looking in from above, Hal is appalled by the behavior of John, and the Guardian tells his to shut up, because despite Hal’s bigotry, our Mr. Stewart meets all of the qualifications to be a Lantern. Hal asserts that it’s not because of that, but because of the apparent chip John has on his shoulder. Nevertheless, Hal heeds the Guardian and pitches to John, and he accepts, in the silliest way possible.

Little known fact: A milk mustache indicates sincerity.

Hal then proceeds to give John a crash course in Lantern-ology 101. He is introduced to the Oath, and gets his own costume. He immediately eschews the mask, saying he has nothing to hide. As is the case with most Earth-based Green Lanterns, John is pretty adept at flying from the get go. He and Hal are hot-dogging the skyways, when they happen upon the airport. It looks like a bigwig celebrity is landing, so the two Lanterns decide to check it out. It’s a good thing too, because there is a runaway fuel truck going straight for the plane! John shows the initiative and tells Hal to make sure the passengers are safe while he stops the truck. They both succeed, but John wasn’t perfectly gentle with the tanker, and a jet of oil gushes forth and hit the “celebrity” square in the face. Said celebrity is Senator Jeremiah Clutcher, and when John approaches him, well, it’s not to apologize exactly…

John really IS fearless. Talk about ballsy!

Hal is pissed at John for his display, saying the younger Lantern is stupid and irresponsible. He goes on to imply that John didn’t exactly splash the senator by accident. John, full of righteous anger says that he did indeed do it on purpose. He explains that Senator Clutcher is a racist and that his bid for the White House is going to be on the backs of his people. Hal here is actually kind of awesome. He tells John that whether that’s true or not, it isn’t their place to be the Judge. As penance, Hal assigns John to be Clutcher’s bodyguard at the rally. He also tells John not to call him “Whitey” which is perfectly reasonable. The Green Lanterns get to the rally, and John is pretty well justified.

He neglected to tell the audience that the scientific journal he's quoting from is from 1845.

John is all like “See!?” to Hal. Hal tells him to button it, as free speech is unfortunately a two-way street. Just then, shots are fired at the Senator! Hal leaps into action and beckons John to follow, but John says he’s sitting this one out! Hal doesn’t have time to argue, and decides to deal with John’s insubordination later. Hal chases the gunman, wondering why he isn’t using his pistol even though he knows he’s being pursued. Being the punch first and ask questions later type, Hal lays the guy out before he can ask what’s up with that. Meanwhile, an officer on the scene is in the sights of a submachine gun! Luckily the timely intervention of a Green Lantern powered shove saves the boy in blue. Emerald beams of light disable the gun and encase the foolish thug in an impenetrable box of green light. We then find this was all the handiwork of John Stewart, he’s pretty happy with himself for his adept ring-slinging, but someone else is decidedly not.

"How dare you steal credit from me!"

John seems to have an answer for everything, though. John explains he saw both gunmen all the way back at the airport. So when the pistol-packer showed up, John naturally wondered where the dude with the machine gun was. It also turns out that the pistol is filled with blanks. Then, just to make sure Hal comprehends the extent of the plot (and to make him look like the idiot he’s acting like), he just straight-up puts all of his cards on the table.

"Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?"

John goes on to say, with his newfound support, the Senator could easily become President, and thereby use his platform to start another Civil War! While I am sure most politicians would be happy just getting into the White House, this is comics, so I have to side with John’s reasoning. Hal, having seen the light, tells Clutcher that his Senate colleagues are going to have a field day running him out of office. I have to say… That’s all well and good Hal, but um, how about jail? That was certainly a worthy reason to put the guy in a cell for a while. At any rate, his first adventure over John Stewart has a bit of a heart to heart with Hal, and it looks like things are going to be A-OK…

And so, racism was conquered forever! If only...

After this tale, John was actually used a few times as Hal’s alternate. He even served with the JLA on a few occasions! He wouldn’t really come into his own until the Crisis on Infinite Earths. After that, he had his trial of fire when his arrogance caused him to be responsible for the death of a planet. That changed John, and afterward, his guilt drove him to be not only one of the world’s greatest heroes, but also one of the best people in the DCU, period. He was given his due in the mainstream thanks to the Justice League cartoons. These were so successful that the military background the show gave him was integrated into the comics. That’s all well and good, but this version of John is just as valid. You can follow Mr. Stewart’s adventures in the various Green Lantern titles running today, where he serves with distinction.

This story originally appeared in Green Lantern volume 2 #87 January, 1972. It was reprinted in Volume 2 of the Green Lantern/Green Arrow Collection.

Hot on the heels of their announcement for day and date release for digital comics, DC hits us with more big news. For those of you that want to get your comics in digital form, for easy on the go reading, but still want to collect the physical copy for your collection you will be able to. When Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee comes out on August 31st you will have two ways to buy it at your local comic shop. The first will be just the regular physical copy, which is an oversized issue that will sell for 3.99. The second will be a polybagged issue that will include a code for a digital copy of the book that will sell for 4.99.

John Rood, EVP Sales, Marketing and Business Development for DC is quoted as saying “As we continue to expand our readership and make our titles more accessible to readers everywhere, we’re excited to provide our comic shop retail partners and their consumers with multiple formats of JUSTICE LEAGUE in one convenient place.”

For the first four weeks the digital and physical copies of books will share the same price. After that the digital versions will drop down to 1.99 per book. Also announced on DC’s blog, The Source, we are told that after the first oversized issue the price will drop back down to the standard 2.99.

Source: DCU The Source

This year is definitely the year of the comic book movie. We’ve already had Thor, X-Men First Class opens in a couple of days, but the one I am most eagerly anticipating opens later this month, Green Lantern. The reason I’m anticipating this is because it’s just about damn time that DC makes a movie that isn’t Superman or Batman. It could be great, and it could be a disaster. I previously featured a space-based GL, but the Green Lantern Corps also has a bunch of earth-based heroes, and that’s who I’ll be featuring this month. The person I’m highlighting today had to wait decades to earn the right to wear the ring, but when he finally got it, he became an unforgettable character. I’m proud to present to you the Secret Origin of Guy Gardner!

Guy’s origin actually ends up being heavily tied into Hal Jordan’s, so consider this a two-fer. Our tale begins with Hal Jordan, Earth’s Green Lantern being summoned to Oa for, no kidding, a two-day seminar on “the higher techniques of the Guardians”. They probably just wanted to sell him a time-share in the western spiral arm of the galaxy or something. The Guardians eventually show Hal a machine which stores data from brains taken after death, because why not? The blue short-stacks say that they happen to have the last moments of Abin Sur, Hal’s predecessor in the machine and ask the Emerald Crusader if he’d like to watch. Hal is apparently full of morbid curiosity, because he is all for it, even though he was you know, there when Abin died.

You may have heard this story before, so forgive me for rehashing. Abin Sur is in his death throes on Earth, he beseeches his ring to find a suitable replacement for him, someone who is honest and completely fearless! The ring criss-crosses the planet at light speed and then the results are in, and here’s what you didn’t see the first time!

Yes, not only does the ring know there are two worthy candidates, it also knows enough about Earth to be cognizant of state lines! Since Abin is about to croak, he picks Hal due to him being closer. I guess that makes sense. When you’re desperate and dying, you’re not really going to have time to make an informed decision. So Hal’s origin plays out… Abin’s ring brings Hal, flight simulator and all, there’s a hasty explanation as to what the ring does and how to use it, and then Abin dies. I’m not trying to make light of it, it’s just that I am about to tell you the exact same thing in a minute…

And so, with Hal and the Guardians having seen his origin play out, with that one new detail, GL wonders what things would have been like if Guy had been chosen rather than he. The Guardians have an app for that, though. They tell the machine to show the ‘What If” scenario and so, we (and Guy) are taken back to Abin’s ship…

Guy Gardner, master of the obvious and not afraid to wear loafers with a tank top.

Guy starts his career as a Green Lantern with a bit of a shaky start. He attempts to fly, but fails until he realizes that he has to use his willpower to get that doohickey on his finger to work. Seriously, you’d think Abin would have given him a tiny bit more instruction that “Use this ring”. He quickly gets the hang of it, and is exhilarated by the sensation of flight. He practices a bit more, and we then have a quick cut to Guy’s civilian life, where we see what kind of person he really is…

"Yes, while in this gym full of sweaty young boys I must conceal my thoughts.. of being a Green Lantern!"

Finally, Guy has the gumption to go on his first case as a GL, tackling some saboteurs. It’s a pretty one-sided battle. Guy does a pretty good George Reeves impersonation by straight up crashing through the wall and shielding himself against the criminals bullets. They even call him another Superman. As the battle goes on though, we find that Guy’s tactics are all his own…

"Smell my words and hear my breath, wimpy thug person, eat my ringed fist!"

The battle over, the What If machine goes into montage mode, showing Guy’s career closely paralleling Hal’s facing the same trials and tribulations, and even making the same enemies, such as Sinestro and Black Hand. Things might have continued this way, but Hal notices that Guy takes an alternate route back to Earth (those intergalactic tolls are killer). Because of this, Guy finds himself on a planet Hal never went to, mainly because the denizens of said planet attacked him. It plays out like something out of the original Star Trek, you see, he’s attacked by a couple of robots, and they explain the situation on this world and…

Guy probably is feeling like a kid in a candy store at this point.

The robots go on to explain that the adults were wiped out by the “Yellow Plague”, which if you know anything about the GL mythos is probably anything but good for our Carrot-topped Crime Buster! Anyway, it seem the kids, being bored as all hell, being stuck as kids with no Pokémon to play, split into two camps and started an endless series of War Games. Guy makes it his mission to interfere, since “They don’t know war and destruction are evil!” Which I guess is noble, but war games and actual war are a far cry from each other, but well, whatever. Before he can get started, the Blue army uses their powers to overwhelm Guy’s will to their own ends.

Thankfully, GL doesn’t have to go kill a bunch of kids, just their bird-like war machine. Guy makes short work of it, so the Blue Army uses their pawn for greater and greater attacks, until finally they order him to take the fight to the Orangemen directly. Well, there is one more mechanical monstrosity to overcome…

"Yessir! It'd be even a bigger mess than being mind-controlled by a bunch of pre-pubescent war mongers!"

Of course Guy is once again victorious, and he’s about to slaughter a bunch of ageless children. Thankfully due to common decency (and the Comics Code), the Orange Army also has the ability to control Guy mentally. Now, with two mental armies fighting over his oh so human mind, Guy is at his wits’ end.  The opposing forces threaten to tear his brain apart until he decides to muster every last iota of will he has! Why he didn’t do this before is anyone’s guess, but the ploy works, and we get what may be the first instance of a Green Lantern using his ring to bolster defenses in an iconic way…

Galvanized by his new armored sheath, Guy pretty much instantly ends the war by saying “Don’t fight!” The collected Gheranians decide to stop their wars, and thanks the some creative ring-slinging, the kids are able to age again, so they can grow up to be adult warmongers so everything is wrapped up nicely. The even create a new world flag combining their dual colors of orange and blue, which goes to show you: kids are infinitely adaptable, but they have a lousy sense of design. With that, Guy flies back to Earth to charge his ring, and in this alternate version of events, he even gets his own unique Green Lantern Oath!

Even back then, Guy was all about "Might makes Right".

Now, the story wraps up nicely, you’d think everything is all happy sappy, and alternate reality Guy would have a long and storied career as Earth’s Green Lantern. You, my friend, would be wrong. You see, back in the Silver Age, when someone was shown to “replace” the main hero the powers that be felt they needed to re-iterate that the original is always the best, so as soon as Guy is done charging his ring, he find he has “Yellow Fever”, that is to say, the same disease that wiped out all the adults on Ghera! While this probably also means he doomed an entire planet of kids to die as soon as their voice cracks, the more immediate concern is that Guy himself is dying. He does the Abin Sur bit and wills his ring to find one suitable to carry on for him, and who else does the ring find but… Hal freaking Jordan.

"In blackest day or brightest night, watermelon, cantaloupe, yadda yadda, superstitious cowardly lot, with liberty and justice for all!"

With that, the Guardian’s “What If” machine shuts down, and “proving” that Hal was fated to be GL one way or another. Knowing how manipulative the Guardians are, I wouldn’t be surprised if they just manufactured the whole scenario to inflate Hal’s already massive ego. At any rate, Hal returns to Earth and just because he’s such a stand-up kind of guy, he decides to meet the real Guy Gardner to I dunno, rub his face in it?

"I can't tell him because that'd make me a halfway decent person!"

And sadly, Guy wasn’t done getting screwed over. Next week, I’ll tell you the story of how he almost gets to become GL again! Even when he did finally become a full-fledged Green Lantern, 18 years after his debut, he was saddled with some brain damage that made him an absolute jerk. After that, he started wielding a yellow ring (years before the Sinestro Corps), became a living alien weapon for a few years, got royally screwed over by the 90’s, and finally became a GL again with all of that baggage thankfully thrown away. These days, you can see him monthly in Green Lantern Corps, but who knows what his status will be after this supposed DC Reboot?

This story originally appeared in Green Lantern Vol 2. #59, March 1968. It hasn’t been reprinted to my knowledge, but is available digitally.

For months now there has been speculation as to what state the DC Universe will be in after their big summer event, Flashpoint. While all the details have not been released yet, we are getting various reports about some of the big changes. Originally DC had announced that the only DCU title that would be shipping on August 31st would be Flashpoint #5. This was because the ending of Flashpoint is supposed to change the landscape of the DCU pretty drastically. Now USA Today is reporting that one other title will be shipping  that day. DC will be re-launching Justice League with a new number one on August 31st with the blockbuster creative team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. This version of the Justice League will be bringing the big guns back together. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman will be heading the relaunch of the team.

Justice League will not be the only title getting a new number one issue after Flashpoint. In a bold move DC is going to renumber their entire line and start each title over. There will be over 50 number one issues shipping in September. Jim Lee is also redesigning more than 50 costumes to make them more recognizable to all fans. This is what co-publisher Dan Didio had to say about this move when USA Today asked him about it, “We looked at what was going on in the marketplace and felt we really want to inject new life in our characters and line. This was a chance to start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today’s audience.”

With that bombshell there was yet one more big announcement today. All of the new, or renumbered, ongoing series DC will be released digitally day and date. This means that every one of their titles will be available to download digitally the same day they are released in comic shops. This is the first time a major publisher has done this.

While I’m sure there will be a lot of whining and complaining because of the renumbering, I see this as a good thing. As an employee at a comic shop the most common question I get is, “I want to try such and such book, where is a good place to start?” I think this will help bring in new readers to a lot of the titles. Books that have large intemidating numbers that make people feel like they have to know years and years of continuity to start reading tend to scare new readers away. Love it or hate it you have to admit this is a very bold move for DC!

Source: USA Today

Henry Rollins is an icon to almost anyone involved in music. Front man for Black Flag, the Rollins Band and also one of the most successful Spoken word artists to date (if you haven’t seen his spoken word tours, please find a way to fix that as fast as possible.) Henry Rollins is a man who lives his life completely without fear, and this interview reflects that same attitude.  Warner Home Video was gracious enough to provide this Q&A session from Rollins discussing his role in the new animated Green Lantern movie, “Emerald Knights” releasing this June. Rollins is performing the voice for Kilowog, trainer of new lantern recruits. The Q&A shows great insight into Rollins thought process, and his involvement alone makes me want to see the movie, (not to mention that I kind of dig the Green Lantern vibe.)  Interview is below, feel free to discuss in the comments.

Henry Rollins is so many things to so many people.

One moment, he’s the uber-tattooed punk rock front man for Black Flag or The Rollins Band; the next, he’s stealing the spotlight as one of the memorable cast of Sons of Anarchy; and while that’s airing, he’s ranting live for hours to sold out crowds as one of the most popular spoken-word artists of our day, easily translating that mad-as-hell attitude and undying curiosity into his thought-provoking KCRW talk show. His quarter century of globe-trotting has recently added National Geographic to his resume, the latter day Renaissance man now filming documentaries for the renowned publication.

Intelligent? Beyond your dreams. Intense? Absolutely. Restless? Without a doubt. But does Henry Rollins ever pause long enough to be playful? Animation fans know it all too well.

When he isn’t perusing the Sudan, performing in Prague or recording for public radio, Rollins takes to another of his true passions: voiceovers for animated projects.

Rollins’ latest animated incarnation is in the guise of Kilowog for the next DC Universe Animated Original Movie, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights will be distributed by Warner Home Video on Blu-Ray™, DVD, On Demand and for Download June 7, 2011.

Rollins voices one of the most beloved characters in the entire universe of Green Lanterns – Kilowog, the hardcore drill sergeant-style trainer of Green Lantern recruits. Written by Peter J. Tomasi (based on “New Blood” by Tomasi & Chris Samnee) and directed by Lauren Montgomery, the “Kilowog” segment of the film depicts the gruff character’s initial days as a young recruit under the abusive tutelage of Deegan, an equally gruff character who shows Kilowog the true “tough love” principles of training. As the segment play out, Kilowog must assume an integral leadership role within the ranks.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights is far from Rollins’ first venture down the animated path. For Warner Bros. alone, Rollins has recorded over the years for Batman Beyond, Teen Titans and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. And then there’s his more recent forays into voiceovers for series like Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time and the primetime series American Dad!

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights weaves six legendary stories of the Green Lantern Corps’ rich mythology around preparations for an attack by an ancient enemy. As the battle approaches, Hal Jordan mentors new recruit Arisia in the history of the Green Lantern Corps, telling tales of Avra (the first Green Lantern) and several of Hal’s comrades – including Kilowog, Abin Sur, Laira and Mogo. In the end, Arisia must rise to the occasion to help Hal, Sinestro and the entire Green Lantern Corps save the universe from the destructive forces of Krona.

Rollins is joined in the voicecast of the intergalactic animated film by Nathan Fillion (Castle), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Jason Isaacs (the Harry Potter films), Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy), Kelly Hu (The Vampire Diaries), Wade Williams (Prison Break), professional wrestling legend Rowdy Roddy Piper and Radio Hall of Fame commentator/talk show host Michael Jackson.

No stranger to the spoken word, Rollins spent some significant time after his initial recording session chatting about his character, his love of great literature, Too Much Coffee Man, his need to travel the Earth, and much, much more. Read on …

QUESTION:
How did you approach the character of Kilowog for this story?

HENRY ROLLINS:
For me, Kilowog is a man who’s pure of heart. He’s a warrior. He’s a soldier. And he loves his rookies. Deegan is the guy who broke him in – in boot camp – and kind of brought him into command position. So Kilowog came up through the ranks by being brave and by being a take-charge leader. In the Kilowog segment, you see that he had a grasp of the leadership idea from the get-go. He’s with other recruits and he immediately takes the leadership position. So I think he’s a good guy, but he always knew he was gonna be running things.

QUESTION:
Were there any challenges to finding the character for you?

HENRY ROLLINS:
I assumed what the character needed before we went in. I said, “Andrea (Romano), this guy has a flat top, thick neck, but he’s a good guy and if you get past all the yelling, you know he’s got a good heart.” She said, “You got it. That’s, that’s the guy.” So I kind of had him dialed in and then we went forth.

It was really just finding his subtleties working with the great direction of Andrea. The character, for me, wasn’t all that hard to find. He’s not a complex guy. He takes his orders. He gives orders. He knows right and wrong. He takes care of bad guys, and keeps people alive. On that level, his life is pretty simple.

QUESTION:
You’re so often a one-man show, or at least the leader of the band. What’s it like to be directed by Andrea Romano?

HENRY ROLLINS:
I’ve been working with Andrea for well over a decade, and it is one of the fun moments of my year when I get the call. Watching her work with a whole group of people is like watching a combination of air traffic controller, director and producer all at once. And she has as much fun or more fun than all of us combined. Her level of energy is quite remarkable. I’ve done every kind of voiceover with her – entire casts, one on one, Batman Beyond, Teen Titans – and she always brings a tremendous bolt of energy. It’s infectious and it’s fun. It’s like she always says, “Thanks for coming in and playing.” Andrea really allows you to have fun with it and not take yourself too seriously, which allows you to work really hard.

QUESTION:
You’re such an intense, intelligent, driven individual who actively lobbies for so many worthy, worldwide causes. Do voiceovers for animation fulfill some sort of need for play, or does it offer another challenge?

HENRY ROLLINS:
The reason why I come and do voiceover, for animation or documentary or whatever, is because I’m really not suited for it. And so I have to somehow pass myself off as someone who can actually pull this off. It makes me work really hard, and I love the challenge. I’ve been in a lot of films, and yet I’ve never taken an acting lesson. I’ve done a lot of voiceovers for all kinds of things, and I’ve never taken any lessons there. I’ve just shown up with a whole lot of enthusiasm, a great fear of failure, and a desire to please the people who have somehow trusted me to do the work.

I come from the minimum wage working world of the late ’70s, early ’80s, so stuff like this, to me, is gravy. It is so not standing on my feet, carrying something to the back of a truck. I know how to do all of that. Many of us do. So, for me, it’s just a really fun thing. There’s pressure certainly to perform – not the same pressure that I take out on stage every night, when there’s a lot of people who are there to hear me or see me.

The voiceover thing, in order to be good at it, you have to have a laugh at yourself. I mean, you’re doing funny voices. We’re larger than life here. So you have to throw your seriousness away and be able to laugh at yourself. You have to throw out your ego. The more I do it, the more I realize that you have to approach it that way – and then you get super involved in the moment. I think that’s what the job requires. You have to think “Oh, no, here comes the meteor storm. We’ve got to go.” When I’m doing something like that, believe me, I’m really in that moment. When you can throw away your self-importance and have fun with it, that’s when you really deliver.”

QUESTION:
What’s your motivation to perform in this odd world of entertainment?

HENRY ROLLINS:
Like many of us in the entertainment world, I think we are making up for the lack of attention that we did not get as kids through the need for attention and approval from an audience. I tell audiences now that I’m only here for your attention and your approval. I need you way more than you’ll ever need me. And you’ll be done with me way sooner than I’ll ever be done with you. It’s a pity. And welcome to the show. (he laughs) And it’s so true.

QUESTION:
Are you more comfortable performing in front of large groups or alone in a studio with you and the microphone?

HENRY ROLLINS:
I love being in front of tons of people, and I really enjoy being one-on-one with the microphone. I love both micromanaging the part, and having the ability now to give the director exactly what he or she wants, and then really being able to nail it. In the booth it’s fun because they’re directing you, and you’re trying to hit those notes. It’s like Andrea will say “Can you lighten it up just a little? Remember, you’re kind of sad, because on page 11 you had that thing happen.” And then you can dial in with such extreme subtlety that she can hear it and go, “That’s what I needed. Thank you very much, we’re moving on.” To be able to deliver that is really enjoyable.

QUESTION:
Did you read comics as a kid?

HENRY ROLLINS:
I was not a comic book-guy growing up. My stepbrother had them. I would look at them with not a great of interest. My first job was throwing newspapers for the long-defunct Washington Star. I’d throw 80,000 tons of newspaper a year for about $4.60. So I’ve got maybe $12 to my name, but I was a kid, I didn’t know what to do with it. And so I went to the drugstore and I bought a couple of comics. I dragged them home, and I looked at them. Quite honestly, it didn’t do much for me, and I’ve never gone back except for when someone sends me the odd modern comic.

A few years ago, I did come across this character called “Too Much Coffee Man.” And he used to worry about the world. He had a coffee cup strapped to his head. I eventually made friends with Shannon Wheeler, who draws the comic. He illustrated a book for me – putting some illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. And Shannon used to kindly send me these collections of “Too Much Coffee Man.” But that’s the only comic I would really pay attention to, because I like the idea. “Too Much Coffee Man” has a lot to say. He’s a great apocalyptic philosopher for our very troubled times.

QUESTION:
Comics don’t have an impact on you, but do you believe they have a social relevance for society?

HENRY ROLLINS:
I think that it’s important for young people who are maybe sensitive. Maybe they’re not gonna be the quarterback and they’re not gonna get the pretty cheerleader to go to the senior prom. But it’s great for them to have an escape. Because some people who are often aren’t the one who can throw the football the furthest, they have interesting minds. And I think that comics help someone with an imagination have fun and play around … I think anything that inspires young people to have imagination – it’s what gives you things like, oh, the Internet and renewable energy. And progress. So I think anything that is a seed to imagination, that enhances imagination, I think is safe.

Growing up, I loved great literature. I lived for your Steinbecks and your Hemmingways as a kid, and I read them all again as an adult and got the better version of the story. My comic books were reading things like the The Grapes Of Wrath, and stuff like that that my mom turned me on to. So I understand anything that makes the imagination go as being a good thing.

QUESTION:
You spend more days of the year on the road than you spend at home, and mostly in places few would consider a vacation spot. Why?

HENRY ROLLINS:
Because the world is interesting. I’ve been touring since I was 20, living all over the world as often as possible. Being home is nice for about 72 hours. Make the dinner I’d like to make, open up the things I got on eBay and Amazon.com, eat at the favorite sushi place. And then after about three or four days of that, I start feeling it’s a grind, and the world is waiting for me. It’s life on pause. Meanwhile, time is ticking by. And I figure at some point when I’m 80 or 90, there will be time to sit around and go, “Oh, man, I’m tired.”

But as long as I have sap in my bones, the African continent is going like, “Henry, you haven’t come to Gambia yet. How come you haven’t gone to Chad yet?” Or Yemen is calling and saying, “It’s a little rough, but you should check it out.” That’s why I go into the world as often as possible. Thankfully, my work takes me far and wide. And then I just invent stuff. I just come up with ideas. I know people in different places. I do a lot of travel with the USO, so that gets me to places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, etc.

I’m the first and only ever USO performer in Egypt. They’ve never sent anyone into Egypt before. But I said, “Let me be the first.” And so I went in across the Sinai. For me, this is all fantastic – to go to these places, meet people, dig the culture, dig the music, dig the food, get lost in souqs and bazaars and streets. And so far I have not had to run for my life. A mortar attack in Baghdad wasn’t the best thing that ever happened to me.

But by and large, my travel has enriched my life. Coming from the minimum wage working world of the last century, this is all great opportunity. So I don’t “no” to the work, and I don’t say “no” to my curiosity.

QUESTION:
Is there a super hero or villain role you truly covet?

HENRY ROLLINS:
No. I’m happy for anything that would come my way. And I’ll be so happy if someone said, “Here is three years work on this series and you get to be that guy.” It’s all been so much fun. There’s nothing I’m wanting to do but more.

Mimoco announced today their new line of Green Lantern Mimobots!

From their press release:

(BOSTON – May 17, 2011) — Mimoco, creator of the MIMOBOT® line of designer USB flash drives, and Warner Bros. Consumer Products on behalf of DC Entertainment, the world’s largest publisher of comic books, introduce the Green Lantern wave of MIMOBOT flash drive designs. The new collection consists of favorites from the Green Lantern Corps including Hal Jordan, Tomar-Re, Kilowog and Sinestro.

To celebrate, we’ve teamed with Mimoco to do another giveaway!

We’ll be giving away one of each of the four characters in the set.

All you need to do to enter is send an email to EDITOR (at) Big Shiny Robot.com (except formatted like a real email address) with the headline IN BRIGHTEST DAY!.

For an extra chance to win, you can go to our facebook page and invite all of your friends to like us. Or you can ask your followers on twitter to follow us @BigShinyRobot. Just be sure to mention in your email that you’ve done it.

The contest ends on Friday, May 20th at midnight MST! Winners will be announced Monday the 23rd!

If you just can’t wait that long and need to get one of these bad boys in your hand, I can’t argue with you at all. You can pick them up at Mimoco’s website. They also have plenty of other lines to choose from. My particular favorite? The Star Wars line.