Editing Green Lantern (section)

==Publication history==
{{see also|Green Lantern (comic book)}}

=== Golden Age ===

[[Martin Nodell]] (initially using the pen-name Mart Dellon) created the first Green Lantern in collaboration with [[Bill Finger]]. He first appeared in the [[Golden Age of Comic Books]] in ''[[All-American Comics]]'' #16 (July 1940), published by [[All-American Publications]], one of three companies that would eventually merge to form [[DC Comics]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Benton |first1=Mike |title=Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History |date=1992 |publisher=Taylor Publishing Company |location=Dallas |isbn=0-87833-808-X |pages=[https://archive.org/details/superherocomicso0000bent/page/104 104]-105 |url=https://archive.org/details/superherocomicso0000bent |url-access=registration |access-date=15 January 2020}}</ref>

This Green Lantern's real name was [[Alan Scott]], a railroad engineer who, after a railway crash, came into possession of a magic lantern which spoke to him and said it would bring power. From this, he crafted a [[magic ring]] that gave him a wide variety of powers. The limitations of the ring were that it had to be "charged" every 24 hours by touching it to the lantern for a time and that it could not directly affect objects made of wood. Alan Scott fought mostly ordinary human villains, but he did have a few paranormal ones such as the immortal [[Vandal Savage]] and the zombie [[Solomon Grundy (character)|Solomon Grundy]]. Most stories took place in New York. Green Lantern rings are made from magic.

As a popular character in the 1940s, the Green Lantern featured both in anthology books such as ''All-American Comics'' and ''[[Comic Cavalcade]]'', as well as his own book, ''Green Lantern''. He also appeared in ''[[All Star Comics]]'' as a member of the superhero team known as the [[Justice Society of America]].

After [[World War II]] the popularity of [[superhero]]es in general declined. The ''Green Lantern'' [[comic book]] was cancelled with issue #38 (May–June 1949), and ''[[All Star Comics]]'' #57 (1951) was the character's last Golden Age appearance. When superheroes came back in fashion in later decades, the character Alan Scott was revived, but he was forever marginalized by the new [[Hal Jordan]] character who had been created to supplant him (see below). Initially, he made guest appearances in other superheroes' books, but eventually got regular roles in books featuring the Justice Society. He never got another solo series, although he did star in individual stories and in the single-issue 2002 comic book ''Brightest Day, Blackest Night.''<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Seagle|first1=Steven T|title=Green Lantern: Brightest Day, Blackest Night|last2=Snyder|first2=John K III|publisher=DC Comics|year=2002}}</ref> Between 1995 and 2003, DC Comics changed Alan Scott's superhero codename to "Sentinel" in order to distinguish him from the newer and more popular science fictional Green Lanterns.

In 2011, the Alan Scott character was revamped. His costume was redesigned to be all green and the source of his powers was changed to that of the mystical power of nature (referred to in the stories as "the Green").

===Silver Age===
In 1959, [[Julius Schwartz]] reinvented the Green Lantern character as a science fiction hero named [[Hal Jordan]]. Hal Jordan's powers were more or less the same as Alan Scott's, but otherwise this character was completely different from the Green Lantern character of the 1940s. He had a new name, a redesigned costume, and a rewritten origin story. Hal Jordan received his ring from a dying alien and was commissioned as an officer of the [[Green Lantern Corps]], an interstellar law enforcement agency overseen by the [[Guardians of the Universe]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Albert|first=Aaron|url=http://comicbooks.about.com/od/greenlantern/p/glhaljordan.htm|title=Green Lantern – Hal Jordan Profile|access-date=17 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117112607/http://comicbooks.about.com/od/greenlantern/p/glhaljordan.htm|archive-date=17 January 2013}}</ref>

Hal Jordan was introduced in ''[[Showcase (comic book)|Showcase]]'' #22 (September–October 1959). [[Gil Kane]] and [[Sid Greene]] were the art team most notable on the title in its early years, along with writer [[John Broome (writer)|John Broome]]. His initial physical appearance, according to Kane, was patterned after his one-time neighbor, actor [[Paul Newman]].<ref name="stow">{{cite web |last1=Stowe |first1=Dusty |title=15 Things You Didn't Know About Green Lantern |url=https://screenrant.com/green-lantern-trivia-facts/ |website=Screenrant.com |date=3 August 2017 |publisher=Screen Rant, Inc. |access-date=9 November 2019}}</ref>

===Later developments===
With issue #76 (April 1970), the series made a radical stylistic departure. Editor Schwartz, in one of the company's earliest efforts to provide more than fantasy, worked with the writer-artist team of [[Dennis O'Neil|Denny O'Neil]] and [[Neal Adams]] to spark new interest in the comic book series and address a perceived need for social relevance. They added the character [[Green Arrow]] (with the cover, but not the official name, retitled ''Green Lantern Co-Starring Green Arrow'') and had the pair travel through America encountering "real world" issues, to which they reacted in different ways — Green Lantern as fundamentally a lawman, Green Arrow as a [[Liberalism|liberal]] [[iconoclasm|iconoclast]]. Additionally during this run, the groundbreaking "[[Snowbirds Don't Fly]]" story was published (issues #85–86) in which Green Arrow's teen sidekick [[Speedy (DC Comics)|Speedy]] (the later grown-up hero [[Roy Harper (character)|Red Arrow]]) developed a [[heroin]] [[Substance use disorder|addiction]] that he was forcibly made to quit. The stories were critically acclaimed, with publications such as ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', and ''[[Newsweek]]'' citing it as an example of how comic books were "growing up".<ref>Wright, Bradford W. ''Comic Book Nation''. Johns Hopkins, 2001. p. 227</ref> However, the O'Neil/Adams run was not a commercial success, and the series was cancelled after only 14 issues, though an additional unpublished three installments were finally published as back-ups in ''[[The Flash (comic book)|The Flash]]'' #217–219.<ref name="back45">{{cite journal|last= Wells|first= John|date= December 2010|title= Green Lantern/Green Arrow: And Through Them Change an Industry|journal= [[Back Issue!]]|issue= #45|pages= 39–54|publisher= [[TwoMorrows Publishing]]}}</ref>

The title saw a number of revivals and cancellations. It changed to ''Green Lantern Corps'' at one point as the popularity rose and waned. During a time there were two regular titles, each with a Green Lantern, and a third member in the Justice League. A new character, [[Kyle Rayner]], was created to become the feature while Hal Jordan first became the villain [[Parallax (comics)|Parallax]], then died and came back as the [[Spectre (DC Comics character)|Spectre]].

In the wake of ''[[DC: The New Frontier|The New Frontier]]'', writer Geoff Johns returned Hal Jordan as Green Lantern in ''[[Green Lantern: Rebirth]]'' (2004–05). Johns began to lay the groundwork for "[[Blackest Night]]" (released July 13, 2010)<ref>{{cite book|title=Green Lantern: Blackest Night (9781401227869): Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke: Books |isbn = 978-1401227869|last1 = Johns|first1 = Geoff|year = 2010| publisher=DC Comics }}</ref>), viewing it as the third part of the trilogy started by ''Rebirth''. Expanding on the Green Lantern mythology in the second part, "[[Sinestro Corps War]]" (2007), Johns, with artist [[Ethan van Sciver]], found wide critical acclaim and commercial success with the series, which promised the introduction of a spectrum of colored "lanterns".

=== Timeline ===
{{Green Lantern timeline}}

===Awards===
The series and its creators have received several awards over the years, including the 1961 [[Alley Award]] for Best Adventure Hero/Heroine with Own Book<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/alley61.php|title=1961 Alley Awards|access-date=22 November 2011|year=2006|author=Joel Hahn|work=Comic Book Awards Almanac}}</ref> and the [[Academy of Comic Book Arts]] [[Shazam Award]] for Best Continuing Feature in 1970, for Best Individual Story ("No Evil Shall Escape My Sight", ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 2) #76 by [[Dennis O'Neil]] and [[Neal Adams]]),<ref name="Shazam1970">{{cite web|url=http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/shazam70.php|title=1970 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards
|author=Joel Hahn|work=Comic Book Awards Almanac|year=2006|access-date=22 November 2011}}</ref> and in 1971 for Best Individual Story ("Snowbirds Don't Fly", ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 2) #85 by O'Neil and Adams).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/shazam71.php|title=1971 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards
|author=Joel Hahn|work=Comic Book Awards Almanac|year=2006|access-date=22 November 2011}}</ref>

Writer O'Neil received the Shazam Award for Best Writer (Dramatic Division) in 1970 for his work on ''Green Lantern'', ''[[Batman]]'', ''[[Superman]]'' and other titles, while artist Adams received the Shazam for Best Artist (Dramatic Division) in 1970 for his work on ''Green Lantern'' and ''Batman''.<ref name="Shazam1970"/> Inker [[Dick Giordano]] received the Shazam Award for Best Inker (Dramatic Division) for his work on ''Green Lantern'' and other titles.<ref name="Shazam1970"/>

In [[Judd Winick]]'s first regular writing assignment on Green Lantern, he wrote a storyline in which an assistant of Kyle Rayner's emerged as a gay character in ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 3) #137 (June 2001). In ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 3) #154 (November 2001) the story entitled "Hate Crime" gained media recognition when his friend Terry Berg was brutally beaten in a homophobic attack. Winick was interviewed on Phil Donahue's show on MSNBC for that storyline on August 15, 2002<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.antiquetrader.com/tag/comics-buyers-guide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530125410/http://www.cbgxtra.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1191|url-status=dead|title=Comics Buyer's Guide|archive-date=May 30, 2010|website=Antique Trader|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref> and received two [[GLAAD Media Award]]s for his Green Lantern work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=2238|title=Green Lantern Honored by GLAAD|author=Jonah Weiland|date=13 June 2003|website=[[Comic Book Resources]]|access-date=22 November 2011}}</ref>

In May 2011, Green Lantern placed 7th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/top/comic-book-heroes/7|title=Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) – #7 Top Comic Book Heroes|website=IGN|date=May 2011|access-date=22 November 2011|archive-date=10 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210005105/http://www.ign.com/top/comic-book-heroes/7|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Legal disputes ===
DC Comics has been involved in two disputes concerning Green Lantern trade marks before the United States Patent and Trade Mark Office, the first in 2012 and the second in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stewart|first=DG|date=August 26, 2020|title=Happy 80th birthday, Green Lantern|url=https://www.worldcomicbookreview.com/2020/08/26/happy-80th-birthday-green-lantern/|access-date=January 19, 2021|website=World Comic Book Review}}</ref>