Rating:  -
The Green Lantern stories were never exactly narrative masterpieces. First, our hero tries to mack on his boss, Miss Ferris, and just as he's either getting shot down or getting a little action, news arrives of some new threat. He zooms there, finds out that his superpowers don't work, and in a split second, comes up with some clever way to bypass the problem. Eight pages later, it's all wrapped up.
But the artwork was always really cool, and the dry humor was either asinine or funny, depending on your perspective. OK so this book is in black and white, but I just happen to like black and white comics, and besides I got it mostly because I'm learning to cartoon, and this book offers an almost unlimited number of drawing subjects and techniques to copy and experiment with.
Rating:  -
When I was a youngster in the 70's, one of the comics I used to love reading from DC was Green Lantern. Imagine my surprise when I walk into my local BAM Bookstore and find a digest of old Green Lantern comics called Showcase Presents Green Lantern, Volume 1 for a real low price of $9.99. I quickly purchased it and brought it home for an all-night read. Thing is, it's three days later and I still hadn't finished it, lol. While storytelling in this volume might seem a bit rigid & straightforward as opposed to comics in this day and time, it made me learn alot about one of my favorite DC Comics characters of all-time. Many of the characters I know and love from the GL universe were introduced in these older reprints so I have a deeper understanding of them now. True, it's clear from reading these old stories that the comic was aimed more toward a younger audience back then but I love taking a walk down memory lane. This volume includes Green Lantern's first appearances in Showcase #22 through #24 as well as his first adventures in Green Lantern #1 through #17. It's written by John Broome and Gardner Fox. With art by Gil Kane, Joe Giella and Murphy Anderson. The cover is done by Kane & Giella. If you're just getting into comics and want to learn about the Silver Age of comics or are a new GL fan, you might want to check out the DC line of Showcase paperbacks. You can't beat the low, low price. This volume is an enjoyable read and I aim on getting the second volume.
Rating:  -
I honestly don't get the appeal of these books. Why bother making (or reading) black & white reprints of classic four-color comics...? I mean, yeah, the stories are still great and the original comics are hard to find, but a huge part of what made these comics great was the eye-popping artwork, including the bright primary colors: reading them in dull B&W is just plain wrong. Sure, the printing costs are lower, so you can get more pages for your money, but it's more pages of boring, not more pages of fun. It's really a travesty.
On the other hand, it recently occurred to me that these could be used as coloring books... Maybe you could buy a box of crayons to go along with all the artwork that the publishers ruined in this format. (Axton)
Rating: -
Of Qward and the pursuit of Carol Ferris.
One interesting thing (and I did have some of these in reprints as a kid) is to compare the realism of the drawings of both men and women to comics now, given Carol Ferris is a major feature. The artists were certainly doing a much better job in Green Lantern, than they are now, anyway.
Other than that, Qward and Sinestro recur, as do encounters with crazy villains and space monsters, the introduction of Hector Hammond, and the various other Green Lanterns.
The cool thing as a kid was a few basic chemistry bits and pieces as GL uses some basic knowledge to get out of some sticky situations.
Not too bad at all, although some silliness, both male and female "I can't believe you left in the middle of kissing me to save the city from being destroyed by a missile! I'm not talking to you!" sort of thing.
3.5 out of 5
Rating: -
His weakness is YELLOW, yet the book's B&W! Fortunately, I'm doped up with a cold, so my highlighter and I are rectifying the situation. This Showcase is thus much more interactive than the rest.
(I do wish they did a showcase for the Golden Age version of GL, but that's just me.)
Still, like the rest of the Showcase Presents series, this is an excellent value and a great way to catch up on the semi-ancient history of classic characters!
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