Rating:  -
On the verge of cancellation, the space cop comic book Green Lantern was handed to the young creative team of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, with the directive of saving it if they could. They responded with quite possibly the most resonant comic stories ever put to print, and that grand influence is still felt today. After years of knocking around with the Justice League, Green Arrow finally developed his socially concious gadfly personality, and this modern-day Robin Hood was never shy about confronting the far more powerful Green Lantern whenever the "law" was placed before "justice." For the first time in comics, environmental, religioius cults, labor and race issues were examined in a serious light. The super-hero lifestyle is caught in the spotlight as well, when the young Roy Harper (aka Speedy, Green Arrow's obligatory Robinesque teen sidekick) is discovered to have developed a heroin addiction during the long months while his mentor was criss-crossing America with Green Lantern. And as an added bonus, the backup story from the Flash series is inclded here as well, in which Green Arrow accidentally kills a criminal while trying to stop a robbery, and has to deal with the social and emotional fallout of that event. Powerful stuff, and it still packs a wallop to this day. Adams' glorious artwork has never been beaten, and O'Neil's writing is top-notch (even if his 70s hipster dialogue is laughable these 30 years later). Throw in the blond bombshell of a hero known as Black Canary, and you've got an indespesable piece of comics history.
Rating:  -
Maybe Comic Books Heroes should never be relevant.
They are bigger than life. Faster than locomotives, and able to fly. They don't exist in our world.
Things changed in comics in 1970s. As written about in "The Classic Era Of American Comics" by N. Wright, comics were heavily censored in 1955. They no longer could be about real things. As a result, Julius Swartz and the other editors of comics looked to the stars. Comics became very science fiction. Superman became for powerful. Originally, he could "leap 1/8 of mile" and "nothing less than a bursting shell could piece his skin." Soon he could fly, leave the earth and move planets. Fighting "real" gangsters for him would be uneventful. The same became true with Green Lantern. A super powered hero who could do anything with his ring. He is partnered with a "Guardian" of the Galaxy and, of course, the Green Arrow. They team fights for Indian rights and other earthly issues. All of sudden the creators must limited GL's powers to make him competitive and mortal. It doesn't really work. Her becomes less, not more of a hero. Also, it is always interesting that a hero, like Oliver Queen, who has distinctive hair, mustache and a beard, becomes unrecognizable when he puts on the smallest mask possible. Reality is not a welcomed commodity in the comics. So they should stay away from it. But the artwork, from Neal Adams is, as always, exceptional. Over the years I have noticed that it is a small group of creators that take readers to new places. Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, Jim Steranko, John Byrnes and Neil Adams to name just a few of the few. It took me a while in the 1970"s to get used to the realistic approach Mr. Adams used on the Green Lantern, Batman, the X-Men and the Avengers. Mr. Adams make this concept workable and enjoyable. I enjoyed this trip back in time. It demonstrates what comics had become and what they could no longer go back to. It was Mr. Adams, and a few others, that gave DC the prodding to go in a different direction. For that reason, For Neil Adams, this book is worth reading.
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