Cosmic Odyssey, Part Four: The Final Hour

Cosmic Odyssey 4
Book Four :Death
Writer: Jim Starlin
Artist: Mike Mignola
Inker: Carlos Garzon

Karen: Just a note before we start -I apologize for the reduced number of images in this review. Unfortunately, my TPB began falling apart in my hands, as you can see in the picture below. So to avoid having any more pages come loose, I had to be very careful and that meant making a minimal number of scans.

Karen: We've reached the final book in this star-spanning tale, and nothing less than the fate of our universe is at stake. Things are looking pretty desperate too. The clock is ticking down on an anti-life bomb set to go off on Earth. We watch the seconds pass as the parademon with a hole in his midsection and the re-animated policeman, Joe Bester, stand-by to greet oblivion. But the timer hits zero and nothing happens -no explosion. The parademon is stunned and angry. Of course it's the work of Batman and Forager.They then push the deactivated bomb over on the parademon, seemingly pinning him under it. Thinking that Bester will be an easy target, they spring on him, but he proves surprisingly tough. He clobbers Batman but Forager takes Bester's head off with his shield, revealing that the cop was actually a robot. Wow -he's as brutal as Orion. Batman's impressed with his work though. They're just about to start disassembling the bomb when the parademon comes roaring back, grabbing Batman by the arm and smashing him around the cave. He even breaks Batman's leg, and the caped crusader is on the verge of passing out...

Karen: Darkseid and the Demon are in the Anti-Life Entity's (A.L.E.)'s dimension, and the Lord of Apokolips channels tremendous mystical energy through the Demon and fires it at A.L.E. Much to his shock, the Entity shakes off the attack. Realizing he cannot dominate the creature, Darkseid decides to steal just a small bit of its essence, and then high-tail it back to his own reality. But as he makes his escape, one of the A.L.E.'s returning aspects blasts him and he and the Demon wind up back where they were, facing the Entity again.

Karen: On New Genesis, the heroes have returned and are puzzled as to where Highfather, Orion, and Darkseid have gone, as well as the mysterious Mr. Blood (aka the Demon). John Stewart wanders off, still overwhelmed with guilt and remorse over his actions that lead to the destruction of the planet Xanshi. He's not certain he can go on living with millions of deaths on his conscience. 

Karen: On Earth, it seems that the parademon is about to break Batman's neck when Forager comes to the rescue. The brute drops Batman, but Forager earns some broken ribs and is hurled aside, unconscious. Batman struggles to rise as the creature reactivates the doomsday device. OK, this sequence and the previous one on New Genesis points out one of the things that has bothered me throughout this series: there are entirely too many two-page sequences in these books. Just as you start to get into a scene, it ends, and we move on to another one. It feels like too many "quick-cuts" in a film. It's very unsatisfying.

Karen: We shift now to the Anti-Life universe, where it looks like Darkseid and the Demon are about to be engulfed by the Entity. Suddenly a beam of light hits them and pulls them away. They see Highfather, Orion, and one other -Dr. Fate! This was the mysterious friend that Batman called back in the first issue and asked to keep an eye on Darkseid. Fate states that the five of them all are connected to a different elemental source of power, and that by pooling their resources, they can yet hope to stop the A.L.E. The heroes are arranged in a star pattern he calls the "cinque of cosmic power"  and Fate then names off the different sources of energy: his is 'intellectual magics;' the Demon taps primal mystical forces; Darkseid brings anti-life to the table, turning the enemy's power against him; but then, Fate says Orin and Highfather both use the mysterious Source. Wait a minute -didn't he say that each of them was linked to a different power source? This seems like a lapse on Starlin's part. Anyway, channeling their might, the five beings deliver a tremendous blast of power against the A.L.E., forcing it back. But it's a temporary measure at best. Fate takes his allies and flees to a parallel dimension. Realizing that the A.L.E. will soon recover and gain access to that dimension as well, Fate makes a choice: he will sacrifice that dimension, creating a "mystic firebreak" to trap the creature in its own realm. So Dr. Fate is powerful enough to actually destroy an entire dimension. I had no idea. Wouldn't that put him right up there with the Spectre? Although he briefly ponders whether he has the right to wipe out a whole dimension, he does it anyway.

Karen: The group is returned to New Genesis in the blink of an eye, where the heroes are startled by their sudden appearance. Fate explains that he has trapped the A.L.E. in its own realm by destroying the dimension that bridged their two realities. Darkseid is outraged, as he feels used by Fate. He threatens the mystic, but Superman quickly steps in and tells him to stand down, or face the combined might of the assembled heroes. Darkseid apparently sees nothing to gain in a direct confrontation and storms off, and everyone's about to declare victory, when Highfather reminds them that they still don't know what has happened with Batman and Forager on Earth. Starfire wants to go back to the planet to ehlp out, but surprisingly, both Martian Manhunter and Superman shoot her down, saying where would they find them? It's a big planet. really? Superman, with all his powers, couldn't locate Batman or the bomb? You'd think he would at least try! Highfather then gravely says all they can do is wait, and hope the Milky Way galaxy isn't destroyed. I understand that the writer is trying to generate drama here but it seemed very unrealistic to me that these heroes would just sit on their hands and do nothing.

Karen: On Earth the clock is ticking -specifically, we're down to 29 seconds before the big bang. Batman can barely manage to crawl over to where the big bad alien stands before the bomb control panel, and when he gets there, he receives a kick that sends him flying. Being a bad guy, the alien has to make a speech about how there's nothing Batman can do to stop the bomb, and of course, that's when Forager comes to and attacks the creep. He's ducking and weaving until Batman tells him to forget the alien, stop the bomb. Right at the last second, the New God smashes the control panel with his shield. There is an explosion, but it's not the bomb going off. Apparently the control panel exploded, although I have to be honest and say it wasn't 100% clear from the art. Batman is at first just elated that the world hasn't been blown out of existence, but then he begins to be concerned over Forager. He calls out for him, but there's no answer. A panel showing Batman's face with a shocked expression, saying "Oh Lord!" tells us everything we need to know. The alien has been wiped out at least. Batman call for some help with clean-up.

Karen: Superman and Lightray leave New Genesis to assist Batman, while J'Onn J'Onzz goes off to find Green Lantern John Stewart, as he is concerned about him.Stewart has grabbed a gun from a trophy case, and orders his ring to fly out 20 light years and wait for him til he calls it back. If it doesn't hear from him in an hour, the ring is to go find Hal Jordan. It's pretty obvious where this is going. Stewart can't deal with his failure on Xanshi. He puts the gun to his head and holds it there for a while (3/4 of a page). Then he puts it down  and J'Onzz asks him, "Well?" He goes on to harangue him about how he obviously doesn't have the 'right stuff' to be a super-hero, as it requires making decisions and being able to accept responsibility for the outcomes of one's actions. If he can't handle that he should just shoot himself and get it over with. Tough-love, Martian-style. Of course, Stewart puts down the gun and calls back his ring. Stewart stalks off with a "Screw you, J'Onzz" and the Martian smiles, his work done. I suppose J'Onn was able to forgive Stewart, as he must have figured he'd adequately punished himself. 

Karen: A boom tube opens and Superman returns, supporting Batman, while Lightray carries a wrapped body. As the stunned heroes look on, Batman simply says that Forager gave his life to prevent Earth's destruction. Orion, as sensitive as ever, says, "Who would have thought the bug had it in him?" and Batman promptly clocks him. "His name was Forager!" Batman yells. Orion strides off, perhaps chastised, and at that moment, the group realizes that Darkseid, that clever guy, has made off with the gadgets containing the Anti-Life aspects. Back on Apokolips, Darkseid gloats over his little victory, as he has forged a piece of pure anti-life. really, what does that even mean? I think I much preferred it when Darkseid was seeking after the Anti-Life Equation. That seemed to be much more abstract and interesting than just some sort of cosmic super-weapon. Anyway, apparently Darkseid is satisfied with how things turned out. On New Genesis, Highfather tells Orion that Forager's body will be returned to the Insect Empire, and he wants Orion to accompany it. When the warrior asks why, the monarch tells him that he hopes the trip will teach him something. "Such as?" "Tolerance," Highfather replies. After a pause, Orion says, "As you wish, Highfather."

Karen: "Cosmic Odyssey" is not a bad story -but it does feel like it is stretched out far too long for what it is. It follows the old formula of splitting the heroes into small, more manageable pairings, and this too is not a bad thing. But there was nothing here that felt especially exciting or novel to me. Perhaps the biggest letdown was the decision to make "Anti-Life" yet another anthropomorphic being. Haven't we seen this done before? It felt like Starlin was turning Darkseid into Thanos here, with Anti-Life standing in for Death. The segment with Batman facing an extra-terrestrial in the Gotham sewers might have been my favorite part of the whole book, because it actually felt fun. Much of the rest of the story felt like a slog and the constant inter-cutting back and forth, with a couple of pages devoted to one set of characters and then another couple to a different set, and so on, really lead to a drawn out pace for the books. Doing this in a regular size  comic is no big deal but in a 48 page book, it pulls the pace down. I don't know that I would recommend this TPB to any but the most devoted fan of cosmic comic action.

Cosmic Odyssey Part Two: Hubris and Failure

Cosmic Odyssey #2 (1988)
"Book Two: Disaster"
Writer: Jim Starlin
Artist: Mike Mignola
Inker: Carlos Garzon

Karen: In the first issue, the cast was assembled. Now, the different teams have been sent to their respective planets in order to trap the "Aspects" of the Anti-Life Equation entity that have infiltrated into the universe. These Aspects, according to Darkseid's calculations, will attempt to destroy these planets. If any two of them are obliterated, the entire Milky Way galaxy will collapse, and weaken our universe enough so that the Anti-Life Equation entity can enter it. Got it? Good, let's go.

Karen: A comment on the art before we move along. When I was a kid, I used to check How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way out of the library all the time. For the would-be comics artist, John Buscema provided the fundamentals of figure drawing: circles, ovals, and graceful curves. When I look at Mike Mignola's art in this comic, I feel like if he drew the instructional art for a text book, it would be filled with rectangles and squares and hard, straight lines. Really, the characters are all so blocky. It takes some getting used to. 

Karen: The first team we see is the pairing of Superman and Orion on the planet of Thanagar, the homeworld of Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Hawkwoman?). Where they have arrived looks something like Utah, with a desert and buttes in the distance. The thanagarians come flying towards them, and Orion predicts they are being mind-controlled by the Aspect, and will attack immediately. He's absolutely right, as the winged warriors swoop in, wielding axes, maces, and other charming weapons. Superman and Orion handle them fairly easily, and we begin to see the seeds of some conflict between the two, as Superman suggests to Orion that as the Thanagarians aren't their real enemy and not responsible for their actions, they should try to do as little harm as possible. Orion just stares at him and says nothing. He is, after all, the son of Darkseid. You know this is not going to go well. 

Karen: On the planet Xanshi, Green Lantern John Stewart and J'Onn J'Onzz, the Martian Manhunter, discuss how to proceed. Stewart suggests they head into a large city, to see if they detect the Aspect's presence. They do indeed -in the form of a plague. They encounter a scientist in the street who was working on a cure and Stewart uses his ring to miraculously synthesize a compound for him. This is the first of many problems that Stewart resolves rather easily by using his power ring. The ring also helps them figure out the Aspect's location -a weather control station in the arctic.

Karen: Team three checks in from Earth, and the batcave. Batman leads his ally, Forager, inside his secret lair. The detective asks about Orion's nasty remarks towards Forager before they left New Genesis. Forager explains that although he is a New God, he was raised by a "deviant" race called the Insect Legion, a people that are known derisively as 'bugs.' And Orion's not the only one with this prejudice -others on New Genesis share his feelings. Batman gruffly says that he finds those attitudes "stupid," and then moves on to their task. He's been taking the reports of the other teams and feeding them into his computer. He says it's obvious that the Aspects are utilizing the most powerful force on each of the planets it has occupied. Forager immediately assumes this means the Aspect on Earth will grab the worlds' nuclear arsenals, but Batman says no. He believes it will go for computers.

Karen: Our last team is Starfire and Lightray, and they are on the planet Rann -you might have heard of it. They discover chaos in the streets -the people have all apparently gone mad and are attacking one another. They fly to what appears to be a seat of government and there find Adam Strange, with his wife and father-in-law tied up before him. Strange demands answers from the twosome, which are delivered off-panel. Convinced, he agrees to help them search for the Aspect. He even thinks he knows where it is: at an automated manufacturing center outside the city. They fly off to check it out. 

Karen: Back at the power center of New Genesis, Darkseid and Highfather try to convince Jason Blood that he must rejoin with Etrigan the Demon in order to save the universe. I admit, I was as puzzled as Blood as to why the Demon, a character of mystical origins, should be involved in this storyline. Darkseid says that the Anti-Life Entity (let's just call it A.L.E., all right?) is attempting to find a way into our universe and that the Barrier between our universe and its universe has been weakened, so it may  breach it regardless of whether or not the Aspects succeed. This barrier has to be reinforced, and the Demon, being an elemental being, is connected to "the limitless resources of pure nature." Darkseid apparently intends the Demon to be some sort of living conduit that he will manipulate to strengthen the barrier. Since I never read The Demon, I have no idea if this really makes any sense or not. Whenever I saw the character as a guest star in books, he never came across as being very powerful. It feels to me like an excuse to work another Kirby character into the story. But since I don't really know that much about the character I suppose I'll just go with it. Blood is finally persuaded as well, and says he'll do it. Highfather seems all-too-willing to go along with Drakseid's plan.

Karen: Back on Thanagar, Superman and Orion once again face down hordes of Thanagarians, in a two-page sequence that does absolutely nothing to move their part of the story forward. Honestly, I have no idea why it was included other than to pad things out a little.

Karen: The meat of the story is back on Xanshi, as the two Johns, John and J'Onn, fly towards the weather station. They are harassed by storms and what John calls a hurricane, although it looks like a tornado. Stewart is taking everything far too lightly; he ignores J'Onn's warning and zips around the tornado, but when he does, a lightning bolt comes down and hits J'Onn. The bolt destroys the device he was carrying to catch the Aspect, but again, Stewart whips up a replacement with his all-powerful ring. Really, could the the power ring just make objects out of thin air like this? I thought the constructs they made were always temporary. Anyway, Stewart projects a force cube around the two of them as they venture further in to the storm and closer to their quarry.

Karen: Back on Earth, Batman has given Forager a make-over by turning his red and white suit red and black, since they'll be working at night.  Batman has discovered that some specialized scientific instruments have been shipped to a location in Moosejaw, Arizona -and the recipient is Joe Bester, the policeman who died down in the tunnels with the alien flesh-eater in the first issue!

Karen: Back on Rann, our trio discovers a gigantic bomb, which Lightray describes as a doomsday bomb, "thousands of times more powerful than any of Earth's hydrogen bombs," and which will ultimately send the planet out of orbit and colliding into its sun. What? Yes, OK, go with it. They decide to look for the Aspect in the factory and Strange is quickly knocked out by something in a tunnel. Starfire and Lightray come running but find nothing. They don't notice a black goo on the ventilation grate...


Karen: Things are heating up on Xanshi -quite explosively, as the Aspect causes volcanic eruptions directly below Stewart and J'Onzz. The Lantern's ring protects both of them from the flames and molten rock. This sense of invincibility though, leads Stewart to make a terrible decision. He feels like J'Onzz will only slow him down, so he puts him inside a protective force sphere and flies off alone to deal with the Aspect. Again, as a more casual DC reader, I have to ask: was this the first time that John Stewart was depicted as being arrogant and overconfident? Was this done just to serve this story? If so, I can only imagine how fans of the character must have felt, seeing him act like an utter jerk here. Actually, 'jerk' isn't a strong enough word, but we try to keep it PG around here. Stewart flies off leaving the Manhunter behind, prophetically warning him that he's relying too much on his ring to save the day. But the Lantern is so full of himself, he goes in, proclaiming to anyone in earshot, that the Aspect is in "big trouble," because now he's facing a 'former member ' of the Green Lantern corps (I guess they were disbanded at this point, based on things previously said). In any case, Stewart talks more trash than Seahawk Richard Sherman, proclaiming there's nothing he can't do just as he enters the weather station to encounter - a huge bomb painted bright yellow. The power ring's vulnerability to anything yellow always seemed incredibly stupid, and this full page shot seems to magnify the ridiculousness of it all. What makes it worse is there's a strange man holding a paint brush standing right under the bomb. He looks nothing like the Xanshi people we've seen previously -if anything, he looks a lot like a stereotypical fanboy. Is it supposed to be Mignola? It's bizarre. We've no time to ponder that as the bomb has only 5 seconds til it explodes, and for once, Stewart has no idea what to do. It goes off, and over the course of seven pages, we see Xanshi and its people burn, and the planet itself become a chunk of anti-matter that seeks out its sun like a torpedo. The star explodes and causes massive devastation, but Stewart and J'Onzz both survive. Stewart cannot comprehend that he failed. J'Onzz has no sympathy for him. "Thanks to your arrogance and stupidity, I have now seen two worlds die. I will never forgive you for this." The issue ends with Jason Blood regretfully joining back with Etrigan the Demon, who is   regenerated from a pathetic shriveled creature to his former robust self.

Karen: I've been told that the events with John Stewart in this issue were used to shape the character for years to come. Perhaps this is the major legacy of the story -or not, considering how DC has rebooted their universe again and again. Does John Stewart still exist now? All in all, it was rather heavy-handed and if you didn't see his comeuppance on the horizon, you weren't paying attention. So far I can't say as the story has grabbed me. I'm somewhat intrigued by what will happen with Superman and Orion, and I enjoy seeing Batman play detective, but I have zero interest in the Lightray/Starfire team-up. Perhaps whatever Darkseid has planned with the Demon will be worthwhile. Right now I feel as though this story is still moving too slowly for my tastes.

"Only there's skins you never bothered with." Green Lantern 87

Green Lantern #87 (December/January 1971)(cover by Neal Adams)
"Beware My Power"
Dennis O'Neil-Neal Adams/Dick Giordano

Doug:  Welcome to our first post-vacation comic review.  In the United States, February has been designated "Black History Month" -- it was first officially recognized by the federal government during our bicentennial year of 1976.  The observance is also celebrated in the UK and Canada.  Karen and I have never done anything specific on our blog to bring notice to this, but during our time away we had conversation about it and decided to make 2014 a bit different.  With this in mind, we're going to review today's fare -- the introduction of the Green Lantern perhaps most recognized by novice superhero fans of today, John Stewart.  We're going to follow it with Fantastic Four #119, an anti-apartheid story featuring the Black Panther.  After that, we'll get away from our usual trend of arcs contained with a calendar month and begin a long stretch of the "Secret Empire" storyline from Captain America.  Throughout these reviews, we'll do our best to not only provide the sort of commentary you've grown accustomed to but also hopefully shine a spotlight on the treatment of Black characters in these stories.  The new Green Lantern, T'Challa, the Falcon and Leila -- should be enlightening and hopefully a lot of fun.

Karen: Although comics have become far more inclusive of African Americans and characters of other ethnic backgrounds over the years, it's rather sobering to realize that there's still not a major Black super-hero at the big two headlining their own title. Characters like John Stewart and the Panther, and Luke Cage, the Falcon, Storm, Cyborg, and others have become regular fixtures in titles but none have moved into that upper echelon of popularity. But then, how many characters born after the initial wave of creation at either company have gone on to become big hits? I'm pleased to see more diverse faces in books over the years, but when it comes down to it, the big names are still mostly white guys.

Doug:  When last we visited the groundbreaking Green Lantern/Green Arrow series, Karen and I were left underwhelmed by the heavy-handed liberalism and compact storytelling of Dennis O'Neil.  While the visuals provided by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano provided a saving grace to the four issues we reviewed, the stories themselves seemed to wear on us.  I found myself not necessarily disagreeing with O'Neil's passion for social issues, but the large club he seemed to wield proved most unsavory as a means of delivery.  But today's story is significant as mentioned above, and certainly merits our notice.  Let's have a look.


Doug:  We open with a look-in on Hal Jordan, in full GL costume and charging his power ring.  Suddenly he's aware of an earthquake.  Quickly he exits the room to get outside, but by the time he does the tremor has subsided.  He does a survey of his surroundings and realizes the damage is slight.  That is, until he reaches the outskirts of the city.  There, a long bridge over a deep chasm has disintegrated, leaving a school bus and its passengers precariously perched on the edge of oblivion.  As Green Lantern lands, the children explain that they were on a field trip when the quake hit.  One of their classmates is at the edge of what's left of the road and their teacher, Mr. Gardner, is trying to help her back to safety.  As GL looks up, the school bus moves forward and strikes Gardner squarely in the back.  As Gardner and the young girl vault over the precipice, the green energy of Jordan's ring encircles them and brings them back to solid earth.  Hal recognizes "Mr. Gardner" as Guy Gardner, once named the alternate Green Lantern of Earth.  Gardner (this one's a faaaaaaaar cry from the Guy we knew and loved/hated during the Bwhahahaha Justice League days) tells Hal that he's pretty beat up and will need some time to heal and rehabilitate.   As Jordan walks away he muses to himself that he'd been very comfortable knowing that he had a back-up should the need ever arise.  Now he's not so sure.

Karen: OK, I have to get this out of my system, as someone who was born and raised in California and lived there most of my life: any earthquake that buckles walls, makes a big crack in the street and causes a car to flip over isn't "slight"! I had to read that twice. There was no reason for him to have Green Lantern saying that. It goes at odds with the pictures and it's just plain wrong. I was also kind of surprised Gardner was still conscious and talking after getting pulverized, but I'll let that one go. 

Doug:  So while Hal debates his future without a "first runner-up", the Guardians appear to him and tell him that he must have that alternate, and they know just who that someone will be.  Jordan wonders who, so scribe Denny O'Neil is going to show us.  We scene-shift to an "urban ghetto" where some Black youths sit against a store front playing dominoes.  The police want them to move, using the excuse that the young men have no "games permit".  Suddenly another gent in his 20s comes up and tells the police that these youngsters have done nothing wrong.  This new guy stands up to the police, albeit in a very smart-alleck way.  The cops are ticked, and our guy challenges them, saying they aren't man enough to give him trouble.  O'Neil does strike a chord with this bit of temporally-embedded dialogue:

"Blast 'em... They got no respect!"
"Fred, respect has to be earned!  The way you acted, you didn't earn a nickel's worth!"

This almost sounds like dialogue from In the Heat of the Night or some such period film.  That Denny O'Neil strikes the "us vs. them" antagonism seems perfect for the urban mood found in northern cities in 1971.  These were the days of busing of school children, newly-segregated schools, and racially-based fighting.  But then part of me wants to know -- why'd he go with the easy stereotype of the slick-talking, anti-establishment Black man?  Why not throw us for a loop and choose a smooth Sidney Poitier-type?

Karen: After reading the whole story, I would just venture a guess that O'Neil probably hadn't spent a whole lot of time around young African American men. John Stewart is a strange amalgam of traits to be sure.

Doug:  GL watches the scene from a rooftop, with the astral projection of one of the Guardians, and asks if this is really the guy they want to recruit.  Jordan is assured that he is, in spite of his "petty bigotries".  I remarked to Karen in an email as we were preparing this that I wonder if there's ever been another comic book where the star of the mag plays straight man to everyone else -- it seems Hal Jordan always has a lesson to learn and usually learns it by being put firmly in his place.  So we cut moments ahead to a candy store, where GL (in full costume) is sitting down with our new protagonist and enjoying a milk shake.  Yup -- full costume, milk shake... you read that right.  We learn that our prospective Green Lantern is an unemployed architect named John Stewart -- "Square John" to his friends.  Shortly, the two men are on a rooftop where Hal begins his protege's instruction.

Karen: Yes, getting back to our off-line conversation, one of the things that really bothered me about the GL/GA stories was the fact that GL was constantly being taught some lesson -the poor guy was always made out to be a tool. It was just so heavy-handed. Whether I agreed with O'Neil's political leanings all the time or not, it just grew more grating over time. Back to our story now -they meet in a candy shop? What? Couldn't two grown men like this at least have coffee?

Doug:  Hal uses his ring to encompass Stewart's body in the full garb of the Green Lantern Corps.  Stewart remarks that these aren't exactly threads like James Brown would wear, and then declares that he will not wear a mask.  John Stewart is a Black man who "lets it all hang out!  I've got nothing to hide!"  Jordan's again left standing, and bewildered.  The next lesson is on flight, which Stewart quickly masters; he remarks that flying is much easier than staying ahead of the muggers on the way back to his apartment after dark.  And here's where I think I grow tired of O'Neil's writing.  His soap boxing is a constant drum beat.  I don't care if we're reading this as 40-year old history or if we were readers fully in the moment.  The Black/white social dichotomy was no secret and had not been for quite some time.  Is this a socially-aware story?  Yes, sure it is.  But why couldn't it just stand on those merits?  Everything seems to become cliche', and delivered with a hammer blow.  My take, I suppose.

Karen: Well, you already know how I feel about it!  I try to figure out how this went over back when it first came out, but I can't help but think it would be perceived largely the same way -John Stewart is a caricature, but an oddly uneven one.

Doug:  Our heroes arrive to the airport as a large crowd has gathered adjacent to the tarmac to welcome a particular plane.  But suddenly, a fuel truck hits an oil slick and careens out of control.  Stewart actually gives the order for the dual maneuver that will save everyone and Jordan responds.  As Hal spirits the spectators away, Stewart uses his own imagination to craft a shape that will right the tipping, sliding truck.  But as he does, oil spurts from the rig, some landing on Senator Jeremiah Clutcher, the man the crowd had come to see.  Clutcher's face is covered in the crude and Stewart flies right up to him and makes a racist comment himself.  Moments later, Hal gives John Stewart a stern chewing-out.  Stewart responds angrily, saying the Clutcher is a racist who wants to be President; he calls Hal "whitey" during the argument.  Incensed, Hal reminds Stewart who the teacher is and assigns the novice Green Lantern to guard Senator Clutcher.

Karen: One thing I notice with these O'Neil GL/GA stories is I always feel like they're more sketches of stories -like they're missing text or something. We get no introduction to the senator, the Lanterns are just suddenly there and blammo. I guess I'm used to reading longer-winded Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway stories from that time period.

Doug:  I'm not going to give O'Neil and Adams a pass, but for whatever reason Green Lantern and Green Arrow do not appear together in this book -- rather, there are two separate stories (Black Canary is also in the GA story).  So O'Neil was dealing with smaller page counts for his stories.  Still, we've certainly reviewed our fair share of short stories through the years -- make it work.

Karen: Another interesting thing here is how Jordan stresses to Stewart that he's not there to make judgments on people. Understandable to a degree, but don't superheroes tend to put themselves in that position by default? 

Doug:  Later, Clutcher makes a speech filled with racist epithets and innuendo. The Green Lanterns stand nearby listening, both men disturbed by what they hear.  Suddenly a Black man emerges on the left side of the stage and fires a shot at the Senator.  Hal leaps to action, but Stewart says he's leaving!  Hal catches the shooter and lays him out.  Stewart, on the other hand, finds a white man in the parking lot with a machine gun set on a cop.  Stewart rescues the cop, subdues the gunman, and is reunited with Jordan.  Hal again lights into Stewart and calls him a disgrace.  Stewart tells Jordan to get his hands off and follow him to the police station.  There John Stewart explains details he'd seen earlier in the day that led him to believe the attempted assassination was a frame-up; he tells Jordan to empty the confiscated revolver.  Blanks.  The machine gun handler, on the other hand, was the real shooter and the set-up was to make it look like Clutcher was attacked by Blacks but would end up a hero in the end.  This was Clutcher's plan to generate positive propaganda for himself, all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Jordan again looks like a dope.

Karen: Stewart's explanation still seems a bit weak. In fact, the whole thing is like a wisp of a plot.

Doug:  In the last panel epilogue, Jordan tells Stewart that he doesn't like his style.  Stewart counters by telling Jordan that style isn't important... any more than is color.  And I could agree with that sentiment.  As this story sits firmly in the Bronze Age, the days of whitebread hero personifications such as the Silver Age DC male heroes were largely a memory.  So while I may have been initially put off by Stewart's flip and even disrespectful attitude throughout this story, I have to keep reminding myself that when this came out the times they were a'changing.  It's just that when Denny O'Neil went for anti-establishment characterization, he fed it to us with a very large shovel.

Karen: I feel like O'Neil wanted to create a Black hero who would be a titillating "angry young Black man" type but not too 'scary' for DC's mostly white readers.  Because of this, he comes off as an unconvincing character, kind of a jerk really, and Hal comes off as a dope, as you say. It's an inauspicious beginning for DC's first Black costumed hero.

Doug:  I agree, and I'm left wondering -- would I buy a comic featuring either of these characters?  The established superhero who never seems to star in his own magazine, and the angry black man with a power ring.  Hmph.
 

Discuss: Green Lantern

And a Happy St. Patrick's Day to all.