Saturday, August 22, 2009

Green Lantern (vol. 1) #76-89 (Neal Adams art)


Download Green Lantern v2 #76





Download Green Lantern v2 #77





Download Green Lantern v2 #78





Download Green Lantern v2 #79





Download Green Lantern v2 #80





Download Green Lantern v2 #81





Download Green Lantern v2 #82





Download Green Lantern v2 #83





Download Green Lantern v2 #84





Download Green Lantern v2 #85





Download Green Lantern v2 #86





Download Green Lantern v2 #87





Download Green Lantern v2 #88





Download Green Lantern v2 #89





In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night... These frequently reprinted Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories from the early ‘70s are both a harbinger of things to come in American comics and a dead end. As sales for DC’s Green Lantern fell, young writer O’Neil, influenced by ‘60s liberal politics, decided to have superheroes confront real social issues of the time, including racism, political corruption and capitalistic exploitation of workers. O’Neil compared Green Lantern to a policeman, accustomed to unquestioningly accepting the status quo. Green Lantern is clued into social ills by the newly radicalized superhero archer Green Arrow, whom O’Neil revamped into a contemporary Robin Hood. O’Neil thus started a trend of "relevant" comics that quickly faded. Nor have these stories aged well. Influenced by magazine illustrators, Adams’s art was acclaimed at the time for its realism, but now seems to glamorize naturalistic subjects. Though professing to portray moral complexities, these stories make their "real life" malefactors as purely evil as standard costumed villains. O’Neil vividly characterizes his two heroes, but they still lack true depth.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you! These comics are a timeless curio too important to be kept out of the hands of anyone interested in them!

The Executioner said...

You're very welcome and thank you for saying so, my friend! At a later date I am going to re-upload these issues in their entirety so that they may be read online.

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