A Look at 2010 ~ The Blog of OA

With 2010 upon us I thought it might be a good idea to take a look at what we know is coming this new year for Green Lantern fans. 2009 was the 50th anniversary of Showcase #22 and while there were a lot of things that made for a great year, 2010 looks like it's going to be even better.

First and foremost we have the conclusion of the Blackest Night event and the fallout from the story. According to Geoff Johns, "the post-Blackest Night world is a very different world...2010 is about the new." Geoff also hinted that he has "an idea for a Larfleeze Christmas Special that I want to do really bad. I guarantee that will be out next Christmas." John Stewart will also play into the first post-Blackest Night storyline called "New Guardians." And we will be seeing Green Lantern: Rebirth getting the Absolute treatment in April.

Dan DiDio has also revealed that Green Lantern Corps will be getting a co-feature in 2010, although we don't know the exact nature of who will star in it. My initial thought was that John Stewart would get the feature, since he seems to have gotten the least amount of exposure so far. However Geoff's comments make me rethink that and I think the co-feature might either be REBELS or more open "Tales of" the various corps so that the stories of some of the new characters will have a place of their own without eating into the main titles.

In February we'll also have another DC animated direct-to-video release that Green Lantern will be in. "Justice League: Crisis on Earth 2" will have Nolan North taking on the role of Hal Jordan. North has done a great deal of voiceover work, most notably of late is his work in the Game of the Year, "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" and the voice of Deadpool in the animated "Hulk Vs Wolverine" movie that came out in 2009. Ironically, North will end up beating Ryan Reynolds to the punch on being both characters!

Speaking of movies, we'll have a lot to look forward to in terms of news about the filming of the upcoming live action Green Lantern film. We've heard rumors about Jackie Earle Haley as Sinestro and five different actresses vying for the role of Carol Ferris, but the only real news since the casting of Reynolds has been some of the crew working on the film. The movie's cinematographer, Dion Beebe, won an Oscar for "Memoirs of a Geisha" and both the production designer and costume designer are also Oscar winners for their work on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The art director also has a good resume, having working on "Avatar", "I Am Legend", "Watchmen" and all three "Spiderman" films. With production ramping up we should hear more casting information in a matter of weeks.

2010 is going to be big for Green Lantern in terms of merchandising. There are no less than four more waves coming in the Blackest Night line from DC Direct, with a special edition Mongul figure to boot.

In addition to the three waves shown above, wave 6 should hit stores in November that include fan favorite Arkillo, Black Lantern Hawkgirl and two more figures who's identity is not being revealed because they would spoil events coming up in the last two issues. A seventh wave may hit before for the end of the year or early 2011 and will feature a new Hal Jordan figure and a possible 2-pack of Black Lantern Terra and Scar the Black Lantern Guardian. Other rumored figures are Mera, Red Lantern Guy Gardner with a Dexstar pack in mini figure and a Black Lantern Elongated Man.

DC Direct also has a companion piece to 2009's Green Lantern mini neon sign with a Sinestro Corp mini neon sign. As someone who owns the Green Lantern Corps version I hope that DC gets the electrical issues resolved before releasing this one. Many people, myself included, had issues with the base overheating and burning out, causing the light to stop functioning. Fortunately DC is great about replacing them and acknowledged a production issue, but depending on retailer it wasn't always easy to get the problem resolved since DC Direct doesn't work directly with customers when they have problems.

The promotional rings for all the various Corps proved very popular in 2009, so much so that DC Direct is re-releasing them in a higher quality set complete with working LEDS and replaceable batteries for $60. There will also be another version of a metal ring, this one being the Honor Guard ring for $30 this spring. An image of the final version hasn't been released yet, so the image here is still the same cgi image that's been around for a while.

This year there are also seven, yes seven, different statues coming out that are Green Lantern related. Shown on the left in the picture below is the "Green Lantern Legacies" multi-part statue made up of three different parts, each running at about $200 each. The Green Lantern 1:2 scale bust is scheduled to be released in August with a $295 price tag and features a cloth costume on a cold cast porcelain body.

Very little is known about the "Chronicles Green Lantern" statue at this point, however it will probably cost around $100 if it maintains a similar price point the other statues in the line. The Heroes of the DC Universe: Sinestro mini bust will like cost approximately $65 and looks far better than the poor scan of the page it came from. The last statue on the right represents Green Lantern's appearance in the "DC Dynamics" line of statues that measures about 12 inches high and retails for $195.

For something that's a little lighter on the budget, Toys R Us will be the exclusive retailer for a line of Mego inspired action figures that includes both Green Lantern and Sinestro. As a kid I remember making my own Green Lantern figure by using drawing a mask on Superman, having my mom sew together a crude costume for him and painting Batman's boots green with model paint. So it's really cool to see an official version since I've long since lost my version.....and the paint came off the boots anyways!

And last but not least DC will be releasing at least two Blackest Night posters featuring the covers of the first two issues. I have a version of the second issue cover that the owner of my local comic shop gave me, but it will be nice to get a version that doesn't have all the folds in it that the comic shop promo one has.

As a long time fan it's both a pleasure and a pain to be a GL fan right now. Never has there been so much product support of the Green Lantern characters and now it is one of the most successful franchises for DC. So it's great to be able to have access to so many high quality collectibles, but boy when the year is done these items might be only "green" I have left!