DC hasn’t done too much to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Green Lantern, but in addition to this past September’s Green Lantern variant cover theme the publisher is released a hardcover book containing key stories from the past seven and a half decades. You can see what I think of the book below in my video review, but to cut to the chase it’s worth picking up if you’re a fan. A complete list of the contents of the book and why the issues are important can be found after the video. You can find this book for a great price on Amazon.
Included in the collection
- All American Comics #16 – 1st appearance of Alan Scott
- Comic Calvalcade #6 – 1st appearance of the modern Green Lantern oath
- Green Lantern vol. 1 #30 – 1st appearance of Streak
- Showcase #22 – 1st appearance of Hal Jordan, Abin Sur
- Green Lantern vol. 2 #7 – 1st appearance of Sinestro
- Green Lantern vol. 2 #11 – 1st appearance of the Green Lantern Corps
- Green Lantern vol. 2 #16 – 1st appearance of Star Sapphire
- Green Lantern vol. 2 #40 – 1st appearance of Krona, origin of the Guardians
- Green Lantern vol. 2 #59 – 1st appearance of Guy Gardner
- Green Lantern vol. 2 #76 – 1st Denny O’Neil/ Neal Adams issue
- Green Lantern vol. 2 #87 – 1st appearance of John Stewart
- Flash vol. 1 #237, 238, 240 – 1st appearance of Itty
- Justice League #1 – Start of Justice League International run
- Green Lantern vol. 3 #50 – 1st appearance of Kyle Rayner, end of “Emerald Twilight”
- Green Lantern vol. 3 #51 – 1st appearance of Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern
- Green Lantern/Green Lantern #1 – Kyle teams with Alex Dewitt
- Green Lantern; Rebirth #1
- Green Lantern Secret Files #1 “Flight” story
- Green Lantern vol. 4 #0 – 1st appearance of Simon Baz
For a look at our entire series delving into the 75 year history of Green Lantern, click here.
Green Lantern: A Celebration of 75 Years is a great addition to any fan’s bookshelf, hitting some of the key moments from Green Lantern history. While the book slants heavily in the Silver and Bronze Ages in terms of content it all makes sense considering that is where most of the foundation for the modern mythology was built. From the 1st appearance of Alan Scott to the 1st appearance of Simon Baz, this book is a winner. Ten out of ten lanterns.
How could you give the Green Lantern 75th anniversary issue 10 out of 10 points when they didn’t once mention or showed Jessica Cruz. While I didn’t care for the new 52 versions of DC characters, she was still introduced as the first female human Green Lantern. I’ve been a DC reader since the late 1950s and I’m still here loving and hating what DC lets good and quite bad writers do.
Because this book was published in 2015 and Jessica Cruz didn’t become a Green Lantern until 2016. And Jade was the first human female lantern.