The last twenty four hours or so has been filled with some news and rumors regarding the future of the Green Lantern franchise that have fans talking about what DC has planned for the books. It’s no mystery that the Green Lantern series have faltered in the sales side for some time now and it looks like DC is going to be making a number of creative changes in the near future. Here’s what we now so far, what rumors are swirling about, and my opinions on things. First the facts:
Robert Venditti will be leaving Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps with issue fifty. Robert has been a good friend to this site and podcast and I’m sorry to see him leave, but I’m not surprised as he’s been working with the Green Lantern franchise for five years now, stepping in to fill the large shoes of Geoff Johns after what is arguably the most successful Green Lantern run in history. That and editorial interference gave Venditti a challenging job of moving the franchise forward and for the most part I think he’s done as good of a job and anyone could be asked to do.
Ethan Van Sciver is not only done with the Green Lantern universe, he’s done at DC altogether according to a recent video on his YouTube channel. For twenty years Ethan has applied his craft at DC Comics and has created a mountain of great images for the publisher, and I’d have a hard time thinking of anyone who has had as much impact on the visual portrayal of the Green Lantern franchise since Gil Kane. Van Sciver redefined Green Lantern’s look for the modern age and his creativity will be sorely missed. Ethan has a couple more issues of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps in the pipeline but his work is done and he’s moving on to write and draw new books, being joined by other creators like Moose Bauman on projects that he’ll be announcing very soon. Ethan has always been very kind and gracious to me, the website and the Podcast of Oa and I hope that someday he returns to the Green Lantern books.
Tim Seeley is off Green Lanterns, Dan Jurgens is on but for how long? It’s a bit of surprise to see Seeley depart after such a short run, but I don’t think DC got the response to putting him on the book they had hoped for. The big question is how long Jurgens is going to write the book based on the rumors we’ve seen from Bleeding Cool. Which leads us to….
Grant Morisson and Liam Sharp on a new Green Lantern title. The British website ran two rumor laced articles yesterday about a new book, called Green Lantern, being written by Morrison and drawn by Liam Sharp. Morrison isn’t really new to Green Lantern per se, given his use of Kyle Rayner during his Justice League run and his use of Hal Jordan and John Stewart during Final Crisis. He’s an a-list talent no doubt, but I’m not sure he’s the type of writer who’d take on a twice-monthly series. Also, the title if accurate would create a bit of confusion if the Green Lanterns series continues. So one idea is that both Green Lanterns and Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps will end their runs in time with Venditti’s departure, making Jurgens a placeholder. What character takes center stage in the new book is up for grabs, but I tend to think that DC is splitting Jessica Cruz and John Stewart out of the rest of the Green Lantern family to co-star in the Justice League franchise to leave Hal Jordan to anchor Green Lantern. Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner would then co-star in a new Green Lantern Corps series, being joined by Simon Baz if he makes it out alive. I admittedly have no inside information and this is only one of many possibilities that could be on the horizon if Bleeding Cool’s information is correct.
Liam Sharp is not unfamiliar with Green Lantern, having recently drawn alongside Ethan Van Sciver in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32. His style really complimented Ethans so I do think he’d be a great fit on a Green Lantern book. Regardless, we should all learn DC’s plan in the coming weeks, particularly when the August solicitations arrive.
