2020 is the 80th anniversary of Green Lantern, but really it’s a milestone for Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, created in 1940 by Martin Nodell in the pages of All-American Comics #16. Alan has been through a lot of weird stuff over the last 80 years, and I plan to talk about all of it eventually…but right now, the anniversary has me wanting to read some Golden Age Green Lantern comics…or at least, comics that evoke the Golden Age.
“Green Lantern: Brightest Day, Blackest Night” was published in 2002, and then later reprinted with a few other Alan Scott stories in a collection titled “JSA Presents: Green Lantern”. It’s written by Steven T. Seagle, with art by John K. Snyder III, and is a reimagining of the first appearance of long-time Green Lantern villain Solomon Grundy in All-American Comics #61, published back in 1944. The approach taken to this retelling is interesting, because while a lot of new elements were added, the choice was made to keep it as a period piece taking place in 1944. So what we end up with is a 2002 version of 1944, that tries to split the difference between staying faithful to the period while also fleshing out the story for a modern audience…which might actually have done them a favor, because the time period and the overall presentation do help to smooth over some of the problems with this story that I wouldn’t be as forgiving of if this was an average, contemporary comic book. But this is trying to be a Golden Age story, and I’m willing to meet it on those terms.
In the original version of this story, a couple escaped prisoners hide out in the swamp, and run into Solomon Grundy, a large zombie-like man with inhuman strength. Grundy kills them, before leaving the swamp and becoming leader of a gang of hobos…yes really…that goes on a crime spree starting with a sporting goods store. Alan Scott happens to be shopping in that store at the time, so Green Lantern shows up to battle Grundy. It doesn’t go great, and Alan has to recover at home for a while, before heading out to fight Grundy again…forgetting his ring at home! But that’s ok, because Alan tricks Grundy into being hit by a train.
The new version of the story replace the escaped prisoners with secret Nazi agents who hijack an airplane transporting a top secret invisibility ray belonging to the U.S. government. The Nazis crash the plane in the swamp, to make it harder for authorities to reach the crash site, and give them plenty of time to escape with the invisibility ray. But all this activity in the swamp woke Grundy, who started attacking people until Green Lantern arrived. The United States President ordered the entire JSA to either retrieve or destroy the invisibility ray, and Alan was just the closest one, so he got there first, fighting Grundy and the Nazis at the same time. Like in the original version, the fight doesn’t go very well, but this time Alan is able to trick Grundy into being hit by a train without having to go home and take a break first. You’d think Alan would be less eager to throw somebody in front of a moving train since his origin story is literally him being the only survivor of a horrific train crash.
Honestly, all of the new elements give the story a few too many moving parts, without making all of those parts very important, and it make the whole thing feel too long. We’re talking about the secret plans of Nazi sleeper agents, a sci-fi invisibility ray, existential questions about the nature of good and evil, a subplot about the push for gender equality in the workplace, all while also giving the supporting cast things to do…all of which buries the lead here, since you come to this book to see Green Lantern fight Solomon Grundy. And by the time you pass the half way point, you’re really feeling the length of the story, and weaknesses in the writing start to drag the whole thing down…things like Alan falling for the paper-thin lie told by a masked Nazi, or everyone seemingly forgetting that an invisibility ray isn’t a gun that can hurt you…it all feels like they’re just extra chaos meant to pad out the length of of the book. This story is only 48 pages long, and you could probably shorten it by half and not lose anything important.
But the real reason to check this story out is the gorgeous watercolor artwork by John K. Snyder III. Not only does his work make this book stand out from most modern super hero comics, but Snyder’s style really brings the most out of the setting, making the swamp feel eerie and otherworldly, where the bright light of Alan’s ring looks alien and out of place in this messy and unsettling world. The whole book has a Burtonesque vibe that’s enhanced by a willingness to use more cartoony character designs, and exaggerate them for maximum effect. Grundy himself is a strong reminder that the thing that makes zombies terrifying is the fact that they’re Human beings who’re twisted and distorted into something else, something primal and terrifying. This artwork makes Grundy just as menacing as the swamp he calls home, and that’s saying a lot. Any page of this book would look amazing blown up on a wall…hell most individual panels would too. Even if you have no interest in reading this for the story, I still highly recommend getting it just for the art. And if you still want more, there’s another one of these, this time abut Doctor Mid-Nite and written by Matt Wagner, still with art by John K. Snyder III. I haven’t read it, so I couldn’t even guess what the quality of the story is…but after reading this Green Lantern book, I honestly don’t care, I’m going to buy this Doctor Mid-Nite book for the art alone.
When all’s said and done, I just think it’s really cool that this adaptation exists. Updating old stories for a modern audience is nothing new to comics, but this is an interesting way to do it, and I kind of wish it caught on. Green Lantern, and maybe Doctor Mid-Nite, play with comic history in an unexpected way, while making room for unconventional art that deserves to be seen by more people. Regardless of any shortcomings these stories may have, I’d call this experiment a success.
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