Green Lantern Corps Annual #2: a trio of great stories
Here's another item from within my collection I'm going to write about, this one the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2 from 1986, which features a trio of short stories told by 3-4 different writers.
The book begins with Steve Englehart's framework story featuring Sinestro in jail on Oa, which at the time was turned into a prison planet where intergalactic criminals could be kept. He's trying to make it seem as if he's got connections to some kind of space-lord out there, and that by telling some great stories, he can win a get-out-of-jail-free card. All the other convicts on his cell block are mighty annoyed by him, but along he goes and proceeds to tell a couple of short stories about occurances in the history of the GL Corps.
We first start with one written by Mindy Newell, about a Han Solo-like soldier of fortune named Penn Maricc hanging out in one of these intergalactic bars who's approached by mysterious figures who ask of him to undertake the daring mission of rescuing an alien prince on planet Cadrial 7, who's been deposed and imprisoned by an alien despot who looks a lot like Saddam and Stalin. The bounty hunter is captured and thrown in the same cell where the stuffy prince is being kept, and soon breaks out and together, they bring down the dictator who attempted to usurp its rightful heir. With the job done, Maricc is approached by the strange figures again, who turn out to be Guardians of Oa, who want to welcome him to the Green Lantern Corps for accomplishing the mission. But Maricc is angry at how they didn't approach him honestly about who they were in the first place, and that they lied to him about the reward he was to recieve (clearly, he'd hoped for money), and so, the nervous Guardians quickly transport him back to the intergalactic bar where they'd first met him, one saying that "some men are happiest when there are no strings to bind them."
A good story this was, and one of the most impressive things about this was how it seems to be an allegory to the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s (and to another extent, the Cold War in its latter days), and the dictatorial despot is drawn to look like a cross between Saddam and Stalin. One of the Guardians in disguise even tells how on Cadrial 7 there's a "jihad" going on. It's a perfect opportunity to see how Penn Maricc even clobbers the crap out of the despot when they finally catch up to him.
The second story, by Paul Kupperberg, is about an aging Green Lantern named Ghrelk from a planet named Naktos, who patrols Sector 69 in space, who's age is beginning to take its toll on his sanity...and also his control of his power ring. He's really beginning to screw up, and a young local policeman named Commander Varix comes to confront him about what's going on, and how he failed to prevent a disaster earlier in the day.
Alas, Ghrelk's sanity is beginning to fray, and Varix is rightfully concerned now that Ghrelk is a danger to the local community. The aging GL, in all his unstable sanity, soon attacks a group of spaceships that went to look for him, thinking that they're really invaders. Varix comes after him to try and convince him to stop, and while he's hesitant, he does begin to wonder if he's cracking up. This prevents him from trying to avert a potential disaster at a local asteroid mining field, as he doesn't know if this is for real or not. Luckily, Varix catches up with him and takes the power ring to set things right himself. Ghrelk is grateful, and tells Varix to keep the ring, as he, as the younger, has earned it, and it's time for Ghrelk to retire.
A touching story this was, about how even GLs can fall vulnerable to old age, confusion and self-doubt, and how a younger protagonist ends up earning the right to take up the baton passed on in his stead.
The third story, by Alan Moore, is about the early days of Hal Jordan's own predecessor who passed on his ring to him, Abin Sur, and how, while journeying to a planet called Ysmault filled with strange exiles to rescue an infant alien in a spaceship that crashed there, he spoke with some of the trussed up aliens, one of whom offered to answer his questions to tell what will be his ultimate fate. Little does Abin know when leaving that the alien may have led to his destruction, "though it'll be a decade before he knows it." What fiends indeed.
This too was a pretty good story telling about how Abin Sur may have learned that he was to pass on his mantle to a human of Earth, but didn't expect what ended up happening until years later, when his ship, as we now know, had a disastrous malfunction and crashed in the California desert. It's written in Moore's talented dialogue that he mastered back in the 80s, something you don't really see much of today.
At the end, Sinestro, who's been telling these stories and at the same time tricking his fellow prisoners into thinking that there's really some space god out there who's fulfilling his wish to break out of jail, pushes a button and opens the door. No doubt it was really just a cleverly orchestrated stunt he planned for getting out, but his fellow prisoners now buy into the whole act, and as he leaves them behind while escaping to do more damage as the villain he is, they start trying to tell their own stories in hopes of emerging themselves.
Overall, not a bad issue, with some of the most facinating and smartly written space stories to be found in comicdom from during the 80s. If we had this kind of writing today, who knows, maybe we'd be much better off today than we are now.
The book begins with Steve Englehart's framework story featuring Sinestro in jail on Oa, which at the time was turned into a prison planet where intergalactic criminals could be kept. He's trying to make it seem as if he's got connections to some kind of space-lord out there, and that by telling some great stories, he can win a get-out-of-jail-free card. All the other convicts on his cell block are mighty annoyed by him, but along he goes and proceeds to tell a couple of short stories about occurances in the history of the GL Corps.
We first start with one written by Mindy Newell, about a Han Solo-like soldier of fortune named Penn Maricc hanging out in one of these intergalactic bars who's approached by mysterious figures who ask of him to undertake the daring mission of rescuing an alien prince on planet Cadrial 7, who's been deposed and imprisoned by an alien despot who looks a lot like Saddam and Stalin. The bounty hunter is captured and thrown in the same cell where the stuffy prince is being kept, and soon breaks out and together, they bring down the dictator who attempted to usurp its rightful heir. With the job done, Maricc is approached by the strange figures again, who turn out to be Guardians of Oa, who want to welcome him to the Green Lantern Corps for accomplishing the mission. But Maricc is angry at how they didn't approach him honestly about who they were in the first place, and that they lied to him about the reward he was to recieve (clearly, he'd hoped for money), and so, the nervous Guardians quickly transport him back to the intergalactic bar where they'd first met him, one saying that "some men are happiest when there are no strings to bind them."A good story this was, and one of the most impressive things about this was how it seems to be an allegory to the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s (and to another extent, the Cold War in its latter days), and the dictatorial despot is drawn to look like a cross between Saddam and Stalin. One of the Guardians in disguise even tells how on Cadrial 7 there's a "jihad" going on. It's a perfect opportunity to see how Penn Maricc even clobbers the crap out of the despot when they finally catch up to him.
The second story, by Paul Kupperberg, is about an aging Green Lantern named Ghrelk from a planet named Naktos, who patrols Sector 69 in space, who's age is beginning to take its toll on his sanity...and also his control of his power ring. He's really beginning to screw up, and a young local policeman named Commander Varix comes to confront him about what's going on, and how he failed to prevent a disaster earlier in the day.
Alas, Ghrelk's sanity is beginning to fray, and Varix is rightfully concerned now that Ghrelk is a danger to the local community. The aging GL, in all his unstable sanity, soon attacks a group of spaceships that went to look for him, thinking that they're really invaders. Varix comes after him to try and convince him to stop, and while he's hesitant, he does begin to wonder if he's cracking up. This prevents him from trying to avert a potential disaster at a local asteroid mining field, as he doesn't know if this is for real or not. Luckily, Varix catches up with him and takes the power ring to set things right himself. Ghrelk is grateful, and tells Varix to keep the ring, as he, as the younger, has earned it, and it's time for Ghrelk to retire.A touching story this was, about how even GLs can fall vulnerable to old age, confusion and self-doubt, and how a younger protagonist ends up earning the right to take up the baton passed on in his stead.
The third story, by Alan Moore, is about the early days of Hal Jordan's own predecessor who passed on his ring to him, Abin Sur, and how, while journeying to a planet called Ysmault filled with strange exiles to rescue an infant alien in a spaceship that crashed there, he spoke with some of the trussed up aliens, one of whom offered to answer his questions to tell what will be his ultimate fate. Little does Abin know when leaving that the alien may have led to his destruction, "though it'll be a decade before he knows it." What fiends indeed.This too was a pretty good story telling about how Abin Sur may have learned that he was to pass on his mantle to a human of Earth, but didn't expect what ended up happening until years later, when his ship, as we now know, had a disastrous malfunction and crashed in the California desert. It's written in Moore's talented dialogue that he mastered back in the 80s, something you don't really see much of today.
At the end, Sinestro, who's been telling these stories and at the same time tricking his fellow prisoners into thinking that there's really some space god out there who's fulfilling his wish to break out of jail, pushes a button and opens the door. No doubt it was really just a cleverly orchestrated stunt he planned for getting out, but his fellow prisoners now buy into the whole act, and as he leaves them behind while escaping to do more damage as the villain he is, they start trying to tell their own stories in hopes of emerging themselves.
Overall, not a bad issue, with some of the most facinating and smartly written space stories to be found in comicdom from during the 80s. If we had this kind of writing today, who knows, maybe we'd be much better off today than we are now.
Labels: dc comics, Green Lantern
