Let's Talk: It's 2022 and We Don't Have A Green Lantern Ongoing Series

By Alex Orona

The Green Lanterns have been a catch all for most intergalactic space adventures in the DC Comics universe. Their main Lantern, Hal Jordan, has a storied history of ups and downs but now with 8 different Green Lanterns from earth, there’s always been a lot to explore in those pages. Now in the year of our lord 2022, we have not seen an ongoing dedicated Green Lantern book since Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps was canceled in 2018.

Part of that has been the watering down of the brand over time. While inclusivity has been a welcome change to the Corps, being a Green Lantern member from the Earth sector always felt like a rarity but now we’re up to 8 members. Add to that, the fan favorite Hal Jordan has had so many twists and turns as a hero, villain, savior and everything else under the sun. Still, this still doesn’t explain why the book has had a consistent ongoing comic.

Another thought is the popularity of the one off mini-series format that could better explore the universe in separate short adventures, which could include different writers and artists. Since the cancellation of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps in 2018, we’ve seen The Green Lantern and the Black Stars, and the critically acclaimed Far Sector. Each of these acted as limited issue stories that explored short experiences that wrap up as quickly as they start, with Far Sector only going for 12 issues.

There could always be the obvious hypothesis that there isn’t an ongoing Green Lantern series because there isn’t a movie out, which is more an advertising and possibly political move ( see how Marvel killed off 90% of the X-Men when Marvel wanted the film rights back from Fox.) For this premise, there’s at least hope on the horizon, as there is a TV series in the works at HBO Max following the Green Lantern John Stewart. While that has been in production hell since 2019 (and they just lost their showrunner,) there’s at least a glimmer but we will have to see.

Whatever the reason, I feel that there’s still a lot of stories to tell within the Green Lantern universe. Each Lantern deserves the spotlight and can easily headline their own ongoing series with interesting twists and turns on their galactic adventures. Even when there’s little hope, that’s especially when the Green Lanterns shine. Remember: In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night…