DC Comics' Green Lantern solicits for November 2013

Throughout yesterday, DC Comics were releasing their solicitation sfor November of this year, I've already posted the Batman, Dark and Edge groups' solicits, and now it's time to find out what the Green Lantern characters are doing in three months time!


GREEN LANTERN #25 Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by BILLY TAN and ROB HUNTER
Cover by BILLY TAN
1:25 B&W Variant cover by BILLY TAN
On sale NOVEMBER 6 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $3.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
The shockwaves of “Lights Out” are just starting to be felt, as Hal Jordan makes a controversial decision that will change the mission of the Green Lantern Corps! But not everyone agrees with Hal’s goals, and the dissent could weaken the Corps further!
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.







GREEN LANTERN CORPS #25 Written by VAN JENSEN and ROBERT VENDITTI
Art and cover by BERNARD CHANG
1:25 B&W Variant cover by BERNARD CHANG
On sale NOVEMBER 13 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
A BATMAN: ZERO YEAR tie-in! When The Riddler throws Gotham City into total darkness, a young Marine named John Stewart is deployed as part of the peacekeeping measures. But he gets much more than he expected when he must deal with the costumed chaos known as ANARKY!






GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS #25 Written by JUSTIN JORDAN
Art by BRAD WALKER and DREW HENNESSY
Cover by STEPHEN SEGOVIA
1:25 B&W Variant cover by STEPHEN SEGOVIA
On sale NOVEMBER 20 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
After the stunning end of “Lights Out,” where is Kyle Rayner?! Or...WHEN is Kyle Rayner? And more important, WHY is Kyle Rayner? Answers to all these questions and more as the series rockets off to the outer limits of the DC Universe!









LARFLEEZE #5 Written by KEITH GIFFEN and J.M. DeMATTEIS
Art by SCOTT KOLINS
Cover by TYLER KIRKHAM
On sale NOVEMBER 27 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
In the wake of the revolt of the Orange Lanterns, Larfleeze faces his worst nightmare: living as the possession of someone else!








RED LANTERNS #25 Written by CHARLES SOULE
Art and cover by ALESSANDRO VITTI
1:25 B&W Variant cover by ALESSANDRO VITTI
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
On sale NOVEMBER 27 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
As the dust settles from “Lights Out,” Earth is no longer under the protection of the Green Lanterns. Sector 2814 is now the sole province of Guy Gardner and the RED LANTERNS! Criminals beware…psychopaths beware…hell, EVERYONE beware! How did this happen, you ask? Jump onboard with this issue and find out!




(Source: Newsarama)

I have to say, I'm a bit dissapointed that the upcoming "Lights Out" event is going to finish in it's forst month, events like that always seem to... crammed in, and it doesn't really do Justice to the story...

Fired? DC Artist, Kevin Maguire sends out extremely suggestive tweets... (THIRD UPDATE)

There's been a lot of talk over recent months over the firings and resignations of DC Comics creators. Specifically, ones whose runs on series hadn't even begun yet ( e.g. Joshua Hale Fialov on Green Lantern Corps and Red Lanterns, Andy Diggle on Action Comics etc.) and it looks like another creator may have just been fired. Kevin Maguire, artist for the upcoming Justice League 3000 series from DC.

Earlier today, Maguire tweeted this:

Since those comments, Maguire hasn't made any more comments on twitter, of course, this could be some sort of joke ( who remembers the James Robinson Namor business? ), but if this topic is brought up again, I'll try to update this.

I'm not extremely familiar with Maguire's work, but I was looking forward to seeing what he'd do on the Justice League 3000 series, and it'd be a shame if he has been fired...

Update:

Just a few minutes ago, Marvel editor-in-chief, Axel Alonso tweeted this:

“@PEDROANGOSTO1: @axelalonsomarv #KevinMaguire needs work!” Not any more!
— axel alonso (@axelalonsomarv) August 8, 2013

Could Maguire have found new work already over at Marvel?

SECOND UPDATE:

It seems he almost definitely has...

@maguirekevin someone you like is calling you very soon.
— BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (@BRIANMBENDIS) August 8, 2013

I love the fact that today I've managed to sit through the firing and hiring of Kevin Maguire... and it's pretty much all been seen on Twitter.

Third update:

Later, Maguire posted this on his facebook page:

Well, first off, thanks everyone for your warm regards. After a few confusing hours, I kind of know where things stand and why. Though I’m still a bit perplexed as to how it got to this point. As for work, I’ve been offered some fun interesting stuff, many of which came from DC,who were very eager to keep me working there, so I’ll be fine on that score, but it would have been great to do another Justice League with Giffen and DeMatteis. Oh,well…onward and upward…

Why I have a problem with 'Over in one month' events

So, a comic book company ( and it's usually DC Comics who do this ) are announcing a new event/crossover related to one of your favourite books. This is obviously great since it's a big new story with your favourite characters and something that is hopefully a real stand-out on shelves for the numerous months that the story spans. Hang on, did I say "Numerous months", oh, I'm sorry, I meant ONE MONTH. That's right, this book you're enjoying has one month to tell the entire story it's been building up to for ages.

ONE.

This really gets on my nerves, you wait ages for an event related to one of your favourite characters and it's gone quicker than Joshua Hale Fialkov's run on Green Lantern Corps!

The example I'm going to use right now is 'The Culling'. Now, I'd been a huge fan of the Teen Titans for years and was really enjoying the New 52 run of the book so when I found out about the crossover centred around the series I was really excited. Then I found out that this event would only run through one month. This story was being led up to for almost nine months and I knew it would be building to something important but it's something I wished could've lasted longer.

 Look at some of the major DC Comics crossovers, they last for months (like most of Marvel's too, actually) events such as Blackest Night ( running for eight issues in it's own series and spinning off to include nearly the whole DCU), Flashpoint ( Five issues of it's own solo series, with loads miniseries spinning off from it, although to be fair it did reboot the DCU) and the recent Death of the Family ( four months tying into almost every Bat-book on the shelves for that time ), why not give all of the events the multi-month treatment?

I mean, don't the creators deserve it? they've been building to it for months and months so why not let the climax of their arc last a little longer? This concept was probably exciting when it was first used, that it's so fast-paced and quick but now it's just sort of tiring.

 DC are using this tactic again in October with the next Green Lantern event, "Lights out". It starts in Green Lantern #25, runs through that month's Green Lantern Corps, New Guardians and Red Lanterns then concludes in Green Lantern Annual #2 less than a month after it began.

I feel like this doesn't do the story justice, considering this is the first big story that the new Green Lantern creative teams are facing, and it's something that deserves to be bigger. Getting it done in one month seems like it's being rushed, which isn't exciting to me, it's annoying.

Another point that I want to bring up about this topic goes back to the Teen Titans example, and the fact that after "The Culling" the book didn't keep at a good standard. I feel like that series peaked with the Culling, but it seems that was the last good idea for the book. If the story had been allowed to continue a little longer it could've given the writer some more time to come up with ideas for the next stories because as much as I loved that title around the time of the event, I have to admit, it seems to be running very low on ideas and the only good bit about it now is the characters, really.

There is a pretty easy solution to this problem, why not have the story run just through the main book for several months rather than multiple books for one? You can still include all of the characters from different books, just use them in the one book and let the story run longer, it's most likely what the event and the creative team deserves.

If mainstream events are allowed to go on for months, why not all of the books? It adds more impact to the story if it lasts longer, and the longer the event is on the shelves for, the more new readers are likely to take notice and read it.

Interview: Van Jensen talks Green Lantern Corps

Recently I caught up with new Green Lantern Corps writer, Van Jensen, to talk about his upcoming run on the book. Below you can read that interview, Enjoy!

Harry: So, what we're focusing on in this interview is your upcoming run on Green Lantern Corps. How does it feel to be handed not just one Green Lantern character, but pretty much the entire corps? 

John Stewart, on the cover to Green Lantern
Corps #22

Van Jensen: There are only 7,200 or so Green Lanterns, that's not so much to handle, is it? Joking aside, it's a dream assignment. The mythology of the Green Lantern Corps stands up there with any group in comics history, and there is a universe full of stories to explore. The hardest thing is picking and choosing stories, since obviously I can't tell them all in 20 pages a month.


Harry: Inside that corps is one of the most important Green Lanterns there is, John Stewart. Is there a lot of pressure and responsibility when writing a character with a lot of history and one known by a lot of people in the general public, not just comic readers?


Van Jensen: The rumours that came up about John's supposed demise really highlighted how beloved he is as a character, and it was a great reminder to me of much responsibility has been placed in my hands. I'm a big fan of his from the comics and from the Justice League cartoons, but it was still great to see so many impassioned fans speaking up on John's behalf. I always set high standards for myself, but with Green Lantern Corps, my goal is no less than writing the definitive John Stewart story. I want this book to be THE John Stewart book that people remember. Anything less than that, and I'm not satisfied.

Harry: With so many members of the corps, is it difficult to remember all of them at times?

Van Jensen: I have my trusty Secret Files and Origins copy sitting next to me at all times, and our editors put together a handy-dandy sector/Lantern spreadsheet for us, so that helps. But yeah, it's daunting. And there are so many with awesome backgrounds. I have what seems like a decade worth of story ideas already, and I'm only just getting started.

Harry: The Green Lantern Corps series usually has a core team of lanterns that the book focuses on, who will make up this team in your run?

Van Jensen: John is at the center. Salaak, Kilowog and Soranik Natu will have a big presence. We'll be catching up with Isamot, Vath and Iolande soon as well. And then there will be four new recruits that will play a big role. But if I haven't named one of your favorite characters, don't worry, a lot more familiar faces will pop up as we go along!

Harry: With all of the Green Lantern books getting new creative teams at the same time, what are you doing to stand out from all of the?

Van Jensen: All of the creative teams are super talented, and I'm lucky to be working with them. I can't say that I've thought of it in terms of inter-Lantern competitiveness. I'm just trying to write the best Green Lantern Corps that I can and let the book's inherent qualities (a big cast, sprawling adventures) stand out. That said, I bet I'm the only one of the four writers who can dunk a basketball. That'll sell some comics, right?

Harry: What are you doing that's really different from the last creative team on Green Lantern Corps?


Van Jensen: The big shift is the focus to John. Peter did a great job, but I don't think Green Lantern Corps consistently had a strong lead character. Sometimes it was Guy, but then other characters would move to the foreground. This is very much John's story, and I think his story will offer a great perspective on what's going on with the Corps, how they're adapting to this new status quo.

Harry: Now, you're co-writing this series with new Green Lantern writer, Robert Venditti. How closely tied together do you think these two books will be?


Van Jensen: We're working together really closely. This is a shared universe, and so the events in one book definitely reverberate in the other. We have the occasional "Wait, is this messing up the continuity?" phone calls. At the same time, we want the books to be able to stand on their own as strong stories.

Guy Gardner, as a Red Lantern
Cover to Red Lanterns #21

Harry: With former corps member, Guy Gardner, moving over to Red Lanterns, can we expect close ties between the series?


Van Jensen: In the short term, no. In the long term, yes. Remember, John and Guy are good friends. How is John going to take the news that his pal is suiting up for the enemy?

Harry: What can you tell us about the first big villain of your run on the series?


Van Jensen: The Durlans make an appearance out of the gate, and the full scope of their plan will be unveiling over the next several months. They have an old, old grudge against the Corps, and the time has come for them to settle it. But these aren't your familiar Durlans, and they've got some seriously insidious plans.

Harry: What Green Lantern related characters can we expect to see in your run?

John Stewart and Fatality,
Cover to Green Lantern Corps #23

Van Jensen: Fatality will play a big role as John's love interest. They have a ridiculously tortured history, which makes for some challenges in this new stage as boyfriend and girlfriend. Since Fatality spent years hunting and killing Green Lanterns, don't expect her to receive an overly warm reception on Oa.

Harry: How closely do you usually work with the writers on the four other Green Lantern books?


Van Jensen: We talk over email pretty often and have occasional conference calls. Our editors (the great Matt Idleson and Chris Conroy) do an excellent job of keeping us up to date as well. They're the ones who really have to stay on top of this universe of characters, which they do exceptionally well.

Harry: Who has been your favourite cast member to write so far?


Van Jensen: John, for sure. I think I identify with him a lot, despite the fact that we have almost nothing in common. Also, it's been fun to take Salaak in a new direction.

Harry: What can you tease overall about your run on the series?


Van Jensen: My plan is to define the next age of the Corps. The old Guardians are dead and gone. Who is in charge? What is the Corps' mission? How do they patrol a universe that, frankly, doesn't want them around? These are big questions, and we'll see how they play out in the months (and hopefully years) ahead.

Harry: What have you found to be the most enjoyable part of writing Green Lantern Corps?


Van Jensen: I really love how the Green Lanterns serve as a meta textual stand-in for the writer. The Lanterns can create any construct that they can imagine, so their imagination is their only limitation. In the same way, I as a writer can come up with whatever constructs (and story elements) that I can dream up. My imagination is my only limitation. It's a great challenge to push myself and my creativity to a new level. I'm still early on, but I'm having a blast so far.

Harry: Thanks, Van! Good luck on Green Lantern Corps!

Green Lantern Corps #21 is released on June 12th, written by Van Jensen with art from Bernard Chang.

You can catch Van on his twitter!