Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 2 TPB

February 20, 2011

Writers: Jack C. Harris, Todd Klein, Joey Cavalieri, Len Wein, Paul Kupperberg, Kurt Busiek, Mike Baron & Alan Moore
Art: Jerome K. Moore, Sal Trapani, Dave Gibbons, Gil Kane, Don Newton, Kevin O’Neill, Don Heck, Marshall Rodgers
Cover: Brian Bolland
Editor: Bob Joy
Publisher: DC Comics

Back in the 80s, following an excellent Tales of the Green Lantern Corps miniseries, DC began running stories about the Lanterns of different worlds as back-up stories in the main Green Lantern title. This second trade paperback of stories from that run includes some truly excellent, memorable stories, including early work by Kurt Busiek, a few stories by legendary letterer Todd Klein, and an epic tale by Alan Moore, among others.

The wonderful thing about these stories is that most of them are utterly timeless. Lysandra, the Green Lantern who could not leave her world, or the sword-and-sorcery world of Deeter, could be Green Lanterns that exist today or thousands of years ago with virtually no changes. Only a few stories are locked to a specific time – the sad story of Yron, for example, includes the funeral for a Lantern that died in that first Tales miniseries, and the final story features a group of the most popular Lanterns of the 80s with references to very time-specific things. Those references, though, aren’t necessarily vital to understanding the stories, and people who may not be familiar with the background of those tales will still understand what they read with no trouble at all.

Perhaps the centerpiece of this book would be the classic “Mogo Doesn’t Socialize,” the Alan Moore story that introduced one of the most interesting members of the Corps. Ironically, it’s one of the few stories that doesn’t hold up quite that well, although that’s not really the fault of Moore. The story is build on a twist ending that was probably fantastic when it first was published, but as the true nature of Mogo is now basic knowledge, the story loses some of its punch.

Doesn’t make the book less worthwhile, though. If you’re a fan of the Green Lantern Corps, you’ve got to get this book.

Rating: 7/10