'In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might beware my power... Green Lantern's light!'This weekend the Cartoon Network (US) premiered the pilot for their great new show 'Green Lantern: The animated series' which will air in 2012. Directed by the great animator Bruce Timm, who earlier, together with Paul Dini, produced the multiple Emmy winning 'Batman, the Animates series'(1992 to 1995) for FOX and 'Superman, the animated series' (1996 to 2000) for Warner. Known for his great style, he also created the critically acclaimed 'Batman Beyond' for Warner between 1999 and 2001 and 'Justice League' for Cartoon Network between 2001 and 2004. 'Green Lantern' marks the first time Timm is doing a CGI animated cartoon show. Although a bit scared Timm's vision for stylish animation would suffer under the CGI, I was fortunate enough to check it out and can securely attest that the new Green Lantern series will definately live up to Timm's earlier work, both animation and storywise. And oh boy, what a great story it is indeed!Above: Where fantastic tales of fiction meet the latest real life adventures in science: Cartoon Network's 'The Green Lantern animated series' will be another step forward into CGI animation for TV after their 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' proved a hit succes.
Bill Finger and Martin Nodell.'The Green Lantern' first appeared in 'All American Comics' issue 16 from July 1940. Created by Bill Finger (script) and Martin Nodell (art), the first Green Lantern was Alan Scott, an engineer involved in a terrible train crash, from which he was the only survivor, rescued by an otherworldly green light to become the masked avenger. Finger, being Bob Kane's writing partner at that that time, was responsible for the first Batman stories and also Batman's design (although every comic book today still reads 'created by 'Bob Kane' as Kane had legally requested). In 2005 the 'Bill Finger Award for excellence in comic book writing' was created, given each year at Comic-con, it honors writers that never received credit for their work. Among the recipients today are Gardner Fox, creator of 'The Flash' and the 'Justice League of America' and Larry Lieber, who wrote the first stories of 'Thor' and 'Iron Man'. Otto Binder, who introduced aspects to the realm of Superman like 'Krypto the dog','Supergirl' and the 'Legion of Super-Heroes' received the award in 2010 along with Gary Friedrich, who co-created 'Ghost Rider'.
Above: Martin Nodell in his studio in 1987. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 91, while Bill Finger had died in 1974 at the age of 59.
Finger and Nodell's original comic story reads like a tale of old mythology: arriving on earth through a meteor crash in Ancient China, the green light fortold it would flame three times: once to bring death, once to bring life and a third and last time to bring it's power. The burning metal from the meteor is used by the old wiseman Chang to make a lamp that shines green light, however, the villagers are afraid of him and his old scrolls and books, thinking it will bring them doom, so they set fire to his workshop, burning all but the lamp, which then fulfilled it's first prophecy and kills all the attacking villagers. The lamp finds its way into the US and falls into the hands of a mental patient in an asylum. After his health is restored by the green light (fulfilling the second prophecy) he crafts the lamp into a modern lantern, used by railroad workers at the time to give the 'clear' signal (green lanterns for 'go' and red lanterns of course, for 'stop'). It is this lamp Hal Jordan has with him during his train accident when the railroad bridge collapses. He receives the power of the Green light and therefor survives the crash, fulfilling the third and last prophecy.
Above: cover from 'All American Comics' 16, July 1940, which introduced Finger and Nodell's 'The Green lantern'. The magazine was published by Max Gaines' All-American publishers, one of the three companies that forged 'National Periodical Publications' in 1944, which officially adopted the name'DC Comics' in 1977.
Above: After surviving the train crash engineer Allan Scott receives instructions to create a ring that will harness the Green Lantern's power, from page 7 of 'All American Comics' 16. Originally Finger was inspired by the tale of Aladdin and thus had originally named his character 'Alan Ladd'.
Max Gaines' company also published 'All Star Comics' magzine which introduced the first female heroine 'Wonder Woman' in their eigth issue from December 1941. Creator Dr. William Moulton Marston was a psychologist who had advocated the educational use of comic books and was hired by Gaines as a consultant. He also invented an early version of the polygraph or lie detector, which he used to examine German POW's (prisoners of war).
Artist Gil Kane and writer John Broome revived the Green Lantern in 1959 in the 22th issue of DC's 'Showcase' comic series. It introduced test pilot Hal Jordan as the main character, who discoveres a crashed alien craft, carrying Abin Sur, an officer of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic organisation, who is dying and tells him the ring selected him to take his place in the corps.
Above: artwork by Gil Kean (with inks by Joe Giella) features the first appearance of Hal Jordan. In the first story he receives the ring of the Green Lantern from Abin Sur (right).
The Green Lantern animated series will premier in spring 2012 on Cartoon Network as part of their new 'DC Nation' programming block that will also include'Young Justice' and another CGI animated show produced by Glen Murakami called 'Beware the Batman', which will debut in 2013. (check out the artwork below from this new show as first shown at the MIP junior conference in Cannes last month).
Below a few more screenshots. In the new animated series Hal Jordan is confronted with the sinisterous 'Red Lantern Corps' lead by Atrocitus (voiced by Jonathan Adams). The Red lanterns first appereared in the comic books created by Geoff Johns and Ethan van Sciver in 2007 and are first mentioned in the 'Sinestro Corps War' crossover event. Sinestro, a former green lantern and Jordan's arch nemesis, created by Gil Kane and John Broome in 1961 will not be part of the story line of the animates series.
