Artist Martin Nodell created the
Golden Age Green Lantern after seeing a railway lantern one night. The stories in this volume are written by the very talented Bill Finger - the "
O. Henry of American comic books". This volume includes the very first appearance of the Green Lantern, Alan Scott, in
All-American Comics #16 (July 1940) as well as his early stories in that same title and in his own book
Green Lantern #1. Includes the first appearance of Irene Miller and Doiby Dickles. See Alan flirt endlessly with Irene and develop a true friendship with Doiby. This volume also includes an essay by Dr. William Moulton Marsten on Will-Power. Marsten is also the inventor of the lie detector and the creator of the original Golden Age Wonder Woman.
One thing that I especially like about the stories in this volume is how most of them are about "real" issues and crime. No super-villains here. No cosmic mumbo-jumbo. Just a person with a gift of power who wants to be helpful to the public. In the 1970s, Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams came up with a series of "
Relevance" stories starring the Silver Age Green Lantern and Green Arrow. Those stories were considered revolutionary because by then comics was all about fighting the super-villain of the month. Suddenly, there were stories about real crime, corruption, drugs, religious fanatics and the sort. But then, "
Relevance" stories have always been in comics in the 1940s. Especially these Bill Finger penned classics here. Moreover, they appear less "forced" here than in the 1970s works (although I love those
Hard-Travelling Heroes stories a lot also).
Interestingly, Alan Scott is still a vital character in today's comics, appearing constantly in the current Green Lantern and JSA series in his original persona (unlike the revamped Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman). Today, he appears very much as a guide and a source of wisdom for the new generation of heroes. Reading about his heroic exploits in these early stories, it's not difficult to see that he is more than qualified to guide us all today to higher aspirations.
(I posted the above review at
Amazon.com in 2003. I'm in a nostalgic mood today after picking up the
Golden Age Flash Archives Vol. 2 so I decided to post this older review here as well...)
