July, 1969
Cover Artists: Gil Kane
"A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Earth"
Writers: John Broome
Pencilers: Gil Kane
Inkers: Vince Colletta
Appearing in "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Earth"
Featured Characters: Green Lantern
Supporting Characters: Guardians of the Universe
Villains: Hilar (Single appearance)
Synopsis for "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Earth"
While out in space, the Green Lantern is contacted by the Guardians of the Universe who warn him of a creature which consumes gravity which poses a threat to the universe. With no choice but to kill the creature, the Green Lantern uses his power ring to force it to consume it's own bodily waste until it dies. Green Lantern then returns to Earth to begin looking for a new career in his civilian guise of Hal Jordan.
Meanwhile, an advanced civilization on another corner of the galaxy has created a comedy/entertainment robot named Hilar. However, upon activating the robot they are horrified to find that the robot only causes negative things to happen when it tries comedy. With it made out of the indestructible Eterno-Metal, they cannot destroy the robot so they opt to deactivate it and dump it in a junk yard. Developing sentience, the robot reactivates itself and decides to try and bring comedy to other people on other planets since the people of Ghyra would just deactivate him again. Building a ship, "Hilar" manages to flee the planet and end up on the planet Earth when he decides to follow the Green Lantern back home.
There he finds it hard to adapt to life on Earth and when a police officer tries to pull Hilar off the road, he finds that he is violently thrown aside. Fleeing from the law, Hilar slips into a television studio where a comedy program is being filmed. Deciding to lend his own talents, Hilar crashes the show and the audience is horrified by what Hilar passes off as comedy. Elsewhere in the city, Hal Jordan has taken up a job as a salesman for a toy company when he sees the television program which Hilar is interrupting.
Slipping away and changing into Green Lantern, Hal tries to confront the robot but is similarly thrown back whenever he tries to use force against the robot. When a group of crooks led by a man named Piper witness this on television they decide to try and manipulate Hilar to help them commit crimes. Realizing that all Hilar wants is to make people laugh, the group of crooks gain the robots trust and aid when they pretend that everything the robot does is hilarious. After the trying to rob a train, the crooks and Hilar are confronted by the Green Lantern. During the fight Hilar learns that the crooks were only using him as the Green Lantern defeats them. However, Green Lantern is forced to deactivate the robot in battle. Learning where the device really came from he brings it back to the planet Ghyra where he lets the people there allow him to use his power ring to fix the robot. With Hilar in proper working order, he becomes the comedy sensation the people of Ghyra wanted, and Hilar himself longed to be.
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