GL Cover Flashback : GREEN LANTERN CORPS #42 By Greg Horn

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #42

The first cover I did for DC comics is presented below. I decided to do Guy Gardner in some very earthy tones tinting everything towards a very yucky yellowish green-- almost like vomit or something.  But I think it works well with the scene, and this Green Lantern looks like he has taken quite a beating, but getting back up and ready to throw it in your freaking face! - Greg Horn

DC Digital Comics: Celebrating Black History Month

From the honor and strength of John Stewart, to the pure techno power of Cyborg, to the energy and humor of Static Shock, DC’s African-American heroes have become both inspirations and favorites of DC fans the world over. John Stewart first joined the Green Lantern Corps in the 1970s and remains the definitive Green Lantern to a generation of fans who grew up with the Justice League animated series. Cyborg has overcome great injury and physical change and now fights alongside Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in the Justice League. Static Shock has appeared in multiple DC Comics universes and headlined his own hit animated series. These three favorites have joined with other pioneering African-American super heroes in representing the best in all of us, blazing new trails while defending our world and the universe as a whole from injustice.

In February, millions of us nationwide take time to remember and celebrate our African-American heritage in what’s become known as Black History Month. With so much of our history here at DC Comics now available digitally, there’s never been a better time to discover or rediscover DC’s African-American trailblazers. Throughout all of February, look for discounted prices on the titles that helped forge new territory in comics. Whether you’re discovering these stories for the first time, or rediscovering classic tales that you may not have read in a while, we hope you join with us in celebrating Black History Month and appreciating the important role these African-American characters have played in our comic books and popular culture as a whole.

Look for different titles available each week in February—all only 99 cents an issue. Starting 1/31/13 in the DC Comics Digital Store.

Cartoon Network, DC Comics Release Statement On “Young Justice,” “Green Lantern: The Animated Series” Ending

From WorldsFinestOnline.com

Cartoon Network and DC Comics recently released a brief joint statement to address the intense online response over the recent cancellations of Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice. Cartoon Network airs the weekly DC Nation programming block, a joint venture with DC Entertainment, which currently houses the both Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice.
With the official confirmation earlier this week that both series are no longer in production, fans of both programs have been vocal across the majority of social media platforms in protest. Fans and show creators have taken to petitions – including a popular Change.org petition which has amassed nearly 18,000 signatures – letter-writing campaigns, and fan initiatives to convince the network to bring both shows back. A special poster was created, and can be seen by clicking the thumbnail image, by Hezpeller of YJ Fan Videos Repository Blog to promote fan efforts to save both popular animated shows. In an effort to quell the online blowback, an official statement was released in response to the fan outpouring by Cartoon Network and DC Comics. Below is the response released by Cartoon Network and DC Comics, posted on a host of different social media outlets.
“Thank you to all our fans for expressing just how much they love DC Nation on Cartoon Network. There’s still more new Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series to enjoy in the coming weeks. And DC Nation isn’t going anywhere; there will be plenty of new adventures coming your way later this year.”
Online response to the above statement has been extremely negative, with multiple fans pointing out the statement does not actually address the cancellation of either series. Viewers have also been flooding the official social media accounts in response to the above statement.
Click here to view media from this weekend’s new episodes of Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice. The World’s Finest also has the February 2013 loglines for Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice, available to view here, the first site online to post the details.
The DC Nation airs Saturdays at 10:00am (ET/PT) on Cartoon Network, with an encore Sunday at 10:00am (ET/PT). The block kicks off with an all-new episode of Green Lantern: The Animated Series at 10:00am (ET/PT), followed with an all-new episode of Young Justice at 10:30am (ET/PT). DC Nation shorts and behind-the-scenes content air during commercial breaks of the two above-mentioned shows, and rotate and change every week.
Stay tuned for further schedule updates and coverage on Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series and the DC Nation programming block – including exclusive content and much more – right here soon at The World’s Finest.

Cartoon Network has made more then one mistake with the handling of these series first with no explanation taken them off last year with really no valid reason why and now with them being back only a short time to turn around and cancel them, Cartoon network is setting up DC Nation for failure, and will may lose the fans of these series permanently.

Green Lantern Animated 'Cold Fury' Review

From Comicvine.com

WARNING! FULL SPOILERS BELOW!

If Green Lantern is going to go off the air in the coming weeks, at least it's departing on an amazing note. I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of the first half of Season One. It was a good dose of fun but never raised the bar or did anything to compete with some of the better animated shows. But ever since its the episode with Guy Gardner, this show has been bringing it 110% (it's just too bad that totally unexplained DC Nation break happened).

The last episode, 'Loss,' was a powerhouse. The death of Aya was predictable during that scene but still managed to pack an incredible impact and was executed in such an impressive manner (the animation with the Anti-Monitor's attacks look so good). Now she's gone and we're left seeing how everyone will react while still trying to take down the seemingly invincible Anti-Monitor. The reactions are fitting as Razer tells them about the tragedy. The guardian bluntly provides the cold but logical response (Anti-Monitor > mourning) as Kilowog and the others have a brief but somber reaction to the loss before getting back to the mission at hand. Razer's naturally hit the hardest and this is casually reflected in his posture and facial expressions during the first act. Then the first few minutes goes above and beyond to show us they're not messing around with the villain. The arrogant little Guardian is blasted apart in a fantastic looking and powerful scene... but I can't say she will be missed!

Continue reading the full review at Comicvine.com

Grumpy Old Fan | Simon Baz Recharges Green Lantern

From Robot 6 at ComicBookResources.com

Lately I’ve been pretty complimentary of Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke’s work on Green Lantern. Honestly, this is something of a shock. It’s not that I don’t like Johns, Mahnke, or GL — far from it — but the book has sneaked up on me, going from a nice habit to a must-read, and the new Lantern has a lot to do with it.

Green Lantern Simon Baz debuted in September’s Issue 0 as an Arab-American caught up in various schemes, who of course demonstrated the ability to overcome great fear. He wears a ring containing messages from the dead-ish Hal Jordan and Sinestro, but he carries a gun in case the ring fails him; the first fellow Lantern he encounters is B’dg, the extraterrestrial squirrel. Simon endures it all with courage and spirit, and in short order he’s kicked GL into another gear.

Simon’s introductory arc concludes this week — sort of, SPOILERS FOLLOW — with Green Lantern Corps Annual #1, the final installment of “Rise of the Third Army.” However, this just paves the way for “Wrath of the First Lantern,” which goes for the next couple of months. After that, April’s Lantern titles may not be part of an overarching story — at least, not one with a “_____ of the [Numbered] _____” title — but these plot threads apparently won’t be resolved before then, either.

Chaining together dire-consequences arcs goes back several years in Green Lantern, and frankly it had gotten wearying. After “Sinestro Corps” (2007) and “Secret Origin” (2008), the other Lantern colors were introduced, followed by 2009-10′s Blackest Night, 2010-11′s Brightest Day, and 2011′s “War of the Green Lanterns,” all before the New-52 relaunch. The Guardians of the Universe, who hadn’t been entirely trustworthy at least since 1990 (when Gerard Jones wrote ‘em), have become downright manipulative. This too goes back to their actions in “Sinestro Corps,” if not before.

(Again, SPOILERS for Green Lantern #0-16, GL Corps #16 and GL Corps Annual #1.)

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That’s part of what appeals to me about Simon Baz. His four predecessors each have a particular relationship with the Guardians, but he doesn’t. Hal Jordan used to revere the little blue guys until his various crises of conscience (which these days probably don’t include the “hard-traveling” years with Green Arrow, but still). John Stewart succeeded Hal after seeing the effect a GL career could have on one’s Earthbound life; and when he started policing Oa’s “Mosaic” community, got a good idea of what the Guardians had to go through. Guy Gardner was recruited by a more militant faction of Guardians during Crisis on Infinite Earths, and so got to see firsthand one of the rare schisms in Oan history. Of course, the last surviving Guardian recruited Kyle Rayner to be the last Green Lantern.

Now Simon comes to the Green Lantern Corps at a time when the Guardians themselves have turned against it. Considering that one of his first acts as a GL involves pushing the ring’s capabilities where they’re not supposed to go — perhaps even into territory that got Hal Jordan into trouble — he may well be the first real post-Oan GL.

Even so, it’s not that hard to question the Guardians’ authority, as it’s largely self-proclaimed, and because the Guardians are so old and so well-established, their dictates went unchallenged for millennia. DC lore holds that when the Oan named Krona dared to gaze upon the origins of the universe, his experiment ended up unleashing evil forces upon it, and from that act the Oans decided to balance the scales by setting up an intergalactic peacekeeping force. Accordingly, the Guardians’ authority was no doubt accepted largely because a) they were wise enough to be right most of the time, and b) they had the power to back up their judgments. However, they exist primarily as patrons of the Green Lantern Corps (and, before them, the android Manhunters), not as any kind of superseding government or judiciary.  As such, their function is relatively narrow, even if their jurisdiction covers the known universe.

And in the old days, that was fine, because the Guardians functioned basically as facilitators. They’d tell Hal where to go and what he needed to do when he got there, Hal would do it, and that would be the story. The Denny O’Neil/Neal Adams stories played off those roles by having Green Arrow question the Guardians’ various pronouncements, and from there the series developed in new directions. The more out-of-touch the Guardians seemed, the easier it was to make them antagonistic, until here we are — one set of Guardians wanting to destroy their erstwhile agents and eradicate free will, while a heretofore-hidden, ostensibly-benevolent faction waits like a government in exile.

Although the Guardians’ latest heel turn draws on decades of GL stories, both the Third Army and Simon Baz have simplified the plot considerably. Superficially the Third Army is reminiscent of Blackest Night’s undead horde — both nigh-unstoppable and able to “recruit” with extreme prejudice — but Blackest Night sought further to weave a whole new layer of cosmology from GL lore. While “RO3A” has its obscure bits (like a First Lantern named Volthoom, referring to the patron of Earth-3′s evil GL), generally it’s pretty straightforward. Hal and Sinestro have been “killed,” Simon has their ring, and the GL Corps as a whole is in danger from their suddenly-diabolical masters.

Considering the aforementioned string of storylines, Green Lantern needed some simplicity. While discussing the GL movie’s performance, the screenwriter Todd Alcott observed that “Green Lantern isn’t a character, it’s a job.”  Alcott explained that “without knowing who the character was,” no one would want to see “a $200 million movie called Intergalactic Beat Cop”:

CHARACTER CLOSE-UP : Doctor Polaris

Doctor Polaris is an alias used by two fictional supervillains, comic book characters published by DC Comics. Neal Emerson first appeared as Doctor Polaris in Green Lantern #21 (June 1963), and was created by John Broome and Gil Kane. The second Dr. Polaris, John Nichol, first appeared off-panel in Justice League of America #11 (September 2007), before receiving a full introduction in Blue Beetle vol. 2 #31, (November 2008). Nichol's origins in this issue were developed by Matthew Sturges and Andre Coelho.

Neal Emerson
Neal Emerson and his brother John were raised by an abusive father (although a later flashback shows him raised by an abusive aunt). This apparently drove Neal Emerson within himself and led to the creation of the personification of his own dark side. Emerson left the United States for a year and returned to find he was an uncle. His brother John and sister-in-law Katherine had adopted a baby and named him Grant. Emerson was not around much for his nephew over the years, but he was quite fond of the boy.
As a medical student, Neal Emerson develops a fanatical interest in magnets, despite the teasings of his classmates. Emerson is convinced exposure to magnetic fields will give him more energy. He later holds crowd-drawing lectures on "Health via Magnetism." Due to his medical background and belief in magnetism, Emerson adopts the name "Doctor Polaris." He even designs a special costume and mask to wear for his public appearances.

Green Lantern
After time Emerson came to believe he had absorbed too much magnetic energy, and unsuccessfully tries to drain off the excess energy. In desperation, Emerson tries to make a public appeal at a charity event to Green Lantern, believing Green Lantern's power ring can help him. Unfortunately, putting on the costume causes the evil persona of Doctor Polaris to take over Emerson, and he robs the box office of the proceeds instead. Polaris tries to draw a magnetic gun on Green Lantern, but is knocked unconscious by the Lantern instead. At the hospital, Green Lantern probes Polaris' mind, and learns of Emerson's evil side. Shortly thereafter, Polaris recovers and attacks Green Lantern from hiding with girders and other metal objects. The Green Lantern manages to draw Polaris out into the open and defeat him. Doctor Polaris is remanded to police custody; during that time, his "good self" resurfaces.

Doctor Polaris apparently returns to battle Green Lantern and the Justice League alongside Killer Moth, Dagon, the Mask and the Pied Piper, but it is later revealed the demons Abnegazar, Rath and Ghast had created magical duplicates of the villains. The League even has to battle the villains' costumes before ultimately defeating the demons three.
Doctor Polaris was later released from imprisonment during one of his "good" periods. He attempted to discover the source of Green Lantern's power by kidnapping his friend, Tom Kalmaku. Polaris learned Green Lantern's power battery was hidden at Ferris Aircraft and was able to put a magnetic barrier around it, which prevented Green Lantern from fully charging his ring. The hero tracked Kalmaku to Polaris' lair as his power ring ran out of energy. Polaris turned his weapon on the Green Lantern, apparently killing him. The emerald gladiator's body disappeared.
What Doctor Polaris did not know was that Green Lantern was taken to Oa, home of the Guardians of the Universe, the masters of the Green Lantern Corps. Due to the magnetic effect of Polaris' weapon, they believed Jordan was dead. To complicate matters further, Jordan was taken into the 58th Century where he battled a threat to the Earth in the fictional identity of Pol Manning. Returning to the 20th Century, Green Lantern defeated Polaris. After reviving him, Jordan revealed to Kalmaku the "good" nature of Neal Emerson had lessened the effect of Doctor Polaris' weapon, thereby saving the ring wielder.

A reformed Emerson travelled to the Earth's magnetic North pole to study it. Emerson was at the point where the lines of magnetic force converge when an earthquake plunged him into a deep crevice. At the bottom of the crevice lay a glowing blue blob. The radiation from the blob altered Emerson's perceptions, allowing him to understand the blob's intentions to dehydrate the entire Earth. Emerson was able to subconsciously influence Hal Jordan into becoming Green Lantern, but was unable to bring the Lantern to the North Pole. In desperation, Emerson created a mental duplicate of his evil alter ego. Doctor Polaris took advantage of the situation and attacked Green Lantern by blocking his power battery with a magnetic barrier. Doctor Polaris flew into Earth's orbit in order to increase the solar radiation reaching the planet. As he left the Earth's magnetic field, the barrier around the power ring faded, allowing Green Lantern to recover. Green Lantern managed to use micrometeorites to form an iron mask around Polaris' head, blocking off his vision. Back on Earth, Emerson was able to use telepathy to warn Green Lantern of the alien threat. Once Green Lantern disintegrated the blob, the mental image of the evil Doctor Polaris faded away.
Years later, Emerson's dark side returns. Returning to his old costume, Polaris takes the name of Baxter Timmons and moves to Metropolis' Suicide Slum, where he steals advanced technology from warehouses throughout the city. Polaris integrates the new magnetic circuits into his costume, as part of an attempt to gain revenge on Green Lantern. Polaris' plans are stopped through the efforts of the superhero Black Lightning.

Neron
Over the years, the Polaris and Emerson personalities fought for dominance, until Polaris was approached by the demon Neron. Polaris sold Neron Emerson's soul in exchange for greater power and being rid of the other, restraining side of his personality. Polaris was one of Neron's lieutenants before being betrayed by Lex Luthor and the Joker.
Polaris later attacks Steel in Washington D.C., seeking a weapon called the Annihilator that Steel had built. During the battle, Steel's grandmother attacks Polaris and is killed. Polaris is driven away after the Parasite attacks him. Parasite, afraid of absorbing Polaris's mind and not just his power, lets him go before killing him. Polaris flees to Keystone City.
Some time after that, Polaris shows up at Poseidonis in an attempt to seize control of the city, prompting a battle against Aquaman and his allies. At that same time, Maxima is in the city trying to force Aquaman to marry her. Using her powerful mental abilities, Maxima compels Polaris into believing that his alternate personality has reemerged, forcing him into a nearly catatonic state.
Under unknown circumstances, the catatonic Polaris ends being held in Iraq, but he is rescued by Hatchet, Heat Wave and Sonar. The trio planned to carry him in the Aurora Borealis to the magnetic North Pole for recharge, thinking that he would be thankful with them and would lead them. They fought The Flash, Green Arrow and Green Lantern. When Polaris recovers, the Flash gives him a bit of his speed, which has the same effect as applying kinetic energy to a magnet; Doctor Polaris' body attracts the remains of the sunken Aurora Borealis, containing him. (Green Lantern #96, Green Arrow #130 and Flash #135)
In 2001, Polaris emerges during the Joker's Last Laugh crisis attempting to take control of the magnetic south pole itself, forcing a battle against the Justice League where the League only just manage to defeat him thanks to the actions of Plastic Man (The only League member with no metal on him whatsoever). At the end of Last Laugh, the Slab metahuman prison is moved to Antarctica, as Polaris now is the magnetic pole, and cannot be moved.
Shortly thereafter, Polaris appears in San Francisco, allied with the villainous Cadre. Here, he is utilizing the power of one of the unimaginably powerful alien Controllers, as well as Cadre member Black Mass, the latter keeping Polaris' magnetic powers in check so that he can move from the Slab. This time, Doctor Polaris has an "altruistic" goal in sight; convinced that civilization and humanity's free will are obstacles for creating a better Earth, he plans to use the Controller's power and some stolen S.T.A.R. Labs equipment to focus his powers and "cleanse the world". The heroes known as the Power Company defeat Polaris by turning the brain-damaged Black Mass against his master and use his gravitational powers to drain Polaris on power.

Infinite Crisis
Shortly before Infinite Crisis, Dr Polaris appears in Metropolis, seeking Superman's help in battling a more powerful and ruthless magnetism manipulator who calls herself Repulse. It eventually transpires that this is a new manifestation of his personality disorder; Polaris is hallucinating Repulse (who looks like the aunt who hated him), and performs her actions himself. Eventually, Superman forces him to accept she is not real.
After recovering from this breakdown, Polaris is recruited by Lex Luthor's Secret Society of Super Villains in Villains United. Dr. Polaris is one of the villains waiting to ambush the Freedom Fighters in a warehouse south of Metropolis in the beginning of Infinite Crisis. When Phantom Lady is impaled by Deathstroke, the Human Bomb becomes enraged. After Dr. Polaris taunts the living bomb, he is blown into pieces by the Human Bomb's explosive rage.
Emerson has been identified as one of the deceased entombed below the Hall of Justice.

John Nichol
In Justice League of America #11, a new Doctor Polaris is mentioned, having fought League members Red Arrow and Vixen. The battle occurs off-panel, but he appears in a panel in Justice League of America #17. In Justice League of America #21, the new Doctor Polaris can be seen among the recruits of Libra's new Secret Society.
In Blue Beetle vol. 2 #32, (December 2008) it is revealed that businessman and Intergang associate John Nichol, a follower of Neal Emerson's exploits, became the second Doctor Polaris after the death of Neal Emerson. He battles Blue Beetle, holding a definitive advantage, until he is shot in the shoulder by his own daughter.
This Doctor Polaris was also among the villains in the ambush of the JSA led by Tapeworm.
In Blackest Night #4, Nichol is reported to have been killed by the Black Lantern version of Emerson during a conversation between the Calculator and Lex Luthor. The kill is said to be verified by the Cheetah, Calculator noting that Nichol was the only real source of information he had on the new Blue Beetle.

Powers and abilities
Both users of Doctor Polaris possessed a form of Ferrokinesis capable of manipulating and channeling magnetic fields. They can manipulate iron and iron-based alloys to their whim. They can explode most metal constructs, manipulate ferrous materials and also fly using their powers.
The Neal Emerson Doctor Polaris was shown to have lost his powers when exposed to extreme heat. Another one of Emerson's weaknesses was telepathy, due to his fragile psyche.
The John Nichol Polaris has all of Emerson's abilities and more, such as the power to create a localized magnetic storm in a person's brain, killing them instantly. Having no mental defects, Nichol is able to utilize his powers much more effectively than Emerson did.

In other media
In Justice League Unlimited, Dr. Polaris (wearing his original costume and played by voice actor Michael Rosenbaum, who also plays the Flash) is seen as a member of the new Secret Society of Super Villains (Legion of Doom) led by Gorilla Grodd; here, he is portrayed as one of the Legion's most powerful members.
Polaris and the Key rescue Lex Luthor from the pursuing cops and brought him to Grodd. He, Lex Luthor, and Key raid the Blackhawks old base and battle Hawkgirl, Flash, Fire and a retired Blackhawk and are able to get away by putting the base on self-destruct which is aborted. In this episode Fire is able to weaken him by heating up the area. Dr. Polaris returns in the episode "The Great Brain Robbery", in which he attempts to wrest control of the organization from Lex Luthor. Luthor reveals that when he augmented Polaris' powers, he installed failsafes that allow him override Polaris' powers.
Dr. Polaris (wearing a version of John Nicols/Dr. Polaris II's suit) appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Fall of the Blue Beetle!", played by voice actor Lex Lang. Dr. Polaris attempts to rob a gold reserve, but is foiled by Batman, even though a talkative and unconcerned Blue Beetle distracts him. Dr. Polaris has a good counterpart in an alternate universe in "Deep Cover for Batman!", who resembles Red Tornado and Magneto. The original Polaris appears in a gang of villains recruited by Owlman in "Game Over for Owlman!".

SATURDAY SHOWCASE : Cool Green Lantern Art