GEOFF JOHNS - GREEN LANTERN, OA, PRIME, & MORE

[MattBrady]

With Green Lantern #13, Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis wrapped up “Revenge of the Green Lanterns,” an arc which saw the (assumed) dead return to active duty, the Cyborg Superman come back to major threat-level status, Hal Jordan (and Guy Gardner) disobey the Guardians, the Manhunters be taken off the board (hopefully), and an update on what’s been going on with Superboy Prime since he was jailed at the end of Infinite Crisis

Sound like a lot? Well, yeah – it kinda was. We sat down with Green Lantern writer Geoff Johns to get the nitty gritty of issue #13, as well as what’s to come in the next arc, “Wanted: Hal Jordan.”

Newsarama: Geoff, let’s start with the big reveal of Green Lantern #13 - aside from the return of the Lanterns thought to be dead - the last page, showing that we’ve not seen the last of Superboy Prime. To the Guardians, he represents what? A danger that only they know about and thus, can handle?

Geoff Johns: Yeah – he’s a huge danger, and the Guardians have a perspective on it that nobody else will have that will be revealed down the line, but he’s a massive, massive threat, and the key power player that’s going to play into some stuff that’s coming up as well. And of course, it ties into the whole of 52 and everything else. There are still a lot of major revelations for the DC Universe that are going to happen in Green Lantern, with the Guardians of the Universe already being aware of a lot of things that the readers aren’t – and so are a few other characters, like Cyborg Superman who knows something.

So yeah – Superboy Prime is going to play a role in some upcoming storylines. He’s a dangerous, dangerous guy.

NRAMA: A question that has to go with him being so dangerous – why’s he naked?

GJ: Well – he was shirtless when we left him there, but more than that, it’s a subtle thing – he’s looking at his belt, and he’s contemplating who and what he is. You’ve got to remember, with this appearance, he’s been there for over a year. And you can see when they post Guy Gardner as one of the guards – they’re still treating him as a high level threat. The guards aren’t allowed to leave their post for a month.

For us, him being naked was an acknowledgement of stripping himself down to being this kid again, and being completely absorbed in what he’s done, and what he’s going to do.

NRAMA: If we had to lay money on it, what’s the safer bet – that Superboy Prime could redeem himself, or he’s a member of Bad Guys 4-ever?

GJ: I think it’s a split. You saw his reaction when he did what he did in Infinite Crisis, but at that same time, he’s walked over that line. Does he think he can walk back? Should he? Does this universe even matter to him anymore? Is it the fact that, now that he’s got a big dent on his car, another one won’t matter? If he’s already on that path, is he going to continue on it, or is he going to really try and work and go back?

It’s a tough thing, but of course, the parallel is Hal Jordan, which is why he works so well in that book. It’s no mistake or coincidence why Superboy Prime is going to be dealt with in Green Lantern quite a bit.

NRAMA: He’s not a direct mirror to Hal Jordan, but rather…

GJ: He has some echoes of Hal. Also, the Guardians of the Universe bring the cosmic element into it, and tie into the overall DCU mythology that we’re going to be unveiling. He’s a central figure to everything. Emotionally and thematically, he’s going to give us a lot of story. He’s not somebody that you want to completely throw away. And he’s not going to be one-note either – he’s not a psychotic, murdering character. He has his episodes, but he’s much more complex than that.

NRAMA: And of course, something that can’t be ignored in that scene – the Guardians whispering “52”…

GJ: Right. I think this is the first time we’ve mentioned “52” in a monthly book…

NRAMA: Obviously, you’re not going to say much, if anything…but: event? Number? Group of people? Where they parked?

GJ: That’s the question, isn’t it? What does that number mean? That’s something that we wanted to make sure we were doing when we were working both on Crisis and 52 – “52” is going to mean something. It’s really there to set the stage to let people know that 52 isn’t just a story about Booster Gold and Black Adam and these other characters – it’s a DC Universe story.

NRAMA: And moving backward a little from there…putting Guy on guard duty at Superboy Prime’s prison. No slight to the Giffen DeMatteis era, but that Guy, put on guard duty would’ve probably been a setup to the escape of the prisoner…Guy as he is now – not so much?

GJ: Oh, Guy now? It would never, ever happen on Guy’s watch.

NRAMA: So he’s not there as the foil – next issue shows Guy asleep or reading a magazine while Prime escapes?

GJ: Not at all. That’s ridiculous. Anyone who’s read Guy Gardner for the last two years in Green Lantern or in Corps knows that he’s a much better, stronger character than that. And even in the old Giffen stuff, he would probably break some rules, taunt the other heroes, and drink a beer or two, but he wouldn’t be that much of an idiot. He was never that much of an idiot, and certainly not with what I’m doing with him, or with what Dave Gibbons is doing with him in Corps. He has his moments, and he’s a really fun character, but he’s definitely not gong to be a moron. His role is not DCU Moron. His role is DCU Shitkicker.

NRAMA: Moving on from here in Green Lantern, you’ve still got some missing time to fill in, in regards to the missing year when Hal and his co-pilots were captured and held as prisoners of war…not to mention he’s got bounty hunters and Global Guardians chasing him down…

GJ: Right – the next arc really goes into what Hal went through during the missing year, and the next four issues literally set up the next year and half of Green Lantern – and put a new villain on the board that I’m really excited about.

NRAMA: Any teases?

GJ: He’s a minor villain that appeared, but he’s just the perfect Hal Jordan villain.

NRAMA: So he’s been seen before?

GJ: Yes, briefly. Years ago. Trust me, for what we’re doing, and what you’ve seen so far in Green Lantern, this villain makes perfect sense.

NRAMA: And the “Wanted: Hal Jordan” arc will also explain why the Global Guardians are after him as well?

GJ: Yeah – it’s Hal finding out why everyone is chasing him, as well as Hal dealing with his time as a POW and finding out what that was actually about. It also talks about his duty as a Green Lantern, comparing and contrasting it with the jobs that other super heroes do. There’s a scene where he’s being lectured by another hero about the Freedom of Power Treaty which prohibits foreign metahumans from operating in other countries, and telling him that he needs to respect the Treaty. As Hal’s said before, he answers with, ‘Borders are ridiculous. I’m Green Lantern and my duty is to the whole planet if I need to go somewhere, I’m going to go.’

And then, he adds: ‘Do you realize that I’ve been to hundreds of planets – hundreds, and the only one with countries is earth.’

NRAMA: Nice.

GJ: Whenever you see an alien planet in the DCU, it’s completely homogenized. You never see borders or states. Even with Hawkworld, even though they had classes and zones, it was all one world. So we’re playing with the idea that, in the universal view, earth is really this primitive, primitive planet.

NRAMA: That goes back to where you showed one of Hal’s early trips back to Oa after coming back, and there were some alien GLs who were surprised that earthlings still existed, and could speak.

GJ: Right. They don’t know. And again, in their view, the people of earth – there have been, other than the heroes, what, five that have ever left their home planet, and they only went to the moon and hustled right back. They think that’s hilarious. It’s basically like a guy saying that he lives in Cincinnati and is somewhat worldly, because he went up in a hot air balloon once. Woo.

But I think that’s fun – it gives a fun element to Green Lantern, which the book needs to have. I think having Hal Jordan being the human underdog is a great idea to mix in with everything else in the Corps. We’ve always had this idea that the earth is the great center of everything, and it’s not. What makes it strong is its diversity.

NRAMA: Just to touch on another of the larger themes that you’re bringing into the book – something that you played with in Rebirth and also in the opening arc is something that’s reflective of the time, that is, as Hal Jordan sees the earth, it’s almost polluted with fear. It’s become the predominant emotion in the world, replacing even hope…

GJ: Right – and that’s what Hal has to deal with. The borders with walls on them – that’s out of fear. Airports – take a plane flight today, and you come face to face with the effects of fear. Not only in the screening process, but you look around – you’re asked to look around, and report on who scares you.

Whenever I fly – I’m half Lebanese – half of my family gets looked at when they get on airplanes. They don’t blame people, it’s just what they’re going to do, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying. I was getting flagged at airports, because my middle name is Lebanese. My wife and I couldn’t understand it when I kept getting pulled aside for extra screening, and I finally realized that my middle name is right there on the boarding pass.

Yeah, it’s a huge emotion, and in the book, there’s Coast City - a whole city that no one will live in because they’re afraid of it. We had that whole scene when Hal was basically resigning himself to the fact that he was going to be the only person living in Coast City, and that fear is the biggest, strongest emotion there is, and nothing can overcome it, when boom – his brother is driving in to Coast City with his family to live. That was what Hal needed to see. People can get over fear, and as Hal sees it, if it’s his job to help people get over it, that’s what he’ll do. It plays into the whole view we’re taking with the Green Lanterns and the Corps – when you see a cop walking down the street, you feel pretty safe.

NRAMA: It seems that it’s really added a whole new dimension for you to play with in regards to the character. Even though Hal was “born” during the Cold War when there was plenty of fear to go around, this inclusion of it in the larger picture…seems to really tie him to the world a little more…and perhaps suggests that if he’s fighting an enemy who uses fear as a weapon, it might be a tougher fight?

GJ: Could be. That could be.

NRAMA: Finally – how’re things looking schedule-wise?

GJ: We’re going as fast as we can, and we’ve talked about getting fill in artists here and there, but…look, on Titans, we’re having all these fill in artists come on, and they’re okay, but I love Tony [Daniel] to be there, but when you look at Ivan Reis on Green Lantern, you just want him to draw the book. We’re trying our best to get on track. Will we have a fill-in artist at some point? Maybe so we can get to 12 issues a year. Right now, we’re at about nine a year. But the quality...I’m so proud of the first arc. If you flip through it, it’s just beautiful. I think we’re really on a roll, and I’d just hate to break that up.

I know everybody’s worried about schedule at DC, and we’re seeing Grant and Andy having fill-ins on Batman, and Wonder Woman has gone bi-monthly, and it’s weird – it’s become commonplace for books to be delayed for quality.

NRAMA: Yeah, but at the same time, and playing Devil’s advocate, why not embrace the James Robinson model with an arc, then a “Times Past” fill-in, and then another arc?

GJ: We did that with Flash with the Rogues and I’ve done it with Teen Titans, where we just did a special Kid Devil/Blue Devil issue which really reveals everything you need to – or didn’t need to know – about Kid Devil, and those flesh out the characters and set up some stories for the future. We have talked about doing one-off issues like that, where we would tell a story where a planet is taken hostage, and they call in Green Lantern as a hostage negotiator. What’s that like? They’d call in a telepath from Titan on that as well…it’s a fun story, and if we get behind again, we’ll probably do that, but I don’t want to sacrifice quality. Anyone who’d come on for that issue is going to have to be at Ivan’s level or better…or Ethan’s [Van Sciver] who’s doing the project with me in April.

But we’re working as fast as we can, and I know it’s always a question of what do people want? Do they want a book every month, or do they want the best book the creators can do every month? We’re trying to get everything on schedule, and the fact that Ivan’s into #15 right now, and #14 is on track for the next couple of weeks…hopefully, we’ll get things back on track.

NRAMA: Hey – of course if you need an idea for a one-off issue, you always could reveal where John Stewart is…where is he anyway? Hal said he’s undercover, but that was a long time ago…is he out from undercover?

GJ: I don’t know…keep reading, and you’ll find out…soon. He’s not gone. He’s going to be back and playing a prominent role in the book.

[Kevenn]

I don't read Green Lantern, but I'm grateful for articles like this that fill me in on any DC Universe happening that go on in it.

[Ace]

I want a book every month.

I don't mind if it's a fill-in, especially if it's something that expands upon the larger mythos of the character, so long as it's well done and with a good creative team.

I like world building. And I'm willing to pay for it. And I won't grumble at all.

With a concept like Green Lantern, there's so much to explore. Hell, that's what they should do. Every five or six issues, give us a Coast City story. There's so much to develop there. Or focus on Arisia getting used to life and all that she missed again. Or a Carol Ferris/Lois Lane team up. Or John Stewart going on a date. Or Hal talking to Bart about both Wally and Barry.

But then I'm not an art guy, so I probably wouldn't even mind if the main arc continued so long as the story was good.

That's one reason why I get frustrated when comics are delayed for art reasons. Yeah, I like nice art, and can appreciate it, but I'd rather the comic be there.

Edit: And was I the only person who momentarily got confused and thought DC got the rights to the malibu characters somehow.

[Ken B.]

I like books every month. A book can be of quality and come out every month. This myth that only good books are delayed is getting really ridiculous. And I would have never thought that Johns would start saying its ok for that to happen. The way TT used to operate, with 4 or 5 McKone issues then a 2 issue Grummett fill in worked very well. Hell, even the Flash issues where you had 6 or 7 Porter issues then a Rogue spotlight with a fill in worked well.

People are accepting of fill ins if they are scheduled accordingly.

Ivan Reis used to be a guy who could do a monthly book. His run on Action Comics had only one fill in. I guess there really is a correlation between ego and lateness.

[apoehler]

The art quality bar has been set pretty high with Reis, Pacheco, and Van Sciver (who's basically established himself as the most definitive GL artist since Kane). The GLC allows for focus to shift from Hal once in awhile though, so I'm for more fill-ins as long as they're high quality.

[Andrew.T]

I haven't bought this book or Teen Titans due to huge delays in the title but thanks to Newsarama and other related media outlets, I've seen a HUGE chunk of original material coming out of Geoff Johns camp and for that, I'd like to congradulate him big time.

From what I've seen and heard, Teen Titans especially is going to be big on bringing in some new, original characters; I've seen some of the sketches and they look really nice and inventive. And for a guy like Johns who writes quite a bit, I'd like to say it's quite refreshing to hear about some new characters because that's what will keep people hooked, not these continous slaughtering, rehashing, rebooting and changing the gender of characters beneath a familiar costume.

On the issue of scheduling, I would like to also say it's nice to hear John's step up to the plate and at least comment about it. A lot of fans have been grumbling about this and yes, it IS common place but for the industry to grow, comics MUST learn how to ship ON TIME.

See, thing is, many of us fans are weekly comic shoppers. Many of these fans are going to be at the shop irregardless of when a comic ships, so when it DOES ship, they'll probably buy it.

But for new readers, they won't. A new reader has to be hooked and they need to know where and when a new issue will be coming out. Say for example, DC Does great press on All Star Batman. A new reader reads about it in Entertainment Weekly and floats into the shop to try it out. They buy the issue, like it and want to come back for the next one.

For the new reader, the ones who do not frequent the comic shop on any regular basis, they need to know that book will be there when it's supposed to be so they know when to come back for it. If you wait too long, the new reader will forget and move on. That's why it's so important to ship on time. If you want to hook a new reader, you have to impress them and they won't be impressed by a serialized story with the new installment coming out who knows when, or on any kind of irregular basis.

Too much time passes, they forget. Then you don't turn them on to comics, you turn them off. Especially in the case of a series like Civil War or All Star Batman. All Star Batman got great press when it debuted. A new issue hasn't been out in 9 months. Anyone believe that new reader is still waiting for the next issue? The new reader who picked it up due to the press they read about it, the non comic reader is now probably turned off because it has taken so long for a new installment.

So to grab new readers, you need the product timely so YOUR product are uppermost in their mind and they don't forget you.

Try guys, get these books out on time. It's not that difficult. WHich brings me to my next statement, and I know this is a Geoff Johns column but while on the issue of scheduling and that it IS possible to do a timely book...

HUGE CONGRADULATIONS TO BRIAN BENDIS AND MARK BAGLEY FOR REACHING 100 ISSUES OF ULTIMATE SPIDER MAN, A BOOK THAT HAS SHIPPED ON TIME -- MANY TIMES 2X A MONTH WITHOUT A SINGLE FILL IN AND AGAIN -- FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED FRIGGIN ISSUES -- ********* ON TIME*************

From this fan who has been there since the beginning due to quality and timeliness, happy anniversary and thank you for making the journey so enjoyable for this reader!

[s*p rules]

Considering what Kyle's role as a GL was revealed to be in the latest Ion, wouldn't finding Hank Henshaw be just the type of job that the Guardians would entrust him with???

[thefellowship12]

Originally Posted by Andrew.T

HUGE CONGRADULATIONS TO BRIAN BENDIS AND MARK BAGLEY FOR REACHING 100 ISSUES OF ULTIMATE SPIDER MAN, A BOOK THAT HAS SHIPPED ON TIME -- MANY TIMES 2X A MONTH WITHOUT A SINGLE FILL IN AND AGAIN -- FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED FRIGGIN ISSUES -- ********* ON TIME*************

Erm don't mean to one of those annoying posters, but Congratulations has no D

[Mercury]

a book every month. hmm, it seems like alot of people want that.. and yet, the big 2 dont seem to realize that whatsoever! its really amazing.

[s*p rules]

Originally Posted by thefellowship12

Erm don't mean to one of those annoying posters, but Congratulations has no D

Erm don't mean to be one of those annoying posters, but did you need to quote his entire post just for a spell check? You're right, of course, but still...

[Spaz_Monkey]

I have GOT to learn to read these things better. I saw the quote I’m half Lebanese, and I thought something reeeeeeeealy weird about JG. Then, I read it again,, and said 'ohhhh... Never mind.'

[Rob S.]

I want a *good* book every month. If the quality's not there, I'd rather spend my three bucks on something else.

(That doesn't meant a quality fill in is impossible. I'm really looking forward to the Ostrander/Mandrake Batman books, for example. But quality is an issue, and I don't want to be bilked just because it's that time of the month where I fork over three bucks for something with Green Lantern's picture on it. Because if I am, I'm a lot less likely to come back, even for the regular team.)

Oh, and 52 was also mentioned in the Legion a while back. (Issue 19 maybe? It was in Dominator dialogue.

[Nychavok]

Goddamit, I wanna get started on this series! Anybody know when the first volume will be available in softcover trade format?

[Geoff Johns]

Originally Posted by Nychavok

Goddamit, I wanna get started on this series! Anybody know when the first volume will be available in softcover trade format?

Send Matt Brady your address and I'll send over 1-13.

Geoff

[Ye Olde Iowa]

Originally Posted by Mercury

a book every month. hmm, it seems like alot of people want that.. and yet, the big 2 dont seem to realize that whatsoever! its really amazing.

The Big 2 don't realize it because the same people that demand a book every month, are the same people who still buy late books. The only vote that counts is the one you make with your dollar.

If you are sick of late books, quit jumping onto the Newsarama board and complaining with the same old arguments that go nowhere (and have become so common place that they become cliche), don't buy the book. Also, quit with this Didio and Quesada don't care about fans bull. If they didn't care about fans, they wouldn't be hiring the best artists and writers in the business, regardless of schedules. If they didn't care about fans, they would hire crappy writers that can churn out a script a month without any possibilities of delays. If they didn't care about fans, Bruce Jones would be writing Nightwing for 100 issues or AJ Leibermann would be a full-time Batman writer. Geoff is a fan-favorite writer who has put together some of the best and most well-recieved book's in recent comics history; by placing him on so many great projects, DC is proving that they care about the fans.

Also, as proof with Manhunter and Spider-Girl, sending in hardcopy letters to Marvel and DC Editorial can be effect. Sick of late books? Type up a letter instead of a message board post.

The only people who can be really seen as responsible for the new trend in late books are the consumers, because we still buy the books. As long as books like Green Lantern, Supergirl, and Civil War are top sellers despite being late, they are going to stick with the creative teams that make them money.

Whining about late books on a message board is simply a waste of time.

[Cray_ws]

The quality of art is subjective, the quality of timeliness is not subjective. It's either shipped on time or not. A pretty drawn book that ships late is still a poor quality comic.

Creators need make the nescessary adjustments to meet their deadlines, not the consumers.

[Kirley 227]

Thank you so much for this story. I have been coming to this site every day waiting for someone to talk about this issue. Issue #13 was AWSOME! "52! 52! 52!"

-Kirley

Hey! It's my first post!

[Kintoun]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

NRAMA: And of course, something that can’t be ignored in that scene – the Guardians whispering “52”…

GJ: Right. I think this is the first time we’ve mentioned “52” in a monthly book…

It could be the first time "52" has been mentioned in a monthly DC comic book since the 52 series began but the number was stated earlier by Mark Waid in Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #16. That issue came out on March 22nd while 52 Week 1 was released on May 10th. Anyways, I'm thrilled to hear Superboy Prime will become a significant character in Green Lantern and that he won't be portrayed in a predictable manner.

Kintoun

[CodeGuy]

Originally Posted by Cray_ws

The quality of art is subjective, the quality of timeliness is not subjective. It's either shipped on time or not. A pretty drawn book that ships late is still a poor quality comic.

Creators need make the nescessary adjustments to meet their deadlines, not the consumers.

It's only late when it ships, but the quality is the quality forever. Boiling things down to simple platitudes is possible for both sides of the argument.

As for creators vs. consumers, all a creator can do is give the consumers what they want. If consumers are still buying the late books, then timeliness wasn't what they wanted.

[CMadness]

Two things for Mr. Johns:

1. When I order Green Lantern in April for June delivery, I expect it in June, not September. While it may have become commonplace for books to be late, that doesn't make it acceptable.

2. With all due respect to Ivan Reis, who is a hell of a nice person, if he was responsible for my losing 1/4 of my income, he wouldn't be working on my book for long.

Is there no one at DC editorial who will stand up and take responsibility?

[Squashua]

So here's what I get from this interview (of course, I have 52 blinders on):

Superboy Prime
Originally from Earth Prime, where the DCU is a series of comic books, just like here.

Animal Man
Outside knowledge of beyond the fourth wall, somewhat blocked from memory.

Ambush Bug
Hopefully ditto, and insane for it. Psycho Pirate is dead.

Hank Henshaw
Hopefully ditto.

52

Yeah, I read Green Lantern.

[Disco Cookie]

Always love to read what Johns has to say about the creative process. GL has really benefitted from OYL - personally I can't wait to learn about the POW time or why those pesky Global Guardians are after Hal.

And Geoff is part Lebanese? So am I. Glad to know someone else is getting pulled aside on planes...

[thefellowship12]

Originally Posted by s*p rules

Erm don't mean to be one of those annoying posters, but did you need to quote his entire post just for a spell check? You're right, of course, but still...

yeah sorry about that

[TCJohnson]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

GJ: Not at all. That’s ridiculous. Anyone who’s read Guy Gardner for the last two years in Green Lantern or in Corps knows that he’s a much better, stronger character than that. And even in the old Giffen stuff, he would probably break some rules, taunt the other heroes, and drink a beer or two, but he wouldn’t be that much of an idiot. He was never that much of an idiot, and certainly not with what I’m doing with him, or with what Dave Gibbons is doing with him in Corps. He has his moments, and he’s a really fun character, but he’s definitely not gong to be a moron. His role is not DCU Moron. His role is DCU Shitkicker.

Nah, the DCU moron is Booster Gold...well, was.

[TCJohnson]

Originally Posted by thefellowship12

yeah sorry about that

On the other hand, love the pic in your signature.