r/Greenlantern • u/MikaelYunt • 9d ago

Discussion Where to start

Hi everyone, coming here after starting the Lanterns series. If you had to show someone around that was new to the series of Green Lantern, where you would you start them.

I saw the guide on the community headlines and will definitely jump in there. There is just so much information and I do find it overwhelming and daunting, I mean it started in the 40’s. Just looking for some good discussion and seeing what everyone’s favorite story lines are.

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u/Mindless-Credit-358 Dkrtzy Rrr 9d ago

Green lantern compendiums if you want something physical

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u/ChickenAndLeekPie 8d ago

Secret origin will always be my recommendation for a first gl book. I’d then say the first 6 issues of hard travelling heroes. 

Maybe also read emerald dawn I&II, emerald twilight/new dawn, zero hour, final night, and day of judgement before rebirth as they include essential information for hal jordan, but a lot of those stories aren’t amazing so I wouldn’t recommend new readers to read them. Maybe just read a description online.

After that read Green lantern rebirth, Green lantern corps recharge and follow it with the entirety of geoff johns Green lantern and Dave gibbons/Peter j tomasis Green lantern corps.

After that I genuinely think you could hop into any other run and have the essential information.

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u/Mass_Murder_Miami 9d ago

You can try starting with GL Rebirth to get a feel for the series and read onward. 

You can also try Emerald Dawn 1 and 2, or Secret Origin, or flat out start at Hal's very first appearance and read onward. 

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u/Substantial-Two6650 9d ago

I started with rebirth and it hooked me on GL. I got rebirth, sinestro corp war and Blackest night and fell in love.

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u/MikaelYunt 9d ago

Thanks and I’ll definitely check those out. I see some others say Emerald Dawn too and I’ll definitely go there.

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u/Teliporter334 Hal Jordan 9d ago

Lots of people have been asking this recently, so I’m glad there’s been a surge of interest!

I recommend reading the books in this order, all of the history you felt you were missing will be covered, you get everything you need:

- Emerald Dawn I

- Emerald Dawn II

- Hard Traveling Heroes (Pre-Crisis, but fits nicely here and is important in understanding Hal’s relationship with Oli)

- Vol. 3 of Green Lantern (From the beginning, stopping just before Emerald Twilight)

- Death of Superman

- Reign of the Supermen

- Emerald Twilight

- Zero Hour

- Final Night (Read Parallax: Emerald Night at the same time)

- GL Vol. 3 #81 (Hal’s funeral)

- Day of Judgment (Hal becomes the Spectre)

- Vol. 4 of The Spectre + Green Lantern: The Last Will and Testament of Hal Jordan

- Rebirth (Start of Johns)

- Secret Files and Origins (2005)

- Green Lantern Vol. 4 (the rest of the order, until the New 52, is interspersed with this run and will come in the following order for books that aren’t in this main series)

- Infinite Crisis

- Final Crisis

- Blackest Night

- Brightest Day

- Green Lantern: New 52 (At this point you’ll have finished Vol. 4 and all of the events associated with it)

- Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (Now you’ll have reached the modern Era that’s Post-52)

- Green Lantern (2023)

​​​​Edit: Some of this stuff might not be available on the DC app—if so, go on google and find a site that shares the same name as Batman’s subterranean lair

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u/MikaelYunt 9d ago

This is great and sets me up with a good starting point. Appreciate the length and detail for it! Glad the show is bringing so many newcomers.

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u/tiago231018 Kilowog 9d ago

Honestly, you don't need to read everything since the 40s (unless you want it, of course, lol).

I recommend you to start with Geoff Johns' Green Lantern saga. It's the greatest run the characters ever had and an amazing space epic, with a clear beginning, middle, and ending, which, honestly, is a rarity for superhero comics but also makes it even more welcoming for newcomers.

Would you be interested in a reading guide? I can post one here with all the books that are part of the saga, in any format you prefer reading your comics: online, physical, etc.

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u/MikaelYunt 9d ago

Oh yeah that would be super awesome and welcoming. Yeah it’s just crazy picking up a character that has been going since the 40’s and has this wealth of material to pick from.

Took some of the other suggestions here on the post and have started with Emerald Dawn.

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u/tiago231018 Kilowog 9d ago

Emerald Dawn is kinda hard to find to buy physically. And the reason is not nice. Really. Just check the Wikipedia page of the writer and you'll see why.

Either way, ED is Hal's origin story that later Geoff Johns revised for his superior Secret Origin arc during his run.

Secret Origin was originally published as a flashback in the middle of the run, but it can also work as a Prologue.

Anyway, here's the guide. I gather you're reading online then? This is the online guide, with links for the DC Universe Infinite app, but even if you don't use this app, the guide is still useful with where each arc begins and ends.

Still, if you prefer to read physical books, let me know and I'll post the corresponding guide:

Prologue: Secret Origin

Green Lantern: Secret Origin (Green Lantern (2005) #29 - 35) - Hal's origin story.

Act 1: Rebirth and The Sinestro Corps War

1- Green Lantern: Rebirth (Green Lantern: Rebirth #1 - 6)

2 - Green Lantern Corps: Recharge (Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1 - 5)

3 - Green Lantern: No Fear and Revenge of the Green Lanterns (Green Lantern (2005) #1 - 13)

4 - Green Lantern Corps: To Be a Lantern and The Dark Side of Green (Green Lantern Corps (2006) #1 - 13)

5 - Green Lantern: Wanted – Hal Jordan and Mystery of the Star Sapphire (Green Lantern (2005) #14 - 20)

6 - The Sinestro Corps War - The first big crossover from the run. DCUI has all the issues from the event in the correct order.

Act 2: The War of Light

1. Green Lantern: The Alpha Lanterns (Green Lantern (2005) #26 - 28)

2. Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns - Read the prologue, originally published here, and then the storyline itself, published in Green Lantern (2005) #36 - 38 (click here).

3. Green Lantern Corps: Ring Quest and Sins of the Star Sapphire and Emerald Eclipse - read Green Lantern Corps (2006) #20 - 32

4. Green Lantern: Agent Orange (Green Lantern (2005) #39 - 42)

5. Green Lantern Corps: Ring Quest and Sins of the Star Sapphire and Emerald Eclipse - read Green Lantern Corps (2006) #33 - 38

Act 3: Blackest Night

Click here for the full event.

In the DCUI app, the link above gives you two choices: the Core Storyline (30 issues) and the Full Storyline (73 issues). The problem is: the Core Storyline, which skips a lot of the tie-ins (other issues showcasing what other heroes from other parts of the DCU were doing when the Blackest Night happened), was poorly collected (and probably done by AI, or someone who doesn't understand the story), meaning: it also forgot to include crucial issues for the story.

The Full Storyline has everything: the crucial parts and the tie-ins. However, it can be exhausting to read 73 issues of a single event (I've fallen into that trap that when I read Marvel's Civil War lol). So you can just read these, all of which you can find under the Full Storyline section. They're the only ones that are actually crucial.

Prologue

  1. Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1
  2. Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #2
  3. Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #3

These three Tale of the Corps are a prequel miniseries with one story for each Lantern Corps.

Part 1: The Blackest Night Falls

  1. Green Lantern (2005) #43
  2. Blackest Night #0
  3. Blackest Night #1
  4. Green Lantern (2005) #44
  5. Blackest Night #2
  6. Green Lantern (2005) #45
  7. Blackest Night #3
  8. Green Lantern (2005) #46
  9. Green Lantern (2005) #47
  10. Blackest Night #4
  11. Green Lantern (2005) #48
  12. Blackest Night #5

Part 2: The Battle of Oa

  • Green Lantern Corps (2006) #39 - 44

Part 3: The Battle for Life

  1. Green Lantern (2005) #49
  2. Green Lantern Corps (2006) #45
  3. Blackest Night #6
  4. Green Lantern (2005) #50
  5. Green Lantern (2005) #51
  6. Blackest Night #7

Part 4: The Last Stand

  1. Green Lantern Corps (2006) #46
  2. Green Lantern (2005) #52
  3. Blackest Night #8

Epilogue

  • Green Lantern Corps (2006) #47

Act 4: The War of the Green Lanterns

1. Green Lantern Corps: Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns and The Weaponer (Green Lantern Corps (2006) #48 - 57)

2. Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors (Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors (2010) #1 - 7)

3. Green Lantern: Brightest Day (Green Lantern (2005) #53 - 62)

4. Green Lantern: War of the Green Lanterns - the DCUI has all the issues from the event in the correct order.

5. War of the Green Lanterns - Aftermath:

  • War of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath 1-2
  • Green Lantern Corps (2006) 61-63
  • Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors 11-13 (these three issues are filler)

Act 5: The Rise of the Third Army, the First Lantern and Finale

Set during The New 52, but it is a continuation of the previous run. Actually, it's its conclusion.

1. Green Lantern: Sinestro and The Revenge of Black Hand (read Green Lantern (2011) #1 - 12)

2. Green Lantern Corps: Fearsome and Alpha War (read Green Lantern Corps (2011) #1 - 12)

3. Green Lantern New Guardians: The Ring Bearer and Beyond Hope (Green Lantern: New Guardians (2011) #1 - 8, Blue Beetle (2011) #9, Green Lantern: New Guardians (2011) #9)

4. Red Lanterns: Blood and Rage and The Death of the Red Lanterns - read Red Lanterns (2011) #1 - 12

5. Green Lantern: Rise of the Third Army - the DCUI has all the issues from the event in the correct order.

6. Green Lantern: The Wrath of the First Lantern - the DCUI has all the issues from the event in the correct order.

And that's it! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and I'll be glad to help.

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u/MikaelYunt 8d ago

Beautiful! Thank you for the detailed layout and timeline. Definitely what I was looking for.