March 27, 2009

The Green Lantern Corps

After I dropped off some overdue Exoplanet books at the NYPL, I happened to pass by Jim Hanley's Universe along 33rd St.
I put on my fabled "Citizen Journalist" hat and happened to ask a guy named Steven if they have any material that had references to exoplanets. I sure asked the right guy, because he mentioned several new installments on The Green Lantern Corps, Annihilation, and gave a very well-informed historical overview of those series and so much more. (Only now, as I was composing this blog, that I just found out that I talked to the man who was featured on Wired!)
I like more of Marvel characters than those from DC comics, and I admit that Green Lantern was not in my list of favorites, but my recent discovery about The Green Lantern Corps made it worth my renewed foray into comics, because their interplanetary setting rocks! The GLC series is written by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons (artist of the Watchmen) joined by Patrick Gleason as the artist.
The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic police force composed of a diverse species of extra-terrestrial individuals. Our very own Kyle Rayner serves as one of Earth's representative to the group.
The home planet of the Green Lantern Corps is called Oa, which is said to be at the center of the universe.
The Corps patrols the reaches of space at the command of the Guardians of the Universe, a race of immortals. The Guardians created the Green Lantern Corps some three billion years ago. Each Green Lantern is given a power ring, a weapon and artifact granting the bearer incredible power limited only by their willpower.
The Guardians divided the universe into 3600 “sectors” and choose two natives of each sector to serve as that sector's protectors.
I have yet to find out how these "sectors" adjust in proportion to the expansion of the universe.
I am still enjoying an issue of The Green Lantern Corps, at the same time observing how the new scientific knowledge about exoplanets will spill into the comic literature with an intergalactic and interplanetary setting.
There will be more to come...



Links:
http://jhuniverse.blogspot.com/