My Top 12 Geoff Johns DC Stories

Yes, I know.  This is one of those rare occasions when I sit down and actually write a blog entry.  I thought about doing this one via podcast, but my voice is gone so looks like I'm doing this one "old school."  Last week I read a list about the best comic book story lines written by Geoff Johns.  I am a big fan of Johns.  I like almost anything he writes, minus his early days on JSA, and maybe a few Justice League books.  But in his writing career he has rejuvenated Green Lantern, Flash, and Aquaman into hit series and characters.  

Because of his success with DC Comics he has moved up the ladder to president and Chief Creative Officer of DC.  The list I read last week had a lot of good story lines, some of which are my favorite, but some I felt were also left out.  I started making my own list of almost two dozen Johns books I enjoy and then whittled it down to my top twelve.  Let me know which ones are your favorite, or which ones you have yet to read!

12) Superboy: Boy of Steel

After returning from the dead, Connor Kent is determined to get his life back together.  He revisits his best friend and (ex)girlfriend who both have fallen on dark times since his death.  Connor attends Smallville High and tries to live his life like Superman did.  But after a run-in with Lex Luthor's sister he faces a moral dilemma not even Superman could choose between.

11) Green Lantern: Sinestro

Hal Jordan was the greatest Green Lantern of them all; and Sinestro their #1 enemy.  But after War of the Green Lanterns Hal is kicked out and Sinestro is chosen back into the Corps.  But Sinestro needs help, and the only one he trusts that can help him is Hal.  Sinestro grants him a temporary ring and the two show why their unique relationship is so engaging to read.

10) Aquaman: The Trench

For years, Aquaman was the laughing stock of the DC Universe.  People saw him as just a fast swimmer and a person who can talk to fish.  But after his resurrection in Brightest Day, Aquaman got his own solo title and showed why he is a big hitter in the DCU.  He's strong, bulletproof, and can control sharks.  I sure as hell wouldn't mess with him. 

9) Superman: Up, Up, and Away

Being a Superman fan, I will admit, I am little biased towards John's Superman stories.  It's been a year since Superman helped take down the alternate Superboy by flying him through a red sun, and de-powering them both.  Clark Kent has lived a normal life and getting along pretty well, until his powers slowly start to come back as well has his rogues gallery.  Clark has to get back into the swing of things before the return of his greatest foe; Lex Luthor.

8) Infinite Crisis

I will admit it, I am not a fan of the multiverse storylines.  I really don't like to read Crisis on Infinite Earths or Final Crisis, but I like Infinite Crisis for it's personal moments.  The Justice League has been fractured due to the discretions of key members, and the first issue ends with Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman having it out and Bruce burning Clark by saying, "The last time you inspired anyone was when you were dead."  From there an alternate Superboy and Superman try to save their Earth by destroying Earth One.  It all culminates in a battle through a red sun and the death of Connor Kent.    

7) Superman:  Last Son

Lois and Clark adopt a Kryptonian boy and have their hands full when they find out it's Zod's offspring; and daddy's home.  It's an interesting story that has Clark and Lois question something they never thought they'd be; parents.

JON:  Who's Wonder Woman?

LOIS:  Someone you won't meet until you're 17.

JON:  Who's Batman?

LOIS:  Someone you won't meet until you're 18.

6) Superman: Secret Origin

I terrific retelling of Superman's origin that hits all the high points.  From his awkward years discovering his powers in Smallville, to meeting The Daily Planet staff for the first time.  It's not as hard-edged as Birthright, or as poetic as A Superman For All Seasons, but this one is just a fun read.  At the end I always hear the John Williams score play in my head as Superman flies away.

5) Green Lantern: Secret Origin

After Johns brought Hal Jordan back into the spotlight he decided to reintroduce him to readers who may not have been around when he first appeared during the Silver Age.  This is the story about a rebellious pilot who couldn't stay out of trouble after his father's death.  He is chosen for the greatest honor in the universe and must learn to be responsible, while showing the Green Lantern Corps a few new tricks.  So disappointed the GL movie didn't turn out like this.

4) Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War

This tale re-establish Hal as the greatest Green Lantern of them all, and kicks off a story line that would expand the GL mythology in ways nobody ever thought.  After years of wielding a yellow ring by himself, Sinestro creates his own Yellow Lantern Corps that finds those who instill fear in others.  This Corps gives the GL's a run for their money as Kyle and Hal must both conquer their fears if they are to defeat Sinestro, and prepare for the Blackest Night.

3) Flashpoint

Some people think this story line is a bit weak, but I love that it not only gives an alternate look at our DC heroes, but also proves just how powerful Barry Allen is as the Flash.  Barry runs back in time to save his mother and ends up wrecking reality.  Clark Kent is a science experiment, Bruce Wayne is dead, and Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war. Barry must give up his mother or leave the world in apocalyptic nightmare.  Barry's goodbye to his mother at the end left me in tears.

2) Green Lantern: Rebirth

This is the story that not only put Geoff Johns on the map, but reinvigorated Green Lantern for years to come.  Johns spent almost a decade writing GL and it started with giving Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps a "rebirth."  I really can't explain this book except to say that if you've only seen the Green Lantern movie it is a great jump-on point for GL, followed by nine years of great stories! 

1) Flash:  Rebirth

While Green Lantern will no doubt be the main chapter in Johns comic book legacy my favorite book of his, say one of my favorite books of all-time, is this one.  In Final Crisis, Barry Allen returns from the Speed Force to a world that as gone on without him.  While all his friends and family want to celebrate his return, Barry feels he must make-up for all the good work he could have done while he was gone.  Along the way, Barry runs into old enemies, new family, and the truth about the event that lead him to becoming the Flash.  It's a book about slowing down, and enjoying the things that matter in life that is beautifully written.

Barry Allen's TV 'Rebirth' I Hope Will Spark More!

For months now I have been anticipating the return of Barry Allen to television.  The character last appeared on the small screen in 1991, played by John Wesley Shipp, in the short-run TV series The Flash.  The reviews of Grant Gustin's portrayal of the character have been so good that Arrow creators, and Warner Bros executives, are moving forward with another Flash TV series.  If you saw last night's, or last week's, episode of Arrow you're probably just as excited as I am for this series to getting running. Running; get it?  So how did I feel Gustin played one of my top 5 comic book characters?  Well, I'm glad you asked.

Last night's episode of Arrow titled 'Three Ghosts' left me jolting with excitement.  And yes, I'm going to continue the puns through this whole entry. WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!  At the end of the episode Barry leaves Starling City after helping Oliver and his crew take down their villain of the week.  Barry also leaves Oliver with a parting gift; a green mask.  This takes the place of his green eye make-up and also takes Oliver one step closer to looking like the hero from the comics.  Personally I can't wait for the goatee! But more importantly, at the end, we saw Barry in the Central City crime lab.  He was watching the coverage of the new particle accelerator when lighting strikes him, and some chemicals, just as the accelerator was activated.  We're left with Barry unconscious on the floor, and looking a little electric.

 When Gustin was cast as Barry Allen it was said that he would guest star in three episodes this season on Arrow, with the third episode possibly leading to his own Flash TV spin-off.  Later it was reported that everyone loved Gustin's performance so much that they're skipping the third episode and putting Flash on the fast track.  Hence, the mid-season ending we all geeked-out over and I will probably watch a few more times just for kicks.

As far as Gustin's performance I was very pleased with it.  I could go through and nit-pick it, like how he seemed a little more upbeat and talkative while 'pre-Flash' Barry Allen was more quiet and reserved.  But the core of the character was there.  Barry was a morale-do-gooder who thinks the world needs more heroes.  He was young and wore Chuck Taylors, and that made the character seem more endearing to me.  It shows that Barry has a long marathon ahead of learning about himself, his powers, and how to be a hero; and in a television show we should all be in it for the long-haul.  My favorite part of the 2-part Barry Allen episodes has been the treatment of Nora Allen's death.  It has been exactly like it is in the comic books.  Proving his father's innocence is what drove Barry to be in that exact lab, at that exact time, and I hope somewhere down the line, say season 5 of the Flash TV series, we get that mystery solved just like in the comic books!

 Meanwhile, a casting call went out last week for Iris West and her father, a police officer.  This struck some worries for me, not because it called for African-American actors, but that it said Iris and her dad take in Allen after his mother's murder and grew-up with Iris.  Iris is the love of Barry's life.  This should not be a Dawson/Joey relationship!  That should be Barry and Patty.  Iris should be someone introduced in the first episode and slowly progress.  I don't like the way that looks, but I'll wait till I hear more to totally freak out.

So by next year we will have Barry and Oliver on TV. So who's missing from this trio; Hal Jordan.  In the comics, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are known as the 'Trinity'.  They work together the most, they're the most powerful, and trust each other the most.  I've always thought of Green Arrow, The Flash, and Green Lantern as DC's '2nd Trinity'.  Although I know a Green Lantern TV series would be waaaaaaaaay to expensive to make maybe they can tone GL down a bit.  Hal has a ring, alien's show up from time-to-time, and not so much with Hal going into outer space.  This is just wishful thinking on my part.  But how awesome would be a Hal Jordan, 2-part crossover, from Arrow to the Flash TV series, be?

 So there you have kids.  My thoughts on Barry Allen's return to television.  I hope several things come from this.  I hope we get to see John Wesley Shipp guest star in the new Flash TV series, maybe as Barry's dad?  I hope they bring in Wally West at some point like Arrow has brought in Roy Harper.    I hope the Rogue's are awesome and I can't wait to see Professor Zoom.  I hope Barry's costume looks as bad ass as Shipp's was. And I really hope DC/Warner Bros leaves the '2nd Trinity' on the small screen because I'm loving this a lot more than how they are f%cking up on the big screen!

The Brightest Days of Johns 'Green Lantern'

It was announced yesterday that Green Lantern writer, and now DC Comics Chief Creative Officer, Geoff Johns, will be stepping off from writing Green Lantern after a 9 year run.  This new made me a little sad since Johns writing is the whole reason I, and I’m sure quite a few others, read GL for the last decade.  Green Lantern was Johns first break out hit.  He is now known for taking characters that were perceived as old or lame and bringing new life back into them.  He rejuvenated the JSA, brought the original Flash, Barry Allen, back from a 20 years run in the Speed Force, and he’s taken the most made-fun-of-character in comic books, Aquaman, and made him the most bad ass hero in 2012. 

Geoff Johns is one of my favorite writers in the business so I’m disappointed he’ll be ending his Green Lantern run in May.  When he first started writing Green Lantern it was a sinking ship.  Johns brought a whole new mythology of characters and spectrum's to not only the Green Lantern Corps, but the entire DC Universe, making it one of the best comics to read in the last 9 years.  A lot of plot lines have been told in that amount of time, but I thought it’d be nice to look back at my Top 5 Favorite Green Lantern story lines by Geoff Johns.

Green Lantern: Secret Origin

After Johns brought Hal Jordan back from the dead and turned the villain Sinestro into the leader of his own yellow Corps he decided to take a break and flashback to his take on Hal Jordan’s induction into the Green Lantern Corps.  This story also set-up what Johns had in store for his next chapter in the Green Lantern saga, Blackest Night.

We see a young Hal Jordan devastated by the death of his father.  This one event affects him throughout his entire life until he is chosen to wear the most powerful weapon in the galaxy and must face his lifelong fear if he has any hope of keeping peace in sector 2814.  We’re also re-introduced to classic GL characters such as Sinestro, Carol Ferris, and Hector Hammond.

To me this was a great jumping off point for anyone who wanted to get into Green Lantern but didn’t want to have to catch-up on the last 40 years of story.  It was said that Ryan Reynolds kept this book on him throughout the entire production of the Green Lantern movie.  Unfortunately, I think the film strayed a little too far from the original source material and ended up not doing so well in the box office.

Green Lantern: Rebirth

I think Harvey Dent said it best in 2008’s The Dark Knight, “you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”  The phrase sums up Hal Jordan pretty well I think.  In 2004, Green Lantern sales were in a slump.  Years earlier Jordan had destroyed the Corps as the villain Parallax and then died himself, leaving one Green Lantern in the whole galaxy.  Johns came on and changed all of that.  In Rebirth he rebuilt the Corps and brought Hal Jordan back from the dead.  Everyone still perceived him as a villain, but Johns fixed that by saying Parallax was actually a yellow entity that took over Jordan, forcing him to do all those horrible things.

With that idea, and many other, Johns was able to construct a story that was in-depth and entertaining.  It helped if you knew the history of the characters, but it wasn’t a necessity.  This story had classic moments like Green Arrow trying to wield a power ring, Hal Jordan punching Batman, and Kyle Rayner, the current Green Lantern, finally meeting Hal Jordan, the greatest Green Lantern.  It was from this book that Johns launched his GL Universe and we’ve all been in awe ever since.

Green Lantern Corps: Recharge

After Rebirth jump started the Corps again Johns had idea for every Lantern, all 3600 of them.  For years there was just the Green Lantern title, but with four earth Lanterns now Johns had to give each of them their due.  Hal Jordan and John Stewart stayed on GL while Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner started Green Lantern Corps along with Kilowog and all the other Lanterns. 

The more I delved into the GL universe the more Kyle Rayner became my favorite Lantern, aside from Hal Jordan of course.  He was the sole torchbearer who gave up being a god to help restart the Corps.  To me that seems like a pretty selfless and noble hero.  This book paired him with the rebel Lantern, Guy Gardner.  Their yin and yang personalities worked well together, fastly becoming best friends.  They were like the Starsky and Hutch of the Green Lantern Corps.

A new Corps also meant new members, the most interesting new member to me being Soranik Natu.  She didn’t want to be chosen but quickly found the good in being a Lantern.  She would go on to become Kyle’s girlfriend and find out Sinestro is her father.  Move over Luke Skywalker, we got another kid whose daddy is the most evil man in the galaxy.

Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War

Rebirth and Recharge established the GL Universe and characters so soon it was time for Johns to unleash the hounds of hell upon the Corps, which just happened to be yellow.  For years Sinestro had wielded his own power ring, the yellow ring of fear.  In this story Sinestro finally gets around to creating his own Yellow Lanterns to challenge the Green Lanterns. His rings scoured the universe to find beings who had the ability to instill great fear.  Among the Yellow Lanterns were Cyborg Superman, Superboy-Prime, and Abin-Sur’s son.  One of the yellow rings was even offered to Batman.

Johns put Jordan and Rayner in the center of this story, both having to deal with their fears and overcoming them if they had any chance of defeating the mascot of the Yellow Lanterns; Parallax.  Some of the highlights of this story were Rayner being infected by Parallax, the residents of Coast City deciding to fight back, and Hal Jordan trying to gain back the trust of his fellow Lanterns who he had once tried to kill and left for dead.

This all was of course just an appetizer to Blackest Night, which introduced the Black and White Lanterns, who followed the introduction of the Blue, Red, Violet, Indigo, and Orange Lanterns.  By this point you start to see the grand scale that Johns had mapped out his Green Lantern plans, and Blackest Night wasn’t even the end of it.

Green Lantern: Sinestro

After the War of the Green Lanterns the Lanterns greatest adversary, Sinestro, was picked to be a Green Lantern again and Hal Jordan was cast out of the Corps for disobeying the Guardians, even though he just saved the entire galaxy.  This story line was the beginning of DC’s New 52 reboot they were doing, but since the Batman and Green Lantern titles were DC’s best-selling books they decided to leave them relatively untouched.  It’s not really known if part of the GL history was thrown out, but in this title Johns proved he only needed two things to make it work; Hal Jordan and Sinestro.

Sinestro goes against the Guardians wishes and enlist the help of Jordan, using his green power ring to make Hal his own green power ring, but since Sinestro made Hal’s ring using his own it could not be used against him.  Throughout his Green Lantern run Johns has showcased the relationship between Hal and Sinestro and it has helped this book continue to be interesting.  Hal took the spot of Sinestro’s mentor.  Sinestro became Hal’s mentor.  Hal had to stop Sinestro when he went rogue.  Sinestro helped plot the downfall of Hal through Parallax. 

These two have been through a lot together, but there is also the sense that, like Professor X and Magneto, they both want the same thing, but are just on opposite sides of the line on how to obtain it.  The way Johns writes these two characters, their re pore alone is enough to keep this book going indefinitely.