The Golden Age Green Lantern Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions) [Hardcover]

Bill Finger (Author)

Book Description

Series: Golden Age Green Latern Archives | Publication Date: May 1, 1999

After finding a mystical lantern and carving a ring out of its material, Alan Scott was transformed from a simple engineer into the legendary hero Green Lantern. The iconic predecessor to the many heroes that bore his name after him, Scott wielded magic-based powers and suffered from a vulnerability to wood. This hardcover archive edition, which collects Scott's earliest adventures from the 1930's, includes Green Lantern's first appearance, his origin, and the debut of his friend and confidant Doiby Dickles.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563895072
• ISBN-13: 978-1563895074
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.7 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #839,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Original Green Lantern's Debut, November 7, 2003

By 

Edmund Lau Kok Ming (Malaysia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Golden Age Green Lantern Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions) (Hardcover)

Artist Martin Nodell created the Golden Age Green Lantern after seeing a railway lantern one night. The stories in this volume are written by the very talented Bill Finger - the "O. Henry of American comic books". This volume includes the very first appearance of the Green Lantern, Alan Scott, in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940) as well as his early stories in that same title and in his own book Green Lantern #1. Includes the first appearance of Irene Miller and Doiby Dickles. See Alan flirt endlessly with Irene and develop a true friendship with Doiby. This volume also includes an essay by Dr. William Moulton Marsten on Will-Power. Marsten is also the inventor of the lie detector and the creator of the original Golden Age Wonder Woman.

One thing that I especially like about the stories in this volume is how most of them are about "real" issues and crime. No super-villains here. No cosmic mumbo-jumbo. Just a person with a gift of power who wants to be helpful to the public. In the 1970s, Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams came up with a series of "Relevance" stories starring the Silver Age Green Lantern and Green Arrow. Those stories were considered revolutionary because by then comics was all about fighting the super-villain of the month. Suddenly, there were stories about real crime, corruption, drugs, religious fanatics and the sort. But then, "Relevance" stories have always been in comics in the 1940s. Especially these Bill Finger penned classics here. Moreover, they appear less "forced" here than in the 1970s works (although I love those Hard-Travelling Heroes stories a lot also).

Interestingly, Alan Scott is still a vital character in today's comics, appearing constantly in the current Green Lantern and JSA series in his original persona (unlike the revamped Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman). Today, he appears very much as a guide and a source of wisdom for the new generation of heroes. Reading about his heroic exploits in these early stories, it's not difficult to see that he is more than qualified to guide us all today to higher aspirations.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Green Lantern as he began, November 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Golden Age Green Lantern Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions) (Hardcover)

Here is Martin Nodell's original Green Lantern as he began in the Golden Age.Learn how he discovered his lantern-powers,established an identity,got a worthwhile job-and met a true friend in Doiby Dickles.

Bill Finger,author of many of these tales,also was the original author of Batman.His help to Martin Nodell was as valuable as his help to Bob Kane.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Reprints of a Comic-book Stalwart, January 22, 2005

By 

Ian Fowler (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Golden Age Green Lantern Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions) (Hardcover)

When I first started reading comic books, my only exposure to super-heros up to that point had been through other media, specifically the cartoon "The Super Friends". Imagine my surprise to learn that there was more than ONE of nearly every Super Friend in the comic books. Adding to my confusion was the fact that these counterparts lived on a parallel Earth, and that some, like Superman and Batman, were identical to the heroes I knew, but that others, like Flash and Green Lantern, were entirely different from the characters I watched Saturday mornings.

It didn't take me long to figure out what was going on: the heroes of the forties, the more famous revisions in the late 50s and early 60s, and the fact that after 1985, SOME of that didn't matter anymore. The Superman and Batman of Earth 2 were gone, but the GL and Flash remained along side their more famous Silver Age counterparts. And, for the most part, they retain a strong measure of popularity in their own right, co-starring in DC's monthly "JSA", as well as playing supporting roles throughout the comic book line. AND, for the most part, their golden age adventures were still part of continuity.

So it was with great eagerness that I picked up and read "The Golden Age Green Lantern Archives". And I must say I am pleased. Now, there are some basic caveats that go along with reading comics from the golden age. Character development is minimal; plot rules all. Art is mostly simple and cartoony. Narration is always needlessly elaborate (don't say in one word when you can say it in seven). Continuity is negligible. Taken in that spirit, the Golden Age Green Lantern is a treat.

For those not familiar, Green Lantern is really Alan Scott, the lone survivor of a train wreck, saved by a magical lantern. This lantern originally came to earth as a meteorite, which was molded by a Chinese lamp-maker into a lamp. It made its way across the centuries, before landing in Scott's lap, bringing first death (by killing the superstitious peasants who murdered the lamp-maker), life (restoring sanity to an asylum inmate), and finally, to Alan, power, in the form of a ring which responds to Alan's will, allowing him to do anything he can imagine. It's only weakness is wood. In this way, Green Lantern is unique among golden age heroes, as he actually has a well-thought out origin.

The team of Bill Finger on writing and Marty Nodell on art is, for the most part, a winner. Finger, co-creator of Batman, knew how to tell a story (he was also guilty of overwriting narration). Nodell's art started particularly cartoony, often looking rushed, and out of proportion, and even awful. As the volume (and the months) progress, however, Nodell's artwork improved noticeably, becoming cleaner with some nice instances of detailed line work. Not often, but it is a noticeable improvement.

One of the problems I had with "The Golden Age Starman" was the science fiction hero being saddled with mundane crooks and thugs as villains. Green Lantern has this problem to a minor extent, but it doesn't seem quite as bad. Alan was created from the start as a "people's champion" so to speak. He starts out as an engineer. A gangster is responsible for the train wreck that indirectly gives Alan his powers. Later, Alan joins a radio station, and, rather like Clark Kent, is privy to corrupt politicians, power brokers, loan sharks, and the like. It seems far more intrinsic to the character to battle mundane crooks than it does with Starman.

Alan did have some unique qualities. While Alan was in competition with himself for the affections the lovely Irene, Alan himself was no sop, often tangling with crooks in his civilian identity. Further, like other heroes, he gained a sidekick, but NOT a teenage Robin. Rather, his partner was tough middle-aged cab driver, Doiby (derby) Dickles, who often charged in swinging to a fray while mangling the English language.

Alan continues to be a prominent force in the DC Universe. I'm looking forward to future volumes in this series, particularly the stories that introduced real super-villains. As a continuing stalwart, he deserves it.