The origin
Abin Sur, a dying alien lawman, crashes on Earth and orders his power ring to find a worthy successor. It chooses Hal Jordan, a test pilot, because he is entirely without fear. The ring turns willpower into hard light, anything Hal can imagine, it will build. He becomes one of thousands of Green Lanterns policing space sectors on behalf of the Guardians of the Universe.
What makes Green Lantern different
It is the only major superpower that is literally limited by imagination and courage, which makes the character an unusually direct test of the person wearing it. Geoff Johns later built an entire emotional spectrum around this, fear is yellow, rage is red, hope is blue, and turned a science-fiction cop story into a mythology about what emotions actually do to people. Hal is also one of very few heroes who has been a genuine villain and come back from it.
Where to start reading
The full reading order
Green Lantern/Green Arrowessential
Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams send Hal Jordan across America with Green Arrow, tackling racism, drugs and poverty head-on in a way superhero comics simply hadn't before. One of the most important runs in the medium's history.
Emerald Twilightrecommended
Hal loses everything, his city destroyed, and descends into madness, tearing apart the Corps and becoming the villain Parallax. Divisive at the time, but it's the essential setup for everything Geoff Johns builds later. Kyle Rayner becomes the sole Green Lantern in the aftermath.
Green Lantern: Rebirthessential
Geoff Johns brings Hal Jordan back from the dead and back into the Corps, undoing Emerald Twilight and rebuilding the whole mythology around it. This is the recommended entry point for modern Green Lantern, full stop.
Green Lantern Corps: Rechargerecommended
Runs alongside Rebirth, showing the wider Corps adjusting to Hal's return. Read together with Rebirth for the full picture.
The Sinestro Corps Waressential
Johns introduces the full emotional spectrum and Sinestro's own yellow-powered army. Widely considered the high point of the entire Johns era, and it's where the modern Green Lantern mythology really locks into place.
Blackest Nightessential
The dead rise as Black Lanterns across the whole DC Universe. A genuinely huge, hugely popular crossover event that pulled in readers who'd never touched a Lantern book before.
Chasing any of these Green Lantern issues?
Whether you are hunting a key, thinking about selling a collection, or just want to talk comics, I am always happy to hear from you.