Each Monday this year I'll be taking a look back at a random comic, prestige format issue, graphic novel or collection of reprints from amongst my 3,000 or so comics that date from 1962 to 2003 - I figured anything in the last ten years would be too recent to hark back to.
The comics are chosen completely at random and apart from a four week lead-in period, even I don't know what I'll be looking at in the weeks to come!
GREEN LANTERN #164 - May 1983
Back before Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Guardians of the Universe forbade Hal Jordan from working on Earth - they said he was too Earth-centric and had abandoned his sector. Thus began months of Jordan wandering around space (in a ship, complete with friends) having adventures elsewhere. Among the strangest is found in #164 where, on the very first page, we're introduced to this bloke:
Ladies and gentlemen: Haljor the Barbarian. What follows is a brief fight (wherein Jordan actually kills someone) before he and his fellow warrior Dorinda are captured by King Caarl who wants Haljor to find and rescue his daughter, Princess Caarol. There's no doubt that the royal family are thinly veiled counterparts of Carl Ferris and his daughter Carol and the scene's intercut with Jordan fighting against the scenario, but no sooner said than done and Haljor and Dorinda are off to find the Princess.
Using his powersword, Harljor discovers Caarol is held captive in the castle of the three headed wizard whom he serves, Guardon:
The wizard says he's captured her to force Haljor to spend more time on his duties and less on the Princess which Haljor's not too happy with:
Leaving the giant, hopping wizard, the two warriors find the Princess and rescue her, though Dorinda dies in the process, leading to Haljor confronting the wizard again and almost killing him. He stays his sword thrust, though, which leads to the reveal of the man behind this whole scenario, one of his "greatest foes":
Myrwhydden.
One of Green Lantern's "greatest foes" . . .
Yeah, I think he's overselling himself as well.
Long story short and Jordan defeats him and continues on his space-bound journey, having come to the conclusion that he does love Carol after all - while Myrwhydden created the illusions, he says that the ideas and feelings came from within Jordan himself.
It's a strange, silly piece that breaks up the months of space travel by dropping in a sword and sorcery story unexpectedly and at least forces Jordan to confront the fact that his travelling companion Dorine - Dorinda in the fantasy setting - has fallen in love with him. You know, as any woman would.
Yeah, that was an interesting year. I agree with the Guardians, Hal was ignoring most of the worlds he was meant to protect.
ReplyDeleteAs he's continued to do - it's all well and good saying he's a space cop, but most of his adventures are completely Earth-centric. The only time he leaves Earth is to go to Oa and shout at the Guardians.
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