Monday Memories #38 - Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #4

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 CORPS QUARTERLY #4 - Spring 1993

Back in the early 90's, Green Lantern was one of the big family of titles for DC - there was the main title, the much under-rated Green Lantern: Mosaic, Emerald Dawn I and II, Guy Gardner: Warrior and this anthology title that showed stories of new and old Lanterns.

This issue starts with a three page fight between Hal Jordan and a potential new recruit and throughout it all, Hal's thinking (with thought bubbles - remember them?) about everything that's led to that point. It's a mad recap of a couple of years' worth of GL stories and gave me a chuckle. He then takes the new guy to the Book of Oa which leads into the other stories.

It's the first appearance of Torquemada who would later appear in the main series and continue making appearances right up to the present day. His foe, a magician from the Yellow Circle, has never been referenced again, though, and neither has his scantily clad assistant Giselle (the one in lingerie on the cover)

Next up is Alan Scott and Jade (remember her!?) facing off against Solomon Grundy with art by Jim Balent so it looks nice even if the story's a bit so-so.

And, saving the DCU from the recently completed Eclipso: The Darkness Within event, G'nort turns up at his 10 year Obedience School Reunion. Oh, G'nort...

And in the last tale we get the closest I think we've ever come to a Guardian appointed female GL of Earth when Donna Parker is tested by the Guardians to see if she's worthy of the ring. She is, but she turns it down, baffling the Guardian by wanting to look after her children more than the universe.

At the end of the book Hal sees other Lanterns arriving with new recruits, Lanterns who'd already appeared in previous issues of GLC Quarterly including this issue's Torquemada.

I really liked this series - the anthology format worked well and the regular stories of Alan Scott and G'nort provided a sense of continuation while the other two stories showed other Lanterns in one-off tales. There's only eight issues but with each one at 64 pages, it's worth picking them up if you can find them cheap.