GREEN LANTERN #82 – 84

Script: Denny O’Neil | Art: Neal Adams | Editor: Julie Schwartz
Inks: Dick Giordano (#82-83) & Berni Wrightson (#82 assist & #84)

“HOW DO YOU FIGHT A NIGHTMARE?”

My theory last week that the "social relevance" angle was a six-issue experiment seems to be borne out by this installment, which is a simple, message-free superhero adventure featuring Sinestro using Green Arrow and Black Canary as bait to spring a trap for Green Lantern. The entire tale is set at night, giving it the moody atmosphere I most associate with the O'Neil/Adams team from their Batman stories, and that, combined with the presence of a genuine supervillain, makes this easily my favorite installment of the run so far.

A few observations: Apparently Sinestro has a sister, who aids him here in his scheme. No idea if this was her first appearance or not. Green Arrow notes that he “used to be rich”. I was well aware that the classic version of Oliver Queen was a wealthy playboy a la Bruce Wayne, and that by the eighties he had been stripped of his wealth, but I had no idea that aspect of his character had been done away with so much earlier. I always figured it was an invention of the Mike Grell/"Longbow Hunters" era of the character. And lastly, it suddenly occurs to me that Black Canary only ever uses judo against her enemies in these stories. I haven't seen her use her sonic scream at any point. I assume the character must have lacked that ability during this period, but I've no idea whether it was a power she’d once had and lost, or whether it simply hadn't been created yet.

“…AND A CHILD SHALL DESTROY THEM!”

This is what you might call an “offbeat adventure”, as Green Lantern and Green Arrow must come to rescue Black Canary at a school where, in her civilian guise of Dinah Drake, she's come to teach physical education. The school is secretly controlled by Grandy the cook and a little girl with psychokinetic powers named Sybil who he forces to do his bidding.

Along the way, GL is reunited with his one-time boss and girlfriend, the former Star Sapphire, Carol Ferris, who is now a paraplegic thanks to Sybil. Oddly, even though early in the story Carol indicates she's engaged to Jason Belmore, the school’s headmaster, when GL unmasks and reveals his love for her on the final page, she has no qualms about reciprocating -- apparently dumping her fiance right then and there for Hal Jordan.

It's another dark, mysterious O'Neil/Adams adventure. I find that these guys are at their best doing gothic stuff, rather than shedding a spotlight on the topical issues of the day. That said, I'm not necessarily sure "gothic" fits Green Lantern all that well -- though in my opinion neither does driving cross-country in a pickup truck to cure society's ills. We also have some more mopey Green Lantern as he once again talks about how brash and overconfident he used to be, but declares that's no longer the case since Green Arrow opened his eyes to the world. It's a take on the character I still don't appreciate.

“PERIL IN PLASTIC”

I assume the sales figures and reader letters must have come in by this point, indicating that the socially revelvant stories were a success, because this issue begins with a title page blurb announcing that the month's story is “plucked from the fears of a nation.” In it, Green Lantern is lured to a town called Piper’s Dell by his old enemy, Black Hand, and winds up hunted by the town’s brainwashed citizens. Green Arrow comes to his friend’s rescue and together they defeat Black Hand and rescue Carol, the bait which lured GL to Piper’s Dell in the first place.

Black Hand describes Piper’s Dell as a “company town”. Everything there is made of chintzy plastic and the citizenry are all susceptible to suggestion thanks to various villainous innovations of Black Hand’s mysterious benefactors. So... is this-- was this something people feared back in 1970? That "progress" would lead to a point where we'd all become zombies or something living in plastic towns? This must be a reference very specific to its timeframe, because I'm not sure I've ever seen or heard anyone voice this concern with any amount of seriousness in my life.

Overall it's a pretty boring story, though we do get some furtherance of both the Green Lantern/Carol Ferris and Green Arrow/Black Canary relationships (and I should note that my observation way back in issue 78 was wrong -- it wasn't Frank Giacoia’s inks that made Neal Adams’ Black Canary so hot after all; rather, Adams seems to delineate her in a much sexier fashion than pretty much any other female I've ever seen him draw), and there's some terrific archery by GA on display here as well.

Plus I think this is the first story I've ever dad with Black Hand in it, so there's that. Between this story and the Sinestro tale two issues earlier, I appreciate O'Neil remembering that, while the title has Green Arrow listed as co-star, this is still technically Green Lantern’s series, so his villains should probably be putting in appearances here and there.

Oh, and lastly -- O'Neill seems to be having a bit of fun here withe name of one of his frequent collaborators: the citizens of Piper's Dell all wear little pins called "Kalutas", and the town has a loud foghorn which periodically blows with a loud "KA-LOO-TA!" sound effect. It's a pretty funny tribute to Michael Kaluta.