Martin Nodell
Before Hal Jordan, there was Alan Scott.
The 30's and 40's brought the Golden Age of comics. Superheroes were coming at people from all directions. Superman was an instant hit. Batman and Wonder Woman were just entering the nation's consciousness. It was wartime and people were desperate for heroes. The bigger the better.
It was in this environment that Green Lantern was born. I know I should say "created," but as a kid, these heroes were real to me and I haven't yet found a good reason to grow out of it. My own personal Green Lantern was, of course, Hal Jordan. I didn't learn about the older version until the Justice League started having all those crossovers with the Justice Society. There was Earth A and Earth B and Earth Prime and it's all just too confusing. Suffice it to say that no matter what he looked like, GL was just cool. I mean, tell me that you wouldn't like a ring that would do anything for you. I even dug that whole "vulnerable to the color yellow" thing. It reminded me of Superman and kryptonite. It was cliched and terribly overused, but who cares when you're ten?
For that matter, who cares when you're 42? I have long since accepted that my obsession with comics is a lifelong one. So I'm sad to report that Martin Nodell has died. He gave us the original Green Lantern way back in 1940. His stories were crude, his drawings cruder, but his creation has survived over sixty years. I think that says it all.
posted by Thurman8er @ 9:00 AM
2 Comments:
You can't see GL's green ring in the drawing. It's interesting how comic book heroes have "evolved" over time.
I'd love to still HAVE all the comic books I've owned...and the baseball cards! I read the action stuff, but Frankenstein scared me and gave me nightmares. I sort of went another direction...after all, I'm a "chick"....Katy Keen, the Queen of fashion, Archie, all the Disney stuff, but Superman was my hero. I was devastated when George Reeves died...used to watch it on TV in the 50's. I used to read my comic books using a flashlight under the covers when I was suppose to go to sleep. Dad always caught me...
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