Fifteen years after the movie seemed to destroy any hope for more live-action Green Lantern stories, HBO’s Lanterns has become a smash hit. Set across multiple timelines and connecting to a mystery hidden at the heart of a small Nebraska town, the show has brought new attention to DC’s intergalactic space cops, with special focus on Hal Jordan and John Stewart. But, with just eight episodes, new fans may be looking for more Green Lantern lore to dig into.

Luckily, there are literally thousands of Green Lantern stories to read. These stories span decades, which can make finding the best ones, the ones that really dig into the characters, or are most likely to play into the future of Lanterns and the DCU as a whole hard. It’s almost like trying to find a green needle in a green haystack. But there are certain stories that almost every Green Lantern fan agrees are the most important to learning about the history and lore of the characters and the universe they protect. Some of these tales go back to the earliest days of the mythology, while others are newer, but they all have one thing in common: they remind us all why Green Lantern has lasted so long.

Showcase #22 Kicked Things Off

While he wasn’t DC’s first Green Lantern — that honor goes to Alan Scott — Hal Jordan was the first of the retooled concept, taking a single hero and changing it up so that they were one in a lineage of space cops. Hal makes his debut in Showcase #22, in a story that quickly explains his origin – one that hasn’t changed all that much over the last seven decades – and shows his first real adventure.

While the medium has changed quite a bit since 1959, the story by John Broome still feels fresh and, in an era where every superhero adventure is a multi-issue epic, it’s nice to get a full tale in just a few pages. And Gil Kane’s art is still some of the cleanest and best to ever appear in comics.

Green Lantern #7 Introduces The Archenemy

They say a superhero is only as good as his archenemy, and Hal Jordan happens to have one of the best. Green Lantern #7, by John Broome and Gil Kane, introduced the world to Sinestro, a former Green Lantern who broke bad and has been a constant threat to the universe ever since.

Sinestro’s origin has gone through more retcons than Hal Jordan’s, but the basic elements have stayed the same, and they are presented here for all to see. From the moment the yellow-ring-bearing villain shows up, it is obvious that he will become a classic character in DC lore.

Green Lantern #59 Introduces The Runner-Up

There are few things worse than being passed over for a great job that you were born for, and that is exactly what happened to Guy Gardner. When Abin Sur’s ring searched for someone to take over for the dying alien, it found two candidates: Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner. Hal was closer, so he got the gig.

This tale by John Broome and Gil Kane shows what would have happened if Guy had been chosen, and it sets up one of the biggest chips on Gardner’s shoulder. Even after becoming a Green Lantern, Guy has had to live knowing that the delay in finding his place in the galaxy came down to nothing more than how far the ring was willing to travel.

Hard Traveling Heroes Changed Comics

While it wasn’t the first mainstream superhero comic to show some maturity, Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams’ Hard Traveling Heroes was the first to dive into the deep end. The story, which sees Hal Jordan go on a road trip with his buddy Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow, directly discusses poverty, racism, and drug addiction in a way that seemed impossible to do in a comic just a year earlier.

And while Green Arrow may not be in Lanterns (so far as we know at this point), it’s impossible not to see how this storyline influenced the show, although the argumentative personality of Kyle Chandler’s Hal has a little more in common with Green Arrow’s style in the comic. Without Hard Traveling Heroes” it’s likely Lanterns never would have been made.

Green Lantern #87 Brings A New Attitude

Looking to mix things up and introduce a Black superhero to DC Comics, Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams created John Stewart. Unlike the other heroes, O’Neil and Adams wanted John to better represent the feelings of the day, making him a man who questioned authority and wasn’t afraid to speak up for himself — and others.

John Stewart has changed a lot since he made his debut, but that attitude is still there. And it is very clearly present in how Aaron Pierre plays John in Lanterns. The storytelling and art is top-notch, but getting to see John Stewart mock a racist politician is worth the price of admission alone.

Millennium Explains The Manhunters

One of the first DC events following Crisis on Infinite Earths, Steve Englehart and Joe Staton’s Millennium reveals that the Manhunters — the robots the Guardians of the Universe built to police the galaxy before they created the Green Lanterns — have infiltrated Earth and set up spies who are close to the superheroes with plans to destroy them in order to find the ten people who are destined to become the new Guardians of the Universe.

It looks like Lanterns is at least partly inspired by Millennium, and that the Manhunters will play a role in what happens. But, if nothing else, Millennium is a solid story that plays a major role in setting up Earth’s significance in the wider DC Universe.

Cosmic Odyssey Is John Stewart’s Most Important Story

Jim Starlin and Mike Mignola’s Cosmic Odyssey sees the heroes of the DCU teaming up with Darkseid to stop a greater threat to the universe. Along with revealing the origins of the Anti-Life Equation and the New Gods, Cosmic Odessy also showcases what may be the most important story in John Stewart’s history.

In the series, John Stewart has reached a point in his Green Lantern career where he is confident that he can handle any situation. Maybe a little too confident. When the planet Xanshi is threatened, John takes on the problem alone, leaving Martian Manhunter behind. But when he finds that the threat is something he can’t take on alone, it’s already to late to save the people on the planet. John’s failure on Xanshi would haunt him for years to come.

Green Lantern: Rebirth Brought Hal Jordan Back

In the conclusion of The Death and Return of Superman, Coast City, Hal Jordan’s hometown, was destroyed. This led to Jordan becoming Parallax and going evil for a time. Jordan redeemed himself in Final Night by sacrificing his life to save Earth, then became the Spectre.

Fans were… mixed on all of this, so many were relieved when Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver’s Green Lantern: Rebirth brought Hal back and returned him to his Green Lantern roots. Along with bringing Hal back, the series also shows the beginning of a new Green Lantern Corps and sets up a decade of amazing Green Lantern stories.

Sinestro Corps War Was An Epic Decades In The Making

For quite a long time, Sinestro was the only person with a yellow lantern ring. But, perhaps being tired of the Green Lanterns massively outnumbering him, the pencil-mustachioed baddie finally had enough and created his own army: the Sinestro Corps. This, of course, led to the Sinestro Corps War, which saw the Lanterns face off against an army of villains as powerful as themselves.

The story was first hinted at all the way back in 1986’s Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2 by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, but it was Geoff Johns, along with an army of writers and artists across multiple titles, who finally paid it off 20 years later. And, for longtime Green Lantern fans, the wait was totally worth it.

Far Sector Is A Great Green Lantern Murder Mystery

While Nora Keita Jemisin and Jamal Campbell’s Far Sector likely won’t play into Lanterns, it is one of the best Green Lantern stories in years, and it does have some thematic similarities. The series sees the very awesome Sojourn “Jo” Mullein, a new Green Lantern with a special ring that can recharge itself, sent to the far reaches of space to protect the City Enduring, a very peaceful colony.

That peace is broken when the City Enduring experiences its first murder in 500 years. Mullein’s quest to solve the crime reveals long-buried secrets about the City Enduring, threatening to fracture the colony into a million pieces. The story is inventive, modern, and has some of the most beautiful art to ever grace a comic book page.

Created By

Martin Nodell, Bill Finger, John Broome, Gil Kane, Dennis O’Neil, Neal Adams

First Appearance

All-American Comics

Alias

Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, Sojourner Mullein

Alliance

Justice League, Justice Society of America, Green Lantern Corps