When I started to really get into comics around 2010, there were a few characters in particular that really captured my attention. One was Batman, who I was getting to know by watching the 1990s animated series that my mom never let me watch as a kid, and another was Green Lantern. GL had been my older brothers favorite hero as a kid so I had some familiarity with him, but once I started learning about all the things that writer Geoff Johns had been doing with the book I got supremely interested. From 2004 until early 2013, Geoff Johns was synonymous with DCs Emerald Knights, crafting a mythos that centered around an emotional color spectrum that redefined the book. When I used The New 52 relaunch as my jumping on point, Geoff Johns was a writer who I knew I wanted to be reading, and I quickly picked Green Lantern, Justice League and Aquaman, the latest hero who Geoff was hoping to restore to prominence. Green Lantern proved a little difficult for me as unlike most New 52 books, it was still set in the continuity that Geoff had been working on for over half a decade. After some research and a couple of issues though, I started to enjoy the series tremendously. Justice League started off explosively, as Johns paired up with megastar artist Jim Lee to create a series of comics that was every bit as fun as the Avengers movie that came out just after Justice League finished their origin story. But the one that stood out the most was Geoff Johns work on Aquaman. Johns was able to establish that Arthur Curry was an extremely powerful superhero, but also got to some of the core of his character. I enjoyed that his wife Mera was his partner in battle as well as in life. I loved his fights against monsters and his bitter rivalry with Black Manta. I was swept up in the family drama of Throne of Atlantis where Arthur Curry returns to Atlantis and begrudgingly accepts his role as their King. Aquaman is one of my favorite comic book characters and that is in no small part to Geoff Johns work. Geoff Johns ended his run on Green Lantern with the epic twentieth issue of the New 52 series and ended his run on Aquaman with issue #25, so that he could focus on the Justice League comic. I was concerned about the future of both comics and for the writers who took over them. Robert Vendetti was taking over Green Lantern and had to follow one of the most definitive runs of any creator on any character ever. Jeff Parker took over the writing on Aquaman and had to keep the momentum going on a character that has an unsteady history of good comics that sell well, who most readers only gave a chance because of the man writing it. Thats a lot of pressure. Robert Vendetti proved to be the best possible thing that could happen to Green Lantern. Geoffs eight year run on the character was amazing, but by the end of the run it was becoming evident that he was starting to run out of really good ideas. Vendetti found a great new status quo for the book by making Hal Jordan the commander of the Green Lantern Corps, putting him in a position where he often squirms yet somehow manages to succeed in. He introduced the idea that there was a reservoir of emotional energy that all ringslingers were draining whenever they used their constructs, lending a greater responsibility to their actions. And the stories he was able to tell were actually really fun and engaging. It may not be as complex as Geoffs early stuff, but theres an undeniable energy in the book that was missing at the tail end of Geoffs run. I have only just started to read Jeff Parkers work on Aquaman, but I have to say that the book has not lost much so far. Again, the series does not seem to have Geoff Johns longterm planning driving it, but that is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it is good to have characters that are interesting and fun to read, and just letting them do heroic stuff while developing their characters and their plot. Hes also been unafraid to throw Arthur into interesting and unpredictable situations. A conflict with Swamp Thing. Teaming up with Wonder Woman to fight Hercules. Going into battle with Flash villain Gorilla Grodd. All of these are things that make me want to read Aquaman. And in something I never would have predicted, Aquaman has even managed to helm another book: Aquaman and The Others, with a team of new heroes. So hes done a pretty good job of surviving even without Geoff Johns working on the character. Whats my point here? While its always good to have favorite writers and runs that you will always connect with, its also important not to get upset when that person moves on to different things. While sometimes new writers are a bad thing, often times a new talent has a fresh perspective and new ideas to bring to a character, and can help keep it invigorating to read. It is quite possible that by the time they are done, Vendetti and Parker will be as synonymous with Green Lantern and Aquaman as Geoff Johns was. Thats all thats on my mind today. I hope youre excited for tomorrow, because its the start of Here Comes DareDevil: The Week Without Fear!
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 22:21:46 +0000
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