Green Lantern #54, "Menace in the Iron Lung!"

GREEN LANTERN (2nd series) #54; July 1967; DC Comics (National Periodical Publications); Julius Schwartz, editor; featuring "The Menace in the Iron Lung!" On the cover by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson, a man in an elaborate iron-lung setup watches on. TV screen as a robot reaches out an extended arm to punch Green Lantern. "My destiny is to rule! Activate MISSILE-MAN! DESTROY GREEN LANTERN!"

Review by Bill Henley. Years ago, I had a nearly complete collection of the Silver Age GL title. Then a stack of the issues from the middle of the run went missing. When the third Showcase GL volume covering most of those issues came out in 2008, I put off buying it because I remembered those GL issues as being not all that great. Then when I decided to buy the Showcase book, I found it has gone out of print. Now I've acquired the book from an online dealer, and in rereading the stories I found that some of them are more interesting than I remembered. "Menace in the Iron Lung" is one of these, despite some distinctly goofy-- or should I say Definitely Campy-- aspects.
The book-length story is written by John Broome and drawn by Gil Kane, both pencils and inks. (One of the reasons I remembered this run of issues negatively was because a number of them were self-inked by Kane, which I didn't like. Reading the stories now, I'm not as put off by Kane's inking, though I still prefer his work inked by the likes of Murphy Anderson, Wally Wood or Dan Adkins.)
On the splash page, the seemingly helpless man in the iron lung is watching TV screens on either side of him. On one, Green Lantern is duking it out with a robot. On the other, Hal Jordan is having his lights punched out! "Though Im a prisoner in an iron lung, I have devised the perfect formula for defeating Green Lantern-- DIVIDE AND CONQUER! Split him and his alter ego apart--and overcome each of them SEPARATELY!"
(Checking Wikipedia on "iron lung," I find it was a device in which people with disabled breathing systems, most commonly from polio, were completely enclosed except for their heads so that their bodies could be surrounded by negative atmospheric pressure to assist breathing. The combination of the polio vaccine and improved breathing assistance devices have nearly eliminated iron lungs, but I guess they were still well known in 1967 when this story appeared.)
This story takes place during the period when Hal Jordan had abandoned Coast City and his test-pilot job out of pique when Carol Ferris jilted him for marriage. He's now working as an insurance investigator in Evergreen City in the Pacific Northwest-- and his latest assignment is an unexpected one. A man with the unusual name of Baron Tyrano is claiming that, in the course of his "anti-crime activity," Green Lantern did major damage to Tyrano's million-dollar estate! (Ah, inflation... Nowadays, a modest home in a posh area of the country could cost over a million dollars). "The boss doesn't realize that he just handed this case to Green Lantern!"-- who has no recollection of ever visiting the Tyrano estate. On his way to fulfill the assignment, Hal reflects that he is enjoying his insurance job because it is "full of surprises" and keeps his mind off his lost love Carol Ferris. But it will not be Hal who carries out this assignment. After charging his ring, Green Lantern takes off to inspect the damage he himself has supposedly done!
Kind of an unethical procedure for an investigator, perhaps, but it doesn't matter. For the insurance claim is only a blind for the true scheme of Baron Tyrano-- described as "a life prisoner in an iron lung, but a man of so gigantic an intellect that he has defied the fates and in secret has become one of the most powerful men in the world!" He is surrounded by uniformed henchmen and henchwomen, and at Tyrano,s command, one of them fires "Missile-Man"-- a flying robot resembling Tyrano himself- at the approaching GL! Our hero tries evasive action but the robot reaches out with its metal arm and delivers such a mighty blow that it not only knocks GL to the ground-- his life saved only by his ring's "automatic protection against mortal harm"-- but causes a confused Hal Jordan to appear, separately from GL, on a city street some distance away. Tyrano boasts, "The blow of my missile-creature was so tremendous that it SEPARATED Green Lantern from his alter ego! My device has divided my foe into the TWO SEPARATE PARTS of his personality! Now he can easily be defeated and captured! DIVIDE AND CONQUER! Ha, ha!"
(Okay, let's hold on here. In the first place, it's never really explained how Tyrano learned GL's secret identity.. Secondly, a super-villain might devise some super-scientific gadget to split GL and Hal into two beings, but it makes no sense that an ordinary physical blow would do it. Finally, of all the superheroes to use this ploy on, Hal/GL is one of the least appropriate. A few superheroes, like Billy Batson/Captain Marvel orDon Blake/Thor, are separate physical beings from their alter egos. Other "secret identities" at least affect a different personality from their heroic selves; Clark Kent is "meek" and "timid", Bruce Wayne is an "idle playboy, Diana Prince is a "mousy" military drudge, and even Barry Allen is "slow" and "lazy". Hal Jordan, however, is manly and heroic in both his identities, making no attempt to disguise his personality. I've always suspected that he used his ring to cloud the minds of the people who knew him in both identities, to keep them from noticing that they are the same person. That little mask certainly wouldn't do it.)
Anyway, even if the only difference between GL and Hal is that one has a ring and costume and the other doesn't, that may be enough difference for the gang of thugs Tyrano sends after Hal! Or maybe not! Hal manages to hold his own in an all out no holds barred brawl against the gang, but will numbers finally tell in the end? Meanwhile, Green Lantern has gotten up off the ground to take on the "Missile-Man" once more, but he finds himself dazed and mysteriously unable to aim his power ring beam properly. He attempts to use his fists against the robot while using his ring defensively to form shields, but "another wave of dizziness" weakens GL's will power and causes his shield to collapse. Sensing himself "in mental contact with someone I know well but can't identify," GL probes with his ring and discovers that the contact is with his alter ego, Hal, who is also battling for his life! GL's waves of weakness correspond with moments when Hal is under the most stress in his own cattle! And then a lucky punch connects and knocks Hal Jordan unconscious- and GL falls from the sky! Long hours later, Hal Jordan comes to his senses brutally aching in mind and body"-- but he senses that his alter ego Green Lantern is in even worse trouble. Shrugging off his own pains, Hal rises and rushes off to find his other half; "Green Lantern and I must rejoin each other! Split apart this way... We're vulnerable!"
Back at Baron Tyrano's lair, Green Lantern lies bound and unconscious as one of Tyrano's devices monitors the dwindling power in his ring. Once the power ring is exhausted, the Baron can carry out his master plan! He has a "body-switching machine", and with it, "Green Lantern and I will CHANGE PLACES! He will have my useless body-- and I will have HIS! I will possess the superbly conditioned body of a man BORN WITHOUT FEAR!" (Yeah, but he's blind, which might be inconvenient. Wait, never mind, wrong man without fear.) "I will be FREE of this IRON PRISON at last!"
(A running theme of these middle-period GL issues was that Hal Jordan, emotionally scarred by losing Carol, felt insecure and tried to assert his manhood by fighting bad guys with his fists rather than his ring whenever possible. The element of psychological angst, as well as the greater emphasis on physical action, was an apparent attempt to "Marvelize" the GL series. But anyway, maybe Hal would have been reassured if he knew Tyrano wanted him for his superbly conditioned self and not his ring. Though if it was me, I'd be looking to steal the body of some other superbly conditioned guy who wasn't liable to get me in trouble with the Justice League and the Guardians of the Universe.)
Meanwhile, desperate to find his other self, Hal Jordan returns to his hotel room to retrieve the invisible Power Battery which he keeps in a suitcase. The battery remains invisible even to him, and he can't use it without a ring, but "I've always noticed that there's a faint attraction like a subtle magnetic pull, between the Power Battery and Power Ring!" Hal uses this to track Green Lantern to the site where GL battled Missile-Man, and then to Tyrano's walked estate. There he finds the Baron's armed guards who threaten to shoot him for trespassing! Hal manages to distract one of the guards by dropping the invisible Power Battery on his foot, and then triumphs in another knock-down, drag-out fight... Only to risk disaster when he realizes the invisible Battery has been lost in the scuffle! Fortunately, Hal literally trips over the Battery, and then follows its pull to a window where he witnesses Tyrano making his final preparations!
GL briefly regains consciousness but, bound and with his ring now out of power, he is helpless! Hal crashes through the window and lays about him, swinging the invisible battery around him like a mace to fell Tyrano's henchmen. He reaches GL's side and finds him in a "state of shock" unable to speak, so it is up to Hal to touch ring to battery and finish reciting the Oath, despite new onslaughts by Tyrano's thugs. Hal completes the oath just as Tyrano re-activates his Missile-Man robot, now under his direct control.
Now it is up to Green Lantern to defeat the Missile-Man. At first it seems that GL's will power is not enough to defeat the robot's "fantastic energy", but at last a ring-beam explodes the synthetic creature into a thousand pieces!
As GL summons a specially equipped police squad to arrest Tyrano, one of his female attendants approaches Hal and tries to switch sides; "You can take me in any time, Mr. Alter Ego..." Upon learning what Tyrano intended for him, GL declares, "So you wanted my body, Tyrano? I almost feel flattered!" Tyrano eschews the usual curses and boasting of defeated villains; "I have nothing to say to you, Green Lantern!" But can the Power Ring undo Tyrano's work and unite our hero's two identities? Fortunately, the answer is yes; "A strange feeling... Like coming home!" "There's been a sense of terrible loneliness in the pit of my stomach! It's disappearing"
But as GL makes mental notes on his report for Pieface's GL casebook, and as Hal explains to his boss that Tyrano was guilty of (among other things) attempted insurance fraud, Tyrano himself is not discouraged as he lies in his iron-lung "prison" which itself is ensconced within a jail cell. "I anticipated my temporary defeat by Green Lantern-- and despite it I shall still gain my objective!" Caption: "Can the Baron really carry out his threat? Watch forthcoming issues for the next adventure dealing with the incredible MENACE IN THE IRON LUNG!" However, readers watched in vain till long after the end of the Silver Age; according to the GCD, Tyrano didn't reappear until GREEN LANTERN CORPS #204 in 1986 (a comic book I own, but don't remember anything about).

Green Lantern #40, "The Secret Origin of the Guardians!"

Green Lantern #40, "The Secret Origin of the Guardians!"

  October 1965
Story: John Broome
Art: Gil Kane & Sid Greene
The cover, by Gil and Murphy Anderson, is a grabber. One Guardian of a delegation intones, "Turn in your power ring and uniform, Hal Jordan! Alan Scott is replacing you as Green Lantern of Earth!" Hal, lunging angrily at his Earth-2 comrade, sputters, "That has-been's not cutting me out unless he can beat me in a power-ring duel!" Alan stands ready, his ring-hand balled into an emerald-energy-radiating fist! Quick, turn the page! The splash, apparently but not actually occurring a moment later, has Alan shooting a ring-bolt at Hal, knocking him toward us! Quick, turn the page!
A "come as you were" party at Earth-2's Gotham Broadcasting Company serves to introduce Alan Scott, who, "20 years ago" was an announcer at the company where he now presides. (By inference, he's now in his early 40s.) Also seen is Doiby Dickles, Alan's Man Friday, who had been a cab driver. Doiby is a Derby-wearing, shaven-headed, diminutive "dese-dem-an'-dose" sorta guy, straight out of Damon Runyan. During the drive home in the old cab, "Goitrude," which was 20 years old 20 years prior, the radio news announces that a large meteor is on its way toward Gotham. Alan, now in the red and green costume, flies skyward and shoots a beam in front of the meteor. It blasts right through... and vanishes! Then... CRASH! Doiby had been watching Alan rather than the road and drove straight into a tree! Instantly, Alan surrounds the cab with a force bubble, deflecting the toppling tree, to the astonishment of himself and his long-time confidant. They both know his ring is ineffective against anything made of wood. Yet, with ring energy, Alan is again able to lift the fallen tree, as well as some planks from a wooden fence. He concludes that something about the meteor must have eliminated the ring's weakness, and can't wait to tell Hal over on Earth-One about it. Obviously, contact with a similar meteor might well overcome the necessary impurities that keep Hal's ring from affecting anything colored yellow. With that thought, he's off across the dimensional divide.
Soon, at the Ferris Aircraft Company, pilot Hal Jordan receives a mental summons from Alan, changes into costume and meets with his comrade, who explains his good fortune. However, Alan's attempt to demonstrate his power over a packing crate meets with failure. He is sheepish; it must have been a temporary effect. Hal is intrigued by the odd turn of events, though. Alan asks his ring to spell out all details of what happened. The ring begins by explaining that what he was involved with was not a meteor, but a packet of energy that had been created ten billion years before! The ring's beam, upon contact, absorbed the contents of the disembodied mind within.
In order to explain everything fully, the ring turns the story back to its beginning, ten billion years earlier. We see the blue-skinned Oans, an already highly scientific race who never needed sleep, whose infants showed tremendous mental powers. The adults delved into the nature of, well, nature, when not involved with sport and other recreation. Theirs was a paradise but for one disturbing note: a malcontent named Krona. His obsession was to probe the beginning of all things, in shocking disregard of a timeless legend that to learn the secret of creation was to destroy themselves and the rest of the universe. Krona has no use for such legends, in spite of all pleas that he stop.
One day, his efforts paid off. On a monitor, he has received an image of an enormous shadowy hand cupping a star cluster. But, when he probed further back, a cosmic lightning bolt abruptly splintered his machine! Krona survived only due to his immortality. But, at that moment, EVIL was loosed on the universe! Brother killed brother! And the Oans, those mental giants, knew that the cause was Krona's reckless ambition. Confronted by concerned citizens, Krona declared his contempt for their fears and announced his intention to continue his researches. Well, it doesn't pay to mess with the Oan establishment, who disembodied his consciousness, imprisoned it in an energy ball and send it hurtling out to circle the universe. Then, feeling guilt over the actions of one of their kind, they designated themselves the Guardians of the Universe and established a corps of agents to combat the wickedness that Krona had unleashed. Further, they imbued their power battery with radiation that insured that none of them, and none in their power ring corps, would be able to attempt what Krona had begun. The universe must keep its secrets forever hidden. Eons passed, ring-bearers came and went, and the aging Oans kept their promise.
Eventually Krona was forgotten by his fellows, but his ambitions lived on. As he crossed over into the universe of Earth-2, he became aware that its resident Green Lantern owed his ring power to occult energy, a difference that could be exploited to result in his freedom. By willing his energy-prison to increase in heat while entering Earth-2's atmosphere, Krona brought attention to himself and gained the desired reaction from Alan/Lantern. Then, through a prodigious act of will he skipped across to the mystic beam and settled in Alan's ring. There, outside his own universe, he was imprisoned again. But Krona, using his own will, gave Alan control over wooden objects, knowing that the ring-bearer would think at once of his friend on Earth-1. The moment Alan crossed into Universe-1, Krona was able to detach and operate independently again, at which point the ring had no further information to report.
Hal's immediate reaction is that the Guardians must be notified, and that he must find Krona. Alan corrects him, that it's something they both must do, as Alan is responsible for Krona's freedom. Soon, Hal achieves contact, and the pair is told that the Guardians were listening to Alan's ring as well. Krona, he continues, is still on Earth but has shielded himself from their probes. Doubtless he will continue his investigations, resulting in the instantaneous destruction of the universe. Further, the first results of his efforts will be a disastrous outpouring of evil in his immediate vicinity!... and so Earth-1 will be in great danger! The Guardians themselves are on the way to Earth-1 to set up a temporary headquarters, but meanwhile it's up to the two ring-bearers to keep things under control.
The pair rings out to Coast City, where the Coast River is suddenly flooding its banks! To the left side of the channel goes Alan, who freezes the enormous wave, while Hal, to the right, creates huge atomic ovens, evaporating the water as quickly as it pours. A stranger spectacle is Mount Pacific, which spontaneously tilts toward the city and, like a huge whip, shoots a veritable tongue of boulders toward it! Hal's emerald jackhammer and Alan's enormous handsaw break the flow. Immediately, though, nearby clouds whip into a tornado! Our boys in green seed it with silver iodide, turning it to a relatively less harmful torrential rain. Then, suddenly, a Guardian appears, announcing their arrival on the planet and calling the pair to join them at their temporary HQ, since their very presence is now holding Krona's evil in check. Soon, in an unused courthouse, the Guardians unceremoniously call for Hal to turn in his ring and uniform while appointing Alan the new GL of Earth. In this elongated retelling of the cover, Hal reacts with anger and dismay, just as any of us would.
INTERLUDE: House ad for Brave & Bold #62 with Starman and Black Canary's second team-up, also featuring Wildcat; then, Rocky & Bullwinkle for Cheerios, as well as ads elsewhere for Cocoa Puffs, Tootsie Roll Pops (twice) and Trix. Silly rabbit, comics are for kids!
A short while earlier, in a cave outside Coast City, we see that Krona had set up an incredible apparatus. Peering into its monitor, he gloated that this time he would discover the Secret Origin of the Oans. However, just in case the ancient legend about such probing leading to the destruction of the universe is true, he'd made plans to ensure his own safety. But first, his mental defenses had warned him that the Guardians had arrived on planet. In order to carry out his scheme, he had to surreptitiously enter among them. So, he again reduced himself to energy and slammed his consciousness into Alan's tornado-fighting body while ejecting Alan's own ego. Soon, standing next to Hal and facing the Guardians, Krona cast them under his spell to do his will: to issue the incredible order for Hal to resign. Now, Hal challenges the "Green Lantern of Earth-One," his rage blinding him to the fact that Alan's world is properly if oddly termed Earth-Two, and they ring each other for a few mighty panels. Krona reflects that Hal has surprising endurance, and Hal muses that "Alan" sure has a temper, and then Hal is knocked for a loop.
Soon after, Krona has transported the helpless Guardians to his cave, as they reflect on Krona's dominance over them and Alan. Krona boasts that his pleasure will be only increased by their terror when the Truth is revealed. He then casts Alan's body aside and restores his own, announcing at the same time that he has willed into existence a duplicate of Alan's ring, a vital part of his plan. For, that ring is not a part of the Guardians' universe, and should that universe collapse, it will immediately take Krona to the universe of Earth-Two! Bwa-ha-ha! Then, before the horrified Guardians, the on-monitor scenario unfolds... the formless hand-like cloud... but now Krona must recalibrate to go back further.
Meanwhile, Hal is roused by a telepathic call from Alan, who informs him of the situation. Summoning his groggy will, Hal rings Alan's consciousness into his own mind so that they can continue the fight together. Alan guides Hal's flight through dark skies punctuated by incredible lightning. Doomsday is almost upon them! Hal impels into the cave and is immediately on the attack as Krona rings up a yellow shield. Unexpectedly, Hal shoots a bolt through it, knocking Krona for a loop! Krona rings him right back, but Hal charges forward again, and, Alan's will joined to his, they deliver a solid uppercut, which leaves him dazed. The Guardians seize the moment and destroy his apparatus, then levitate the still-defiant Krona while scoffing at his belligerence. Reducing him again to energy, they send him into an orbit that "will NEVER intersect any planet or star!" Have subsequent writers found a way around this yet?
Outside the cave, the boys chuckle good-naturedly over the inspired trick of switching rings, so that Krona's expectation of a weakness against yellow would be off the mark. But, Hal wonders, whose idea was it? Makes no difference, answers Alan, and, grown people that they are, both are satisfied with the conclusion. Alan flies off to return to his own Earth, and Hal stretches in the sunlight, weary but glad that life is beautiful again.
Writer John Broome schnockered us: we still haven't learned the Secret Origin of the Guardians, but we do learn that they seem to have come into existence first thing after Creation. Or maybe not, as they don't want to take a look and risk everything in the process. Or maybe not. It can be argued that since Krona created the duplicate of Alan's ring while on Earth-1 that it is in fact part of the Guardians' universe, but I don't see that this would affect his evil plan at all.
Gil Kane was delivering sizzling figurework at every opportunity, and even in some of the static shots. We aren't looking up people's noses too much at this point in hit career, and that's okay with me. The mecha was showing no sign of Kirby influence, but the cross-dimensional effects leaned surprisingly toward Ditko. Sid Greene's inks were by no means understated, but still tasteful. The man really liked to apply texture and must have been having fun with all that wavy hair. Murphy Anderson's finishes will probably always be the fan fave, but Greene's were nothin' to sneeze at either.
This story was reprinted in DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #4, which is probably harder to find than this issue itself.
Tom Orzechowski

DC SPECIAL #21: The Leap Year Menace

BRAD: Hi, folks. This past weekend I was at the Big-Easy Comic Con where

they had a tribute to John Broome, the Golden- and Silver-Age writer who died recently. At the same con I picked up a copy of DC SPECIAL PRESENTS
SUPER-HEROES' WAR AGAINST THE MONSTERS from a dollar box. It had a Broome story in it. So I got together with my mechanical friends Raven.--

RAVEN: I'm bitter!

BRAD: and Waldo--

WALDO: I'm the wind, baby!

BRAD: And let's all sit back and enjoy THE LEAP YEAR MENACE.

GL: (voiceover) I created that monster myself-- with my power beam!

RAVEN: It's the Fifty-Foot Yoda from the Black Lagoon!

GL (vo): But now I've got to destroy it-- before it reaches that atomic
stockpile-- and destroys the country!

WALDO: Analysis-- Mr. Spock!

NARRATOR: What possible reason could Green Lantern have for creating a
creature that would threaten Coast City?

BRAD: He's trying to beat Mongul to the punch?

NARRATOR: For the intriguing answer to this mystery it is necessary to delve
into the dramatic-- and highly-explosive-- situation between the Emerald
Gladiator and a certain lovely but determined damsel named Carol Ferris! (basso
profundo) THE LEAP YEAR MENACE!

RAVEN: Where C-3P0 finally proposes to R2-D2.

WALDO: I hate robots.

NARRATOR: In the headquarters of the Coast City Community Chest...

BRAD: I draw two cards and get an extra turn.

GL: Yes, Mrs. Cranston! I'll be glad to appear at the launching of the Coast
City Community Chest Drive this afternoon!

MRS. CRANSTON: Thank you, Green Lantern! Your presence will draw a big crowd
-- and big donations!

WALDO: And go towards my community service on that DWI.

NARRATOR: And, as the Emerald Gladiator exits from the building...

GIRL: OOOOOOO-- There he is!

GL (vo): Great Ghosts! It's the Green Lantern Fan Club! They've been
hounding me for a week-- but I've always dodged them up to now!

GIRL 1: Green Lantern! I touched him... I'm going to faint...

BRAD: Doesn't he ever wash that uniform?

GIRL 2: Sign my autograph book, please!

GIRL 3: Let go! We saw him first!

GL (vo): By the Guardians! If this keeps up I'll be torn apart!

BRAD: Boy, Jimmy Olsen's fan club never acted like this!

RAVEN: For which thank God.

NARRATOR: As GL, using his Power Ring(TM), soars away...

GIRL 4: Stop him-- someone!

GL (vo): I've got to get away! as Hal Jordan-- my alter ego-- I've got an
important appoinment with Carol Ferris in just a few minutes!

NARRATOR: Soon, at the Ferris Aircraft Company, after the escaped hero has
changed to his civilian identity...

HAL: You wanted to see me, Carol?

CAROL: Yes, Hal! But it's personal-- and has nothing to do with your duties
as a Test Pilot here...

BRAD: And has nothing to do with my legs so EYES TOPSIDE, BUSTER!

NARRATOR: A great light seems to burst inside the crack airman...

WALDO: Lantern... great light... can Broome write 'em or what?

HAL (vo): Ah! maybe she's finally realized that it's me she loves-- and not
Green Lantern! (speaking) Personal, Carol?

CAROL: Yes, Hal. Hal, I regard you as my friend -- as just about the best
friend I have --

WALDO: Uh-oh.

RAVEN: She's coming out!

BRAD: No.

RAVEN: She's really a man!

BRAD: Not until Englehart gets his hands on her.

CAROL: --And I want to get your opinion! You know, this is Leap Year... and
I was thinking, since Green Lantern seems too shy to propose to me-- why
don't I propose to him!?

HAL: Eh?

BR&W: Wah... Wah... Wah....

BRAD: Didn't expect that, in a story called "Leap Year Menace."

WALDO: Nice take, though.

CAROL: I'm going to see him at the Charity Drive this afternoon! And it may
be a perfect time! We're bound to find ourselves alone together...

BRAD: If you're together you're not alone. But you knew that.

CAROL: You don't seem very enthusiastic about my idea...

HAL: I'm NOT! I don't think you ought to marry Green Lantern, Carol! He's --
ah -- too much of a celebrity! You ought to marry somebody who's less of a
public figure! Somebody--

CAROL: Somebody like you, you mean!

BRAD: I'm just a modest and unassuming crack test pilot.

HAL: Well, that the best idea you've offered so far...

CAROL: I don't think it's any idea at all, Mr. Jordan! Forgive me for taking
up your valuable time!

HAL (vo): Carol seems determined to take advantage of Leap Year and propose
to Green Lantern! But it's as myself -- Hal Jordan -- that I want to win her!

BRAD: (Laughs) Caught in a triangle with himself! How does DC get these
fresh new ideas?

HAL(vo): Golly! What will I do if she actually proposes? GL has to show up
at that charity affair this afternoon! It can't be avoided!

WALDO: Have to give those villains a clear shot.

HAL(vo): And it will be equally hard to avoid being alone with Carol! Only
one way out of this dilemma -- I've got to use all my wiles to prevent Carol
from popping the question!

RAVEN: This cost you a dollar?

BRAD: Well, there ARE three other stories. Including one by Bob Kanigher!

RAVEN: OHHHhhhh...

NARRATOR: Later, behind locked doors in the hangar, a slightly somber
Gladiator takes his oath before the Power Lamp...

GL: In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight!
Let those who worship evil's might
Beware my power -- Green Lantern's light!

BRAD: My uniform is oh so tight.

RAVEN: Those villains keep me up at night.

WALDO: I just can't fix this overbite.

NARRATOR: And soon, at the Tavern in the Park, where the charity affair is
about to begin...

MRS. CRANSTON: Ah! Here comes Green Lantern now!

BRAD: I was going to introduce you to my husband Lamont but he seems to have
disappeared...

NARRATOR: But as a threatening shower bids to spoil the festivities...

GUEST: What a shame! We'll be rained out!

MRS. CRANSTON: Oh, Green Lantern! If only you could do something with your
ring---!

GUEST: How wonderful! Green Lantern has raised a huge Green Umbrella with
his Power Ring(TM)! It's pouring all around us... but we're dry!

WALDO: The Umbrella, Wonder of Science!

NARRATOR: Shortly...

MRS. CRANSTON: The sun's out again!

GL (vo): Here comes Carol now-- and from that determined look in her eyes, I
can see she means business!

BR&W: (Dragnet music) Bomp ba daaah-- Bomp ba da ba daaaah-- Bomp ba daaah--
Bomp ba da ba daaaah--

NARRATOR: Continued on 3rd page following.

NARRATOR: JUSTICE FOR ALL INCLUDES CHILDREN, 2!

BRAD: OK, so these two kids are spraying this brick wall...

POLICEMAN: What's going on here!

WALDO: Chickee! It's the rozzers!

BRAD: And as the kids take off Superman swoops in and collars them...

JONES: Officer... Superman, my name is Harry Jones.

RAVEN: SUUUURE, it is.

JONES: I own this building and I hired this boy to paint a mural on it! I
don't know why they ran like that...

BRAD: It's not like black kids have anything to fear from white cops.

SUPERMAN: Boys, the policeman was doing his job. He must investigate
possible property damage!

WALDO: So empty your pockets.

SUPERMAN: By running away, you have made yourselves LOOK guilty.

RAVEN: By being black, you have made yourselves look even MORE guilty.

SUPERMAN: Dan, here, did the right thing.

RAVEN: Suck-up!

SUPERMAN: When a policeman approaches, remain clam and cooperate. His job is
to enforce the law... which helps everybody.

BRAD: Neal Adams' job is to illustrate this propaganda, which helps his bank
balance.

NARRATOR: Published as a public service by National Periodical Publications,
Inc., in cooperation with the National Center for Juvenile Justice, the
Research Division of the National Council of Juvenile Court Justices.

WALDO: And viewers like you.

BRAD: And, after an ad for the first Spider-man/Superman team-up...

GL: er-- walk in the park with you? But, Carol, I'm the guest of honor--
I've got to speak here...

CAROL: Very well-- the moment after you finish speaking then!

NARRATOR: As the time comes for the principal speaker of the occasion...

GL: They say charity begins at home... but let us not forget, this city IS
our home...

WALDO: The power's in his ring, not his tongue.

GL(vo): Whew! Those Fan Club girls again! They're getting out of hand!

BRAD: Second appearance of the Fan Club in six pages. You don't think Broome
is laying groundwork or anything?

RAVEN: Naaaah....

GIRL1: Let us through! We want to be closer to Green Lantern!

WALDO: Just like me, they long to be, close to yoooooooou...

GIRL2: WE WANT GREEN LANTERN! WE WANT GREEN LANTERN!

BRAD: But not the Crab-Faced Guy!

GL: And so let us contribute all we can! (vo) I better take Carol for a
walk-- if only to get away from these over-enthusiastic fans of mine!

RAVEN: That's okay, you've still got your wiles!

NARRATOR: And soon after, as police hold back the eager damsels, GL and Carol
slip off...

GL: You-- er-- say there's something important on your mind, Carol? (vo)
I'll face anything but those girls!

WALDO: Even Ron Marz?

CAROL: There's not too much privacy here... but I guess it will do...

BRAD: Those two boys are too caught up in their radio-controlled airplane to
pay attention to my exposition.

GL: You're acting so serious! You know something... you're very pretty when
you're serious... but you're even more attractive when you smile! Now how about
a little smile? I mean-- (vo) I've got to keep talking-- or she'll pop the
question!

RAVEN: Some wiles he's got, boy.

CAROL: I've never seen you carry on like this, Green Lantern! You're usually
so... quiet!

BRAD: Keep talking and we might think you've got a personality.

CAROL: Are you sure you're all right?

GL: As a matter of fact, I haven't been feeling too well... probably
something I ate! Maybe I ought to--

CAROL: Ought to get married!

BRAD: D'oh!

CAROL: That's your trouble, darling... Living by yourself-- eating goodness
knows what for meals! How can you feel good? It stands to reason...

PLANE: BZZZZZZ!

GL: Excuse me, Carol, I... can hardly hear you! That noisy model airplane...

RAVEN: Those wiles of his are really -- top flight!

BRAD: UGH!

GL(vo): I've gained a moment's time!

WALDO: Give me one moment in time, when I'm facing my destiny--

GL(vo): But I've got to do something drastic or she'll come out with it
again! Wait a second-- I have an idea...

PLANE: BZZZZZZ!

NARRATOR: Secretly, the Green Gladiator prepares his ring for action...

GL(vo): I've never used my ring to create a menace! But that's what I need
now-- A Chiller-Diller Menace that I'll have to combat-- and give me a
legitimate excuse to get away from here-- and Carol--

BRAD: A super-hero getting attacked during a public appearance? Quelle
bizarre!

NARRATOR: Out from GL's side the beam shoots, unseen by his fair companion...

CAROL: I'll talk louder-- yell what I have to say, if necessary! This is
Leap Year-- AND IT'S A WOMAN'S PRIVILEGE TO--

GL: Carol! LOOK--!!

WALDO: An extra from Marvel Comics!

NARRATOR: But as Carol turns, she doesn't see a model plane swoop down and...

PLANE: THWACK!

BRAD: Aw, GL's OK, his ring protects him from harm.

CAROL: Where--? What--? Okay, I see... It!

WALDO: No, It was the Living Golem.

CAROL: Now please stop interrupting-- and let me finish what I have to say!

WALDO: (muttering) Bite my head off...

CAROL: As this is Leap Year-- Oh, never mind the buildup! I'll get right to
the point!

RAVEN: And no fifty-foot frog-face is gonna distract me, either!

CAROL: GREEN LANTERN, WILL YOU MARRY ME? (vo) There! I've said it! Now he's
got to answer-- one way or another!

WALDO: One way, or another, he's gotta answer, he's gotta answer answer
answer answer---

NARRATOR: As anxious, silent minutes pass...

CAROL: (vo) Heavens! I thought my proposal might surprise Green Lantern!

BRAD: If no one else.

CAROL(vo): But I never expected it would strike him dumb! He hasn't said a
word! (speaking) Green Lantern, stop pretending you didn't hear what I said!
You-- Oh, my gosh! He's keeled over!

BRAD: From Creature Feature to Weekend at Bernie's.

CAROL: Something's happened to Green Lantern! Help! HELP!!

WALDO: I thought you said Green Lantern couldn't be harmed.

BRAD: He can't, not until the Denny O'Neill issues. Guess Broome forgot.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, the "menace" created by the green beam lives a life of
his own...

CD: Strange... I know I'm a "Chiller-Diller," but what that means...

RAVEN: The only name even lamer than "Leap Year Menace."

CD: Or what I'm supposed to do... I don't know! But this place is full of
odd-looking creatures!

NARRATOR: As "Chiller-Diller" does some sight-seeing...

CD: As soon as they see me, they run away-- as if they don't like me! Well...
if they won't like me, I won't like them!

BRAD: Aw, they like you AND your mother Phyllis.

NARRATOR: But as the slightly nearsighted invader straightens up...

CD: Ooops!

BRAD: Oh well, they were gonna put in a multiplex anyway.

BYSTANDER: Great Scott! That thing will tear the city apart! Can't anyone do
something?

RAVEN: Call for Green Lantern! No, wait...

NARRATOR: At nearby army headquarters...

GENERAL: ...And send fifteen tanks, a guided missile squadron, three
reconnaissance beams, and a bazooka battalion to sector three-- at once!

RAVEN: And get me a sweatband!

NARRATOR: Meanwhile...

CD: I don't like it here! There's too much noise in this place! I've got to
get away-- Uh!

OFFSCREEN VOICE: That creature backed up to that statue-- and demolished it!

WALDO: He's just a big, green Tea Leone!

CD: Must be some way out of this place.

OFFSCREEN VOICE: Here comes the army! They'll finish that thing!

BRAD: They did so well with the Hulk.

SHELLS: BAM! BAM!

WALDO: Yes, Pebbles...?

CD: More noise? how do those little creatures stand this noise?

TANK: Our shells bounce right off it!

WALDO: Aaah, just hit 'im with a grapefruit!

NARRATOR: Then, as "Chiller-Diller" moves toward the river-docks...

CD: ULGG! Odd... I can't walk on this liquid matter!

RAVEN: If you could you'd be the Passover Menace!

BYSTANDER: It's coming out!

BRAD: ....Naaaah...

NARRATOR: After the incredible creature hurries across the bridge...

SOLDIER: General! The thing is heading for our atomic stockpile! If it gets
into that, it may blow up half the country!

RAVEN: Wouldn't THAT show the New Universe!

GENERAL: Mr. President, this is General Willis! We need reinforcements, sir!
Coast City is about to be blown off the map!

BRAD: You only missed by 34 years.

NARRATOR: At that moment, in the doctor's office where Green Lantern has been
taken...

RADIO: ...And the invulnerable creature is still going!

WALDO: And beating that stupid drum...

RADIO: The next few minutes will tell! It is too late to evacuate the city!

GL(vo): Holy Smoke! According to the descriprtion over the radio... It's the
"menace" I made with my power beam-- to disract Carol-- that's causing all
the trouble! I've got to get going-- fast!

RAVEN: And check my insurance for Super-hero Malpractice!

CAROL: Green Lantern! Are you all right? He didn't answer--!

DOCTOR: He must be all right-- look at him go!

NARRATOR: And in the very nick of time...

SOLDIER: Green Lantern saved us-- he dissolved the monster!

RAVEN: Sure, he was a power beam construct, but didn't he have a right to
live?

BRAD: You're confusing this with an Alan Moore story.

RAVEN: Never in a million years.

NARRATOR: Later, as an appreciative crowd gathers around the Emerald
Gladiator...

SOLDIER: Green Lantern-- You're a hero!!

GL(vo): I feel a little funny accepting all these congratulations.. for
destroying something that I myself created! That reminds me, I'll have to undo the
damage caused...

WALDO: A few more charity appearances ought to do it.

NARRATOR: And as the crowd drifts apart, GL finds himself confronted by
another "menace"...

CAROL: Green Lantern, you're not going to escape me any longer! I'm asking
you to marry me, do you hear me? I want you to marry me!

BRAD: Just a hopeless romantic.

RAVEN: Hopeless, anyway.

GL(vo): She's got me dead to rights! I've got to answer her! B-But-- what
will I say?

RAVEN: Wait til I go relevant, then we can live together.

FAN CLUB: Oooooh! Our hero! There he is!

GIRL1: Green Lantern, we remembered it's Leap Year! Will you marry me?

GIRL2: Marry me! Marry me!!

WALDO: With Robert Preston and Shirley Jones.

GIRL3: Marry me, Green Lantern!

NARRATOR: With a burst of iron-thewed muscles, the Green Gladiator wrests
himself free...

BRAD: With a burst of purple prose, Broome writes himself free...

GL: Sorry, girls! I-- I just can't marry you all-- So I'll marry NONE!

RAVEN: But nuns CAN'T marry -- oh, wait a minute --

CAROL: WELL!! What a way to squirm out of my proposal.

WALDO: (Yakety Sax, a la Benny Hill) Doo doo doodle doodle, doo doo doodle
doodle, doo doodle doodle doddle doo...

BRAD: So that's our tribute to John Broome. Why, Raven, you're crying!

RAVEN: (sniff) I liked Chiller-Diller! He didn't have to... diiiiiiie...

BRAD: Oh, Raven, Chiller-Diller was just a fairy tale! Monsters like that
don't exist in real life!

RAVEN: They don't?

BRAD: No.

And the roof is lifted up by a giant Mike Nelson in a Chiller-Diller suit.
Blackout.

Green Lantern #7, "Day 100,000 People Vanished!"

GREEN LANTERN (2nd series) #7; July August 1961; DC Comics; Julius  Schwartz,
editor; cover-featuring GL in "The Day 100,000 People Vanished!"   Script by
John Broome, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Joe Giella.  On the  cover, GL
shoots a green beam which has the startling effect of turning the  people on a city
street into transparent outlines, while reflecting that the  only way to save
them from a "terrible disaster" is to turn them  invisible!

Review by Bill Henley

Currently in the GREEN LANTERN  REBIRTH miniseries (which I've found
surprisingly enjoyable, considering that  I'm not a big Geoff Johns fan and was
skeptical of *anyone* being able to  successfully rehabilitate Hal Jordan as a hero
after "Emerald Twilight") we are  seeing a major confrontation between Hal
Jordan, back in his Green Lantern role,  and his archfoe Sinestro.  In honor of
the event, here's a review on the  issue featuring their very first battle,
taking place on "The Day 100,000 People  Vanished!"  On the splash page, GL flies
over deserted streets thinking,  "It's uncanny!  Every single person in this
city seems to have vanished off  the face of the Earth!" while in a vignette a
sinister deep-red-faced figure  aimin a strange device promises, "Green
Lantern-- YOU'RE NEXT!"  

"At fourteen minutes after nine on a bright morning in the thriving 
community of Valdale on the West Coast", the inhabitants are going about their  normal
business-- exchanging greetings, getting their cars filled with gas,  yelling
at traffic jams-- when suddenly there is an "odd shimmering in the air  like
a rain of light" (actually resembling an aurora borealis) followed by a  noise
like a thunderclap... and at precisely nine-fifteen, the city of Valdale, 
100,000 strong, has become a ghost town with not a single human being left in 
it!"  (Oddly enough, however, there's no sign of the crashed cars and other 
chaos you might expect if all the people suddenly disappeared from a  town.)  Of
course such an event attracts the attention of the West Coast's  resident
Silver Age superhero, Green Lantern, and we catch up with him as he  arrives back
at his home base to confer with his friend and confidant, "Pieface"  (aka
Thomas Kalmaku) and report that his Power Ring has not found a "single  clue" as
to what happened to the people of Valdale.  But he knows one  thing-- he was
due himself to help open up a "boys settlement house" in that  town at nine
A.M., but missed his appointment due to finishing up a case.   "Great Aurora!"
Pieface realizes; "then YOU would have vanished too-  if  you had kept the
appointment!"  Before they can discuss it further, GL  momentarily goes mentally
blank.  He does not realize that his "astral self  or energy-duplicate" is now
flitting on its way across the universe to the  planet Oa, where it will meet
with the blue-skinned Guardians of the Universe,  the mentors and masters of
all Green Lanterns (though at this point Hal Jordan  knows this only
subconsciously).  After briefly noting that they called  forth Hal's astral self once
before (in GL #1), the Guardians explain why they  have summoned him this time. 
"We Guardians do not bestow Power Batteries  without careful tests!  But there
are many possessors and many worlds in  the cosmos under our care!  And in
our selections we did make one  MISTAKE!  It happened on a world called Korugar
in Sector 1417, where we  chose a being called SINESTRO!"  [Didn't a name like
that give you a clue  there might be something hinky here, guys?] Sinestro is
a long-headed,  widows-peaked, deep cherry-red-skinned humanoid clad (in this
flashback scene)  in a Green Lantern uniform and mask identical to Hal
Jordan's. [And the  Guardians didn't pick up on this vaguely devilish appearance as
a clue  either....]  As the Guardians kept an eye on their new recruit, he 
initially seemed to be a "deserving one and absolutely without fear" who 
succeeded in "keeping down EVIL on his planet!"  But as he charged his ring  every
"37 diors" [Ie, one Earth day-- I still find it remarkable how the  charging
period of the ring just happens to exactly match the rotation period of  our
obscure little planet] he reflects more and more how the ring gave him 
"unlimited power!  There is NOTHING I cannot do with it!"  And as a  wise Earthman once
said, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely!"  At least in  Sinestro's case. 
The first sign is when he gets tired of his hidden  sanctuary and instead
creates a huge palace, "the most marvelous building on  Korugar!", to serve as his
headquarters.  Soon, we find Korugarans lined up  to beg for Sinestro's
assistance, as the people at the back of the line grumble,  "We have to wait to see
Sinestro sometimes for diordans (days)!  And then  he takes only those cases
that interest him-- helps only a few of us and ignores  the rest!"  Meanwhile,
Sinestro himself mentally gripes, "How I am bored  with these complaints and
pleas for assistance!"  As the "virus of power"  gains a further grip on him,
Sinestro lashes out with his ring at a supplicant  who complains that he has
become "power-mad", and then deposes Korugar's High  Council to become dictator
of the planet himself.  But though none on  Korugar are able to challenge
their new masters, there are others who can, as  the Guardians make one of their
periodic "secret checks""  "He believed  that none stood above him!  He will
now learn that he was mistaken!"   The Guardians bring Sinestro before them and
deliver their verdict; "You have  abused your sacred trust!  Instead of
dispensing JUSTICE on your world--  you have dispensed EVIL!  There is only one
course open to us!"  For  the first time, the Guardians take an "extreme measure"
against one of their  green-clad recruits; "Sinestro of Korugar, you have been
found unworthy to be a  Battery Possessor! You are hereby stripped of all
insignia and honors!"   (as his GL insignia and mask pop off of his uniform). 
His ring likewise  leaps off his finger-- "Your Power Ring is no longer
yours!"-- and "Your Battery  of Power is now returning to us!"  Most drastic of all,
"EVIL you are-- to  EVIL you will go!  We are banishing you to the anti-matter
universe of  Qward, where all is evil and your evil will find only other evil
to clash  with!"  [Maybe Steve Ditko should have drawn this story.... this
whole idea  of an absolute separation between good and evil would have warmed his
heart.....]

But what does this all have to do with Hal Jordan, Green  Lantern of Earth? 
Well, it seems that on arriving in the evil  anti-universe of Qward, Sinestro
hooked up with its bosses, the Weaponers, who  had already made three
unsuccessful attempts to defeat Hal Jordan, and promised  them victory if they
accepted his leadership.  By peering at Earth with his  "super-radar", Sinestro has
gotten wind of GL's appointment in Valdale at  exactly 9 am that one fateful
day.  And he has created a "truly EVIL  mechanism", a "viso-teleporter" capable
of snatching away "every visible human"  in the city of Valdale, including
Green Lantern.  As the Weaponers cheer  Sinestro's evil initiative, we pause for
a pair of house ads for GIANT SUPERMAN  ANNUAL #3 ("See the Many FANTASTIC
FACES of Superman!") and GIANT SECRET ORIGINS  ANNUAL #1 (AT LAST!  The GIANT
COMIC BOOK you've dreamed about IS  HERE!")  Also, there's one of Jack Schiff's
beloved public service ads,  "Gifts From Your Elders!", in which some kids
visit a senior citizen center and  discover that they can learn a lot from those
old folks who are, like, really  hep.

As our GL tale resumes, Green Lantern-- still visiting Oa in "astral  form"--
realizes that Sinestro has already put his insidious plan into effect  and
that he, GL, inadvertently fouled it up by not showing up on time for his 
appointment.  The Guardians inform him, "You must defeat your new and  venomous
foe, Sinestro...and you must do it by yourself!  For our  jurisdiction does not
extend to Qward and we cannot help you!" The Guardians  return GL's astral self
to rejoin his body on Earth, this time allowing him to  retain a complete
memory of his experience and the Guardians' existence.   Recovering from his
brief blackout, GL "mumbles a few words" to Pieface and then  flies off, leaving
his faithful Inuit companion in the dark as to what has  happened; "I can't
tell Pieface anything about the Guardians!  That's one  secret I can't share with
anyone!"  Now GL must find a way into Qward, not  only to defeat Sinestro but
to learn the fate of the 100,000 lost citizens of  Valdale.  [Hmmm... I guess
they could have called the story "The Day  200,000 People Vanished!"  Or
whatever the population of Coast City was...]  He soon discovers that the
interdimensional aperture he once used to enter Qward  has been blocked by the canny
Sinestro.  Only one option remains to  him.  Much to the bemusement of the
people of his hometown, Coast City, he  uses his ring to turn them all temporarily
invisible, and then wanders the  streets, the only visible human in town.  He
figures this will attract the  attention of Sinestro and cause him to use his
"viso-teleporter" (which only  affects visible people, remember) to snatch GL
into Qward.  And so it  happens.  "An incredible force seizing me!  I mustn't
resist-- must  let myself go!  It's the ONLY way I can get into Qward!" 
Instantly  upon arriving in Qward, GL is bombarded by the Weaponers' energy-beams,
but he  is more prepared than they expected, and sets up a green shield with
his ring in  time.  But Sinestro assures them, "Fear not!  My EVIL mind is
easily  equal to this emergency!" and he warns GL that unless he surrenders, the
100,000  people of Valdale will be destroyed.  "This is one thing I did not
take  into account!", GL reflects.  [Not too bright of you, Hal, not to figure 
that an evil guy like Sinestro would think of using hostages....]  He  agrees
to surrender on condition that Sinestro return the people of Valdale to  Earth
first.  Sinestro agrees in turn; "You have made a good bargain, Green 
Lantern-- 100,000 for one!"  and keeping his word, returns the puzzled  people of
Valdale to their empty town.  Meanwhile, GL finds himself bound  in a "yellow
bubble of pulsating energy".  He still lives, for as a former  GL himself,
Sinestro not only knows about the Power Ring's yellow weakness, but  also is aware
that "the power beam will automatically protect you from all harm  as long as
you are conscious!"  (This may be the first mention of the  ring's "automatic
protection from harm" feature-- though later it would be  extended to operate
even when a GL is unconscious.)  Pointing to a rather  Earthly-looking clock,
Sinestro gloats that, having observed when GL last  charged his ring, he knows
that only 15 minutes remain until hour of six,   the ring runs out of power
and GL can be slain.  The Weaponers are  impressed; "You truly are a GENIUS OF
EVIL!  We have decided to make you  our CHIEFTAIN!"  Better not count your
GL's out too soon, guys.... As the  clock ticks out its last minutes, GL observes
that "it works on the vibration of  atomic particles".  Then the clock
strikes six, and Sinestro dissolves the  yellow bubble and fires a Qwardian ray-gun
at GL-- only to be met by a forceful  green beam from GL's ring.  How can the
ring still be working?  Well,  it seems that though GL could not penetrate the
ring's power through the yellow  bubble, he fgured out a way to propel "the
sub-particles of carbon dioxide from  my own breath" into the clock's mechanism
and cause its timing to speed  up.  [Hey, in a universe wholly devoted to
Evil, it stands to reason that  one of the evils would be manufacturing cheap,
shoddy merchandise like clocks  that go on the fritz at the drop of a sub-atomic
particle....]  Gl creates  a green tidal wave to knock the fight out of the
Weaponers and pins Sinestro to  the wall with a set of green needles.  But
Sinestro still gloats  triumphantly, pointing out that he would have killed GL
given the chance, but GL  cannot kill him and end his menace once and for all;
"Your stupid code prevents  you from killing or harming anyone else if you can
help it!  I know that  because I wore a uniform like yours once before I
learned better!  Good is  helpless-- EVIL ALONE CAN ACT!"  Moreover, Sinestro points
out, GL can't  even return Sinestro to Oa for further punishment, since the
Guardians banished  him to Qward forever-- "and you cannot countermand their
orders!  HA! HA!  HA!"  But scorning Sinestro's suggestion that good is helpless
against  evil, GL creates a green bubble which "no force on Qward can
penetrate!"   "Any EVIL you create now can only be AGAINST YOURSELF!  And with that 
parting thought I BID YOU A FINAL FAREWELL.."  [Yeah, right.....]   Overcoming
the block Sinestro previously placed on the interdimensional aperture  to
Earth, GL returns to his home world just in time to recharge his ring as his 
last moment of power runs out.  The next day, he finally makes his  appointment
in Valdale to address the postponed ceremonial opening of the "boys' 
settlement hosue": "And remember, boys, when RIGHT is on your side, you will  always
overcome EVIL no matter where you may find it!"

Sinestro  reappeared many times during the Silver Age and later, of course,
escaping GL's  green bubble and returning with a new weapon, a yellow Power
Ring that operated  by leeching power from the genuine green rings.  Some
elements of this  story were retconned away years later, as the Keith Giffen "Emerald
Dawn" series  established that Hal Jordan actually met Sinestro while the
latter was still a  GL in good standing, and even underwent a period of training
with him.   (And in GL REBIRTH, that story is further retconned, as Hal meets
Sinestro/GL  but rebuffs his offer of training.) 

Next is a two-page "Green  Lantern's Mail Chute" lettercol.  Robert Jennings
of Nashville Tenn. (an  early big-name comics fan and fanzine editor, I
believe)  laments that "the  days of the 52 page comic book are past" and calls for
more book-length stories  like GL #5's "Power Ring That Vanished" in order to
develop character and plot  more effectively.  Andy Wickstrom of Glen Riddle,
Pa. turns thumbs down on  a previous reader's suggesting of a "Kid Green
Lantern" sidekick,and Ye Editor  (Julie Schwartz) reassures him; "Other well-worn
bits of business readers have  asked us to lift from our companion magazines
are a robot duplicate of Green  Lantern, a Green Lantern Cave or fortress of
solitude, an imp that harasses GL,  a Bizarro-Green Lantern and so on, ad
nauesum.  Well' we'll have none of  that!  We take pride in the original touches
we've introduced in this  magazine!"  (And yet, some time later there was a GL
story in which our  hero was turned into a robot duplicate of himself.... and I
vaguely remember a  much later story, a Superman story sometime during the
Bronze Age, in which a  Bizarro-Green Lantern, along with other Bizarro-JLA
members, appears.)   Another reader, Rick Wood of Cambridge, Mass., complains that
the science filler  pages Schwartx put in his comics ought to be eliminated in
favor of more story  pages, to which Julie indignantly replies, "We hardly
think that the science  filler pages are a waste of space!  Students, parents,
even teachers have  commended us for running these educational
tidbits....However, an even more  urgent reason (for the science fillers) is that we are
required to do so by  law!  Postal regulations require that such diversified
material appear in  all magazines that feature one main character such as Green
Lantern, Flash,  Batman, Superman, etc.  As a matter of fact, those regulations
also call  for our magazines to include at least one page of printed matter--
such as this  very department (the lettercol)!"

Another letter, from a femmefan named  Dorun (?  Did Doreen scribble her name
illegibly?) Aronoff of Camden, NJ,  has a list of suggestions including that
Hal Jordan should marry Carol Ferris  and that "Pieface should have a girl
friend also".  Ye Ed is noncommittal  about the first suggestion but "we had
anticipated your (other) suggestion as  you'll see in this issue's (second
story)!"  The story in question is  "Wings of Destiny!"and on the splash page GL
springs to thwart a plane  hijacking; "These gunmen have taken over the airliner! 
But I'm about to  TAKE THEM OVER...!"   But "what Green Lantern was doing on
the  airplane in the first place is something of a long story [well, actually,
only 8  pages] involving the mysterious, inexplicable disappearance of his
pal Pieface,  the Eskimo grease-monkey [Extreme Political Incorrectness Alert!]
and the  long-awaited arrival from Alaska of Pie's childhood sweetheart!"  One
night, presumably after eating pickles and ice cream, Hal Jordan has a dream
in  which he rebuffs his pal's plea; "No, Pie!  You know I can't use my Power
Ring for trivial purposes, but only to fight evil and injustice!"  [No 
trivial purposes?  How about a few issues ago when you used the ring to  create a
fake monster to distract Carol Ferris from proposing marriage to Green 
Lantern during Leap Year?]  But badgered by the dream-Pieface to fulfill  his
lifelong dream of flight by "turning him into a bird so he can fly",  dream-GL
finally consents.  Little does Hal know that his ring is  responding to his
unconscious command by sending a beam to the real Pieface to  turn him into a bird. 
Reaching into Pieface's bedroom, the beam "turns him  with the greatest of
ease into a SEAGULL!"  Awakened by this  transofrmation,, Birdface, er, Pieface
understandably wonders, "What goes  on?  WHAT GOES ON?"  But apparently Pie
falls back asleep and the next  morning awakens thinking "I had the loopiest
dream last night!"  Only when  he sees his feathered form in the mirror does he
realize that it was no dream  [or at least, it wasn't HIS dream].  He sets out
flying across the city  searching for GL; "Yeowie!  Some mean villain has done
this-- probably some  fiend from outer space-- trying to eliminate me before
his alien race invades  the Earth!  I gotta find my pal, Green Lantern-- warn
him...."   Meanwhile, Hal Jordan is puzzled by Pieface's mysterious
disappearance,  especially considering this is a red-letter day for his Eskimo friend; 
he  received a telegram saying his childhood sweetheart, Terga, will be
arriving on  the ten o'clock plane from Alaska.  "Great Scott!  The poor girl will 
be worried to death if there's no one there!  I've got to fill in for 
Pie....!"  After charging his ring, GL takes off across town, but finds  himself being
annoyed in flight by a a pesty, persistent seagull who keeps  flying at him
and chattering at him; "This bird looks like a seagull-- but acts  like a
CUCKOO!"  Fortunately (or so GL thinks), "seagulls aren't built for  speed" and GL
outdistances the frustrated bird in flight.  Arriving at the  airport and
assuming his Hal Jordan identity (after realizing at the last moment  that the
untutored Terga might be freaked out by being greeted by a costumed  superhero),
Hal at first finds no one answering Terga's description, but then  finds that
the diminutive and English-challenged Inuit girl is refusing to leave  the
plane until Pieface shows up; "I...no...move!  Want see Thomas!   No...move till
he come..."  Before Hal can try to explain matters to Terga,  the grounded
plane is invaded by a gang of crooks who demand that the pilots  take flight. 
Deducing that the hijackers are "escaped convicts out to make  a getaway", Hal
resumes his GL identity and sets out to stop them, but as the  plane takes a
sudden lurch he accidentally bumps his head into a seat and is  knocked out. 
[What happened to that automatic protection from harm from  the first story?] 
As one of the crooks prepares to shoot GL,  Pieface-the-seagull catches up with
the plane, and observing the dire situation  within, heroically crashes
through a window to seize the gun from the crook's  hand.  "Jumping jets!  {Isn't
that Kid Flash's pet expression?]   That bird again-- and looks like it's just
SAVED MY LIFE!"  Recovering, GL  subdues the crooks with his ring as Pieface
cheers him on with bird-calls.   Finally getting the plane back on the ground
and Terga off the plane, GL  prepares to take her to Carol Ferris to
"chaperone" her until Pieface can be  located, but then is puzzled as the seagull
flutters insistently around the  Eskimo girl "almost as if it's happy to see Terga! 
As if it's trying to  KISS HER!  Is it possible--?  My dream last
night...using my Power  Ring-- to turn PIEFACE INTO A BIRD!"  Is it possible that
actually I  *gulp!* Got to find out!"  Leaving Terga momentarily alone, GL finds a 
secluded spot and wills the seagull to turn back into Pieface.   "Whew!  I must
make sure I command my :Power Ring never to let such a  'nightmare' happen
again!"  Later, Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris share a  double date with Pieface
and Terga, and Carol notees that Terga only knows a few  words of English, "and
she's using most of them now!" -- as, surrounded by  symbolic hearts, Terga
addrresses Pieface,  "THOMAS...YOU...ME...LOVE!"

(As I alluded to earlier, the handling of  Pieface and Terga in these early
GL stories is highly "politically incorrect" by  modern standards.  On the
other hand, it could be argued that Pieface got  more dignified treatment than
another superhero's "pal", the thoroughly  caucasian Jimmy Olsen.  Pieface never
got his own book, but he did get to  learn his hero's true identity; he got a
girlfriend who he was eventually  allowed to actually marry (and yes, she did
learn English) and while Pieface did  undergo a strange transformation in this
particular story, it wasn't his fault  and didn't result from him
incautiously drinking an unknown serum.)  

Green Lantern #43: "Catastrophic Crimes of Major Disaster!"

Green Lantern #43

"Catastrophic Crimes of Major Disaster!"
March, 1966

Script: Gardner Fox
Pencils: Gil Kane
Inks: Sid Greene

What would a super-hero be like without his super-power?  Or with someone
else's power?  Such are the examples which the Emerald Gladiator and the
Scarlet Speedster find themselves when they encounter the --"Catastrophic
Crimes of Major Disaster!"

As test-pilot Hal Jordan reports to the office of Carol Ferris, he learns
from her that there's been a last-minute change of plans.  He is startled
when his employer calls him "darling" and leads him to his hangar, where
his power battery is stored.  Carol tells him to don his Green Lantern
uniform, then charge his power ring with the invisible power battery.
When the test-pilot feigns ignorance, his boss hands him a dossier she
received in the mail, and which contains proof of his secret identity.
At that moment in Central City, Iris West is telling her fiancee to empty
his pockets.  The police scientist can only wonder what his girlfriend
has in mind.

After Barry places his keys, wallet, and change on the table, Iris asks
about his special ring.  When he complies with the request, his fiancee
places the ring on his finger, and presses the secret switch.  The
crimson costume of the Fastest Man Alive expands upon contact with the
air.  As he dons his costume, Iris tells the Flash that they've got a
date with Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris in about two minutes.  The news hen
had received a letter in the mail, with information about her fiancee's
dual identity.  The next moment finds the Scarlet Speedster carrying Iris
for their lunch date.  Back in Coast City, Carol Ferris leads the Emerald
Gladiator in reciting his Green Lantern oath, with G.L. wondering who
could have possibly sent her the letter.

Once his power ring has been charged for 24 hours, he carries Carol for
their lunch date, and hopes to learn who divulged his secret identity.
At the Rendezvous Club in Pineaire City, Iris and Carol see that the
other has shown up in the arms of a super-hero.  Once on the ground, the
two woman do not waste time in telling the other about their significant
other's secret.  When Flash tells his fellow JLAer about the letter,
Green Lantern can only speculate about who else knows both of their
identities.  The arrival of the two super-heroes and their dates causes a
stir of excitement within the posh restaurant.

Now seated in a corner booth, the girls promise to keep their knowledge
of the heroes's identities a secret.  As the group receives their order,
RRRUMBLE!, an earthquake rocks the entire restaurant.  Iris and Carol
watch as their boy friends head off to save the day.  Now on the street,
the Emerald Gladiator and the Scarlet Speedster see the dual threat of an
earthquake and a windstorm hurling cars at the citizens.  The Flash waves
his arms to form a counter-wind to protect the people from the flying
cars, then causes an updraft to lift two men who have fallen through a
crevasse.

In the skies above, Green Lantern uses his power ring to keep the
buildings from falling, and to douse the roaring flames.  SSSSSS  With
the fire under control, the Emerald Gladiator concentrates on stitching
the crevasses once the Flash has cleared the crowd.  A lone car suddenly
speeds up and leaps over the length of a crevasse.  G.L. sees that the
car has stopped right in front of falling building.

Before the Justice Leaguer can bring his power ring into play, he sees
that the falling debris has been shunted aside from the costumed men.  As
the colorfully-clad group enters a bank, Green Lantern wonders if they
are responsible for the disaster.  When the men come out again with their
haul, the Emerald Gladiator casts a giant power-ringed net to catch them,
but the construct is deflected away from them.  Seeing that his teammate
is having some difficulty, the Scarlet Speedster decides to dismantle the
getaway car piece by piece at super-speed.

The Fastest Man on Earth is in for a surprise when he is forced to
collide with a light-pole.  As he tries to stay on his feet, the Flash
finds that he can hardly remain standing.  Overhead, Green Lantern has
begun to fall, with his power ring being drained of its energy.

The Scarlet Speedster is now unconscious on the street, with the Emerald
Gladiator about to hit the concrete below.

Both heroes are now out for the count, as the getaway car makes its way
from the scene, and unharmed by the falling debris.  Major Disaster is at
the wheel and he is confident that the two Justice Leaguers will be able
to interfere with his plans.  With both Coast City and Central City in
his pocket, the entire nation will soon follow.  Thanks to Iris West and
Carol Ferris, the Flash and Green Lantern were drawn to Pineaire City,
where the Major sprung his trap.  It was he who sent them the letters,
complete with brochures for the Rendezvous Club. 

Now in his mansion, Major Disaster congratulates the hired scientists who
created the stress-null-beam rays which caused both disasters.  The rays
had another effect, with the transferral of Flash's super-speed into
Green Lantern's power ring, and the ring's energy now placed within the
aura that surrounds the Fastest Man on Earth.  Since the two heroes are
now unaware of what has happened, they will believe that their
super-powers are gone.  Back on the streets of Pineaire City, the two
Justice Leaguers rise to their feet.  With their powers apparently gone,
G.L. suggests that they check on the girls, and make sure they're safe.

After learning what's happened to their boy friends, Carol and Iris admit
it's the man, not the costume that they love.  When Flash suggests that
the Justice League might ask them to resign, Green Lantern tells his
teammate that they've got to find out who's behind the disasters.  The
group rents a car and heads for Coast City, where G.L. plans to recharge
his power ring.  Back at the mansion, Major Disaster is preparing another
disaster to strike at Coast City.  It will be night when the meteor
shower begins to fall, and will serve as adequate cover for his gang to
rob the bank.

Just as the rental car reaches Coast City, the passengers see the falling
meteors heading for the heart of the city.  As was the case with the
getaway car in Pineaire City, the rental car is able to get through
unharmed, and the girls are dropped off at the Ferris Mansion.  The two
heroes drive back towards the epicenter of the disaster, and begin moving
people to safety.  The Flash keeps the citizens safe, while Green Lantern
drives the others to safety.

After the last group of people have been dropped off, the Scarlet
Speedster spots the getaway car they had seen in Pineaire City.  As the
Emerald Gladiator revs up the convertible, the Flash leaps onto a
startled hood, then lands a couple of solid punches to knock them out.
CRAAASH!  The rental car rams the side of the getaway car, with Green
Lantern delivering a right cross to Major Disaster.

The Emerald Gladiator joins the Scarlet Speedster in attacking the gang
of crooks, using teamwork to overcome their foes, and knowing that they
can accomplish much without super-powers.  Now in a daze, the Major
summons his remaining henchmen to get away from the scene before they are
caught.  Four of the gang are now in the custody of the two Justice
Leaguers.  After dropping them off at the police station, G.L. figures
that they should pay a visit to the home of Tom Kalmuku.

The Ferris Aircraft mechanic has been documenting all of Green Lantern's
exploits in a casebook, including the adventures he's shared with the
Flash.  The Fastest Man Alive is surprised to learn that his identity has
been compromised, but G.L. assures him that he's taken the precaution of
blocking out Tom's memory of Flash's secret identity.  This has not been
the case for anyone else who might have read the casebook.  At the
apartment, Tom shows them the book which he keeps in a secret panel of
his desk.  Flash uses some silver nitrate solution to see if there's any
fingerprints on the tome, and suggests that they have the F.B.I. identify
the latent prints.  Once the mechanic learns what has happened, Tom asks
why his pal hadn't taken the precaution of making the pages look blank or
something.  Green Lantern admits his error and knows that he's only
human.

Once the fingerprints have been taken and given to the F.B.I., the two
heroes head off for Hal's hangar.  As the Emerald Gladiator begins
reciting his oath, he sees that his power ring isn't glowing, but the
Scarlet Speedster is.  The Flash realizes that his aura is absorbing the
energy from the power battery.  As the oath is completed, the Fastest Man
Alive feels the energy flowing through him.  Since Flash now has the
power ring energy, the power ring must contain the Flash's super-speed.

The Emerald Gladiator is now able to circle the Earth in five seconds
flat.  He watches as Flash concentrates and takes off into the air.  When
they check in with the F.B.I., an agent tells them that there were two
sets of prints, one belonging to Thomas Kalmuku, and the other set
belonging to a petty crook named Paul Booker.  Remembering a case where
he used the power ring to find a criminal from the fingerprints left on a
treasure chest, G.L. suggests that he use his will power to do the same
with Booker's fingerprints.

Flash concentrates and an emerald beam flows from his finger, striking
the set of fingerprints, which leaves a trail for the heroes to follow.
As Green Lantern races from the building, the startled F.B.I. agent
doesn't know what to make of this sudden display of mismatched
super-powers.

As the Scarlet Speedster flies through the sky, and the Emerald Gladiator
speeds along the streets of Coast City, both wonder how a petty crook
like Paul Booker was able to find the Green Lantern Casebook.  It was a
few months ago when Booker was avoiding the police by hiding in the
apartment of Thomas and Terga Kalmuku.  The criminal stumbled across the
secret switch of Tom's desk, "borrowed" the book, then returned it so
that the owner wouldn't suspect that it was missing.  Since the time of
that accidental discovery, Paul Booker adopted the identity of Major
Disaster, and formed his gang.  Now as the two heroes are following the
trail, the Major learns from an underling about their whereabouts.  He
activates a device for just such an emergency.

Lightning bolts begin striking down towards Coast City, with the Flash
assigned to handle the emergency.  After some power-ringed lightning rods
fail to have an effect, the Scarlet Speedster uses the power ring energy
to ionize the air, and draws the bolts away.  The Emerald Gladiator finds
himself in the midst of a landslide, but uses his arms at super-speed to
create some compressed air to build a protective wall against the falling
rocks.

Two more disasters appear, leaving the heroes with little opportunity to
deal with the villain responsible.  It is the Flash who realizes that the
transference of their super-powers by Booker may have caused the
disasters to follow in their wake.  After dealing with an ice storm and a
forest fire, the Scarlet Speedster transfers their powers back, and it is
now the Scarlet Speedster who disables the weapons of Major Disaster.
Green Lantern is now able to use his power ring to uproot the villain's
mansion hideout.  The gang of hoods are unable to cope with the sudden
arrival of the two super-heroes, and it is they who have to suffer
through a disastrous defeat.

Seeing his dreams of a criminal empire crumbling around him, Major
Disaster prepares to activate his greatest weapon, but he neglects to don
the insulated gloves necessary to make it work.  KABOOM  The Fastest Man
on Earth and the Emerald Gladiator arrive in time to see what's left of
Paul Booker.  When the gang and the stolen money have been turned over to
the authorities, the two heroes wonder what they'll do now since their
girlfriends know their secret identities.  Green Lantern doesn't want to
pull the same old stunt of using the power ring to make them forget, but
wants to try something new.  Back at Coast City, they see that the
citizens have been suffering from amnesia, and Flash figures that the
meteors must have had something to do with it.  The power ring will be
able to restore their memories, but in the case of Carol and Iris, G.L.
will leave out all reference to their dual identities.  With Major
Disaster out of the way, their secret identities are once again a secret.

After the power ring has done its work, Iris West remembers that she went
on a date with the Flash.  The police scientist tells his fiancee that he
asked the Scarlet Speedster to fill in for him, and that he trusts the
hero as he does himself.  Iris smiles and is thankful that Barry wasn't
jealous.  Hal Jordan shows his employer a newspaper with the headline
about Carol's date with Green Lantern.  The head of Ferris Aircraft tells
her employee that although they are good friends, the Emerald Gladiator
is the only man for her.  Upon hearing this, the test-pilot vows that
when Carol gets married, it'll be to him, and not his costumed rival.
The executive smiles at Hal's forcefulness and sees a bit of the hero
within him when he's like that.

This story was reprinted in DC Special #18 (October-November, 1975).

It is often a treat to see two super-heroes team up, and in this case, it
is a special read, indeed.

Test-pilot Hal Jordan gets his wish when Carol Ferris calls him
"Darling," but this is only because she's learned that he's really Green
Lantern.

Police scientist Barry Allen is taken for a ride when his fiancee asks to
see his special Flash-ring.

Both of these super-heroes are having an identity crisis of their own.

Carol and Iris have both of their boy friends right where they want them.
I'm sure that Flash and Green Lantern would rather be fighting a
super-villain right now.

Even with an earthquake and a windstorm, the two heroes perform some
heroic feats to save the citizens of Pineaire.

Among the buildings saved during the earthquake are "Murphy's" and "Kane
& Fox."

In the Silver Age, many villains and girlfriends had mansions of their
own.  On the other hand, super-heroes and their pals had their own
apartments.

After the events in this story, Major Disaster came back from the dead,
with the ability to cause disasters now contained within his form.

I wonder what would have happened if the Justice League of America had
asked for their resignations.

Hal Jordan is a test-pilot, while Barry Allen is a police scientist, and
both of these occupations are nothing to sneeze at.

Among their fellow members are Batman and Green Arrow, both are
millionaire playboys who uses special gadgets in their costumed
identities.

In Coast City, the falling meteors fall to strike the building belonging
to "Gil and Annie."

Like the Dynamic Duo in their Batmobile, the Flash and Green Lantern make
do with their trusty rental car.

The Scarlet Speedster gets on G.L.'s case when he finds out about Tom
Kalmuku's Green Lantern Casebook.

The Ferris Aircraft mechanic seems to have more on the ball than
Superman's Pal when it comes to keeping a secret.

I think that Green Lantern's power ring protects him from harm,
especially when he's running at super-speed, and does not have the
benefit of a friction-proof aura.

I can see the poor F.B.I. agent straightening up the files on Green
Lantern and the Flash about their super-powers, then tearing up the index
cards in frustration when things went back to normal.

Even when wearing a white hat, purple suit, and a bow-tie, Paul Booker is
able to elude the Coast City police. This white and purple color scheme
is reflected in the costumed garb worn by Major Disaster's gang.

The falling meteors which fell in Coast City must have contained
Amnesium, which was used by the Man of Steel in Justice League of America
#19 ("The Super-Exiles of Earth!")

As rendered by Gil Kane and Sid Greene, we see how both Carol Ferris and
Iris West are able to capture the hearts of their respective
super-heroes.

Steve Chung
"Catastrophic Reviews of Major Disaster!"

Green Lantern #7 - The Day 100,000 People Vanished!

Green Lantern #7 - The Day 100,000 People Vanished!

Published August 1961

Writer: John Broome
Artists: Gil Kane and Joe Giella
Editor: Julius Schwartz

"The incredible occurrence in Valdale, an ordinarily busy community
on the West Coast, led Green Lantern, stalwart champion of justice,
on a long, long trail that finally brought him face to face with a
fantastic foe -- the amazing Sinestro, a renegade "Green Lantern"
who had joined forces with the evil Weaponers of Qward!"
---------

It's 9:14, and the citizens of Valdale are about on their daily
activities. Without warning, a strange shimmering light appears in
the air, followed by loud crackle. At 9:15, all 100,000 citizens of
Valdale have vanished without a trace!

When news of the mysterious happening is revealed, the entire nation
is stunned. Test pilot Hal Jordan, who is in reality the heroic
Green Lantern, is particularly puzzled. As he relates to his Eskimo
mechanic Thomas "Pieface" Kalmaku, who knows Jordan is the Lantern,
a scan of the entire town with his power ring revealed no clues. But
while returning from the ghost town, the Emerald Guardian recalled
that the mass disappearance occurred after nine. As it happens, he
was supposed to be in Valdale at that time to participate in the
opening ceremony for a boys' settlement house. But he couldn't make
it due to a case he was working on. If he'd kept the appointment, he
would have vanished as well. The discussion of the mystery is
interrupted when GL suffers a momentary blackout and forgets what he
was talking about. This temporary blank of the mind was actually the
summoning of his energy duplicate through the vastness of space to
Oa, home planet of the Guardians of the Universe, leading council of
the Green Lantern Corps.

GL's energy double is stunned to find himself in the Guardians'
council room, and even more stunned when he is informed that they
brought him there to warn him of a great threat against him. One of
the Guardians states that they have always exercised great judgment
when determining whom to bestow power batteries upon, requiring each
potential Green Lantern to prove their worthiness to bear the ring
and defend their sector of the cosmos. But they did make a mistake
in the past. On the world of Korugar in Sector 1417, a being named
Sinestro was chosen to be that planet's Green Lantern. He proved
that he was fearless and heroic, and honored his title by defending
his planet from the forces of evil. But as time passed, the power
Sinestro wielded began to corrupt him. He created a majestic
headquarters for himself and declared himself arbiter of justice,
forcing the citizens of Korugar to wait in line and present their
cases, and he would decide which problems were deserving of his
assistance. His arrogance and pride were growing out of control, and
it would soon progress...

When Ki-Mon, a Korugarn whom Sinestro refused to aid, lashed out at
the alien Green Lantern for becoming power-mad, the crimson-
skinned "guardian" lashed out in anger, striking the poor fellow
down with his power ring. He declared that no one could tell him
what to do, and soon took over his world in a one-man coup. He
became a dictator, dissolving the high council of Korugar and
putting his people under virtual enslavement. Anyone who spoke out
against Sinestro was not seen again. Thankfully for his home world,
the Guardians soon looked in and learned of the tyranny he had
imposed. They brought Sinestro before the council and berated him
for betraying his title and using his power for evil. He was
stripped of his title, ring and power battery, and as punishment for
his evil, banished to the antimatter universe of Qward (first shown
in Green Lantern #2, "The Secret of the Golden Thunderbolts!"),
where all was dictated by evil. The Guardians hoped that they had
eliminated the threat, but again, they were wrong, and that is why
they had to contact Jordan.

Though the Guardians could not enter Qward, they could observe it,
and witnessed scenes that greatly disturbed them. They found that
Sinestro was quick in contacting the masters of that world, the
Weaponers of Qward, and learned of their failed attempts to destroy
the Green Lantern of Earth. He informs the Weaponers that it is
because they are not evil enough, and that he would assist them in
becoming the ultimate in evil. Intrigued by his proposal, the
Qwardians forged and alliance with Sinestro and provided him with
all the resources he required. The exiled Korugarn knows that the
Green Lantern cannot be harmed while his power ring is active, but
he has found a way to exploit that. Using Qward's super radar, which
could detect what was happening on Earth but not directly see into
it, he learned of Green Lantern's appointment in Valdale, and that
during that time his ring would not be active. It was then that he
would activate the device he constructed, the Viso-Teleporter, which
would transport every visible being in Valdale directly to Qward,
including Green Lantern! Jordan was spared because he wasn't in the
city. The Guardians tell him that he must act alone as they have no
jurisdiction in Qward. He agrees, and the energy duplicate is sent
back to return Jordan's body, retaining full knowledge of what he
has learned, information that he cannot reveal to Pieface. With his
body and energy reunited, GL flies off from Ferris Aircraft,
determined to enter Qward, defeat Sinestro, and rescue the 100,000
captives.

At a hillside on the outskirts of Coast City, Jordan locates the
inter-dimensional aperture he had used to enter Qward in the past,
but incredibly it has been sealed! It's obviously the work of
Sinestro to prevent a surprise attack. With no other means of entry
into the evil alternate universe, GL comes to one conclusion, though
it's incredibly risky. Returning to Coast City, he flies overhead,
casting the beam of his ring over every person to temporarily make
them invisible. Soon, he is the only visible man in Coast City, and
therefore the only one capable of being affected by the Viso-
Teleporter. Jordan wanders around, his ring inactive, until he is
struck by the same strange light that appeared over Valdale. As GL
vanishes, the people of Coast City become visible again, the
temporary effects of the ring having worn off.

Jordan materializes in Qward, where the Weaponers are ready for his
arrival. They assumed he would be thrown off and unable to use his
ring during the cross-dimensional trip, and are ready to destroy
their apparently weakened foe. The Verdant Vigilante is bombarded by
radioactive blasts, but he was prepared for an ambush, and creates a
shield with his ring to deflect the attacks. Sinestro, however,
knows how to draw out his enemy. He informs Jordan that if he does
not surrender, then the people of Valdale will be killed. GL has no
other option; he surrenders on the condition that the prisoners are
returned to Valdale. Sinestro agrees, and the 100,000 captives
rematerialize in their city. Jordan, however, remains in Qward,
trapped in a yellow energy bubble which he cannot escape from since
his ring has no power over anything yellow. Sinestro informs his
prisoner that he knows from the super radar when the ring was last
charged, and that it will be out of power at 6:00. When that time
comes, Green Lantern will die! The Qwardians are so impressed with
Sinestro's evil genius that they decide to make him their chieftan.
He accepts, and declares that once Jordan is gone he will lead his
new followers into battle against the Guardians.

The minutes tick by as Jordan seeks a way to escape the bubble and
stop Sinestro's plans. It appears futile until he notices that the
clock in his prison chamber operates by vibration of atomic
particles, and that his ring had been receiving impulses from it. A
plan forms in his head...

When the clock strikes 6:00, GL's ring appears to be drained. He is
released from the bubble, and Sinestro fires a blast from an energy
gun, ready to finish off his foe. But the blast is reflected by a
beam from Jordan's ring, knocking the evil alien back! Sinestro is
perplexed - how could his foe still have power when the time limit
is up? The Emerald Champion reveals his secret; he used his ring to
propel the carbon dioxide he exhaled out of the bubble, firing them
at the clock to make it run faster. Thus, even though it appeared he
was out of time, his ring still worked. Pinning Sinestro to the
wall, he unleashes a tidal wave to wash away the Qwardians. But he
must work quickly. Despite his trick with the clock, he still has
very little time before his ring truly is out of power, and if he
passes the limit, he'll be stuck in the antimatter world.

GL faces his enemy again, only to be met with laughter. Sinestro
gloats that while he would have not hesitated to destroy Jordan, the
code of the Green Lanterns prevents them from killing or harming. He
declares that good is powerless, only evil can act. Furthermore, he
can't be taken back to the world of matter to be imprisoned since he
was banished from that realm for eternity by the Guardians, and a
Green Lantern cannot go against the order of the Guardians. Jordan
concedes that fact, but vows to show Sinestro that he is wrong about
the forces of good being powerless. In a swoop of poetic justice, he
traps Sinestro in an energy bubble created by his ring, one that no
force in Qward can penetrate. With his enemy trapped, GL returns to
his own world through the sealed aperture between universes, using
his ring and will power to propel himself through it. Once he's
returned, he quickly recharges his ring and recites his solemn
oath: "In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my
sight. Let those who worship evil's might beware my power - Green
Lantern's Light!"

The next day, Jordan makes his promised appearance at the Valdale
Boys' Settlement Home. The opening had been postponed to to the
strange events that happened the previous day, and thankfully, the
Emerald Gladiator has nothing to keep him from appearing. Addressing
the youths at the home, Green Lantern tells them that as long as
right is on their side, they can always overcome evil.
----------------------------------------------------------

First appearance of Sinestro, the renegade Green Lantern who would
become one of GL's most persistent and dangerous foes. His physique
is supposed to be based on actor David Niven and altered to look
Satanic.

Sinestro has been prominently featured in animation based on DC
Comics. He first showed up on the small screen in "Challenge of the
Super Rriends" as a member of the Legion of Doom, voiced by Don
Messick.

The Superman animated series of the 1990s reintroduced Sinestro in
the episode "In Brightest Day", as a former Lantern who had been
dismissed from the Corps due to his corruption. He swore a blood
oath against all Lanterns, and slaughtered untold numbers before he
was defeated by Superman and Kyle Rainer. He later reappeared in
Justice League and Justice League Unlimited as a member of both of
Grodd's Secret Societies. In all appearances, he was voiced
by "Monk" star Ted Levine.

His most recent appearance was in "The Batman", voiced by Miguel
Ferrer.