Certain things have really been rubbing me the wrong way lately. One is false advertising from DC Comics that relates to John Stewart, which I have written about in this article, and another is certain fans trying to convince John Stewart fans that we should settle for less, and ultimately buy crap we’re not interested in. This is usually suggested to us under the belief that it is all for the betterment of the Green Lantern franchise, or, weirdly, diversity in comics.

See, the idea works like this: if you buy a bunch of Hal Jordan or whoever comics, maybe… maybe… there is a chance you may eventually see a John Stewart spin off. And if you buy enough comics that feature black characters like John Stewart as worthless token wallpaper, then maybe… maybe… there is the chance that DC might actually do something worthwhile with the characters.

First, I’m going to admit an unfortunate truth. Many of us have already played those games with DC before. We never should have in the first place, because they are based on incredibly flawed, warped, backwards principles. But we did. And guess what we discovered? None of it leads anywhere, except for the thinning of our wallets and the fattening of DC’s coffers, all toward products we don’t really support. DC winds up doing the exact same things they have always been doing; sucking at black characters in general and pushing John as far in the background as they reasonably can.

When you ask me to support that, or suggest that I should, what I have to say to you is “kiss my butt.” I will buy products that I am interested in. Those are the only products I will buy. At this stage, I am not interested in Green Lantern products that feature Green Lanterns other than John Stewart, because I ultimately don’t care about those characters enough. There is nothing wrong with that and I have no shame about it, nor should I. I never signed a contract saying that just because I am a fan of John Stewart, I must also support all these other completely different characters that are not John Stewart.

A counter argument seems to be “if you think John Stewart was ever meant to be a big deal, you’re delusional. He was never set up to be that.” If that’s the case, then I’m definitely not going to spend my money on those products.

Many fans of John Stewart are interested in him because he was a big deal on a television program that went out to way more people than any of those comic books. On Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, John was treated as an important, complex hero of high standing, who was integral to the show, and who didn’t really take a backseat to anyone, least of all a bunch of characters that aren’t recognized as much as he is.

If DC wants to ignore all the people who grew up watching John Stewart presented that way, and who still watch him, well, that’s their decision. They tried that before when the 2011 Green Lantern film arrived, and we saw the response it got. Some of these fans who make these suggestions don’t seem to fully realize that DC isn’t who has the power here. I don’t even think DC fully realizes that. We are the ones with the power. We have what DC wants, which is money.

Either DC offers what we want, or we won’t give them our money. That only makes sense. That’s how I operate with everything else, so I’m not sure why John Stewart should be any different. When I go to the deli, I buy pepper turkey instead of roast beef, because I like pepper turkey. I don’t ever buy roast beef on the fragile hope of some weird round about benefit that likely won’t even happen.

If the whole thing somehow doesn’t work out, and the Green Lantern franchise gets shot to hell, what do I care? It wasn’t giving me what I wanted to see anyway, and DC seems determined to keep things that way, so it’s not like I’ll have any sad feelings about that. There are innumerable other things I can spend my money and time on that I actually like and that don’t frustrate me.

Therefore, no one should think for a second that John Stewart fans in general are somehow at the mercy of DC Comics and need to capitulate to them. If push comes to shove, we’ll be perfectly fine packing our bags, going where the weather is nicer, and enjoying ourselves with products that give us what we want. Indeed, many of us have already done just that.

In the end, the divided state of the Green Lantern fanbase is a situation DC has put themselves in that either they will work out or they won’t. The fans are not at all accountable for the sorry state of the Green Lantern franchise, nor are they the ones responsible for fixing DC’s problems.

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Welcome back to Green Lantern: Starlit Crisis! Take a look at pages one through five of issue #2, as well as the cover:
Cover
Title page
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5

I would like to give a huge thanks to those who have supported Starlit Crisis and GreenLantern.Co through the accompanying Patreon page. You are playing a big part in helping to keep the project going. To everyone else, if you enjoy Starlit Crisis and want to see more, please support it with an amount you’re comfortable with by clicking the big orange “Become a Patron” button on the Starlit Crisis Patreon page:
GreenLantern.Co Patreon

I love making Starlit Crisis, I know and am flattered that others love it, and I’d like to keep on making it and I can with sufficient support. If this is the entertainment you’re looking for, then PLEASE SUPPORT THE BOOK! Also, spread the word by telling your friends or anyone you may think would be interested, and follow me on twitter by clicking the blue button at the end of this post to keep up with all Starlit Crisis updates!

If you’re totally new to Starlit Crisis, you can catch up by reading Chapter One at the link below:
Chapter 1 – The Quest Begins! (Welcome to a Brand New Crisis)

Be on the lookout for more Green Lantern: Starlit Crisis content. It will be coming very soon! Thank you for all your feedback and support, and for taking the time to check out the project.

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DC Comics has released their solicitations for August 2016, and I have something to say about one of the issues of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps that is listed among them. I want to make it clear that I am not reporting on this solicitation just for the sake of news, because I usually wouldn’t report on this book, but rather for another issue entirely.

I find it absolutely hilarious, and even pathetic, that DC Comics continues to try to fool John Stewart’s fans into buying their products by putting out covers like the one seen above, which make it seem like DC actually cares about the John Stewart character, when in reality, they don’t. DC puts these images out, which prominently feature John, and then, when the John fan buys the book, they discover that it’s absolutely nothing they want to read. In the stories, John is presented as a background afterthought while some other Green Lantern has a considerably more prominent role. In the end, the John fan is tricked and upset they spent their money on a story they would have skipped if DC hadn’t fooled them with a solicitation and/or cover.

We saw this with the “Darkseid War” storyline in Geoff Johns’ Justice League as well as the Green Lantern one shot tie in to “Darkseid War, we saw it with Green Lantern Corps: Edge of Oblivion, and we’re seeing it again. They just do not stop. You may think that I am jumping the gun with my sentiments, since the issue in question has yet to be released, but given all that DC has done, I don’t have any reason to believe otherwise. Indeed, let’s consider the solicitation text:

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #2
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art and covers by RAFA SANDOVAL and JORDI TARRAGONA
Variant covers by KEVIN NOWLAN
Retailers: These issues will ship with two covers each. Please see the order form for details.
“Sinestro’s Law” part two! As Sinestro’s grip around the universe grows tighter, Guy Gardner takes on the mission to bring the Green Lantern Corps back from the edge of oblivion to reclaim their role as protectors of the cosmos.
On sale AUGUST 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T

Why is John occupying such a prominent spot on the cover when, going by the solicitation, he doesn’t seem to play a major role in the story? Could it be because DC is trying to hoodwink John’s fans into buying something those fans won’t care about? Probably. As mentioned, DC has employed that tactic many times before. It’s also upsetting to hear that Guy Gardner is supposedly the one to save the Corps from peril, when I’m confident that spot was originally supposed to go to John Stewart in Green Lantern: Lost Army. Furthermore, DC ought to know better than to try to entice John’s fans with a comic titled Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps. That title is a total turn off for a John Stewart fan, and yet another example of DC’s shamelessness.

Keep your consolation prizes, DC, because they’re insulting and I don’t want them. I’m not interested in the second and third class status you try to relegate John Stewart and his fans to just to conservatively guard your precious white male power fantasy, which you already have in abundance. And before you, or anyone else, tries to defend with those two characters no one cares about in the Green Lanterns title, I’m not falling for your front. You are as transparent as saran wrap, and my respect for your company and your methods just goes down and down and down.

I am offended and disgusted by this, because DC continues to shamelessly try to rob us, while putting up a front like they’re actually doing something for us. I know disingenuous diversity when I see it, and unfortunately, that is the main kind of diversity I see from DC Comics. DC does attempts at diversity just to say they have it, because they would look suspicious if they didn’t. What they clearly really care about is being old-timey comic conservatives, which is evident in their output, and is largely why Marvel continues to thrash them in every arena.

I want DC to do good if DC is smart and doing things that make sense, but as long as DC chooses to be old-timey, disingenuous, geriatric, and out of touch, and not even seeming to care, then I will continue to steer clear of their products.

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