The solicitation for Green Lantern Corps #29 is out. Green Lantern John Stewart finds himself in trouble as the conflict with the Durlans and the Braid Clann heats up. Check out this cool cover art by Francis Portela, followed by the official solicitation.

Written by VAN JENSEN
Art by BERNARD CHANG
Cover by FRANCIS PORTELA
1:25 Robot Chicken Variant cover
On sale MARCH 12 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
John Stewart and his team are surrounded by Durlans and Braid Clann on an unfriendly world. Their only hope is to fight their way out! And in the shadows of the Universe, the Corps’ worst nightmare is coming true: The Sinestro Corps is stirring!

Portella draws a great John Stewart! And return of the Sinestro Corps, hmm? That should be interesting. It seems the Green Lantern Corps just can’t get a break. What else is of interest is that Van Jensen is solely credited with the writing. Perhaps Robert Venditti is no longer co-plotting the book at this point.

But that’s not all! John Stewart will also be playing a crucial role in Injustice Year Two #3.

Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art by BRUNO REDONDO
Cover by JHEREMY RAAPACK
On sale MARCH 26 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST
Superman’s increasing hold over the Earth has concerned the Guardians of the Universe. And with Hal Jordan believing in Superman’s world vision, his allegiance to the Green Lantern Corps is being tested. So under the direction of the Guardians, two more Lanterns – Guy Gardner and John Stewart – are sent on a diplomatic mission to Earth to see the effect of Superman’s rule.

I have heard many great things about the digital first Injustice comics, based on the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us. It’s great to see John Stewart appear. Hopefully he will be a regular occurring character.

Be sure to pick these up in March 2014.

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Here are some pictures of John Stewart in his old school Silver Age threads. I always thought it was nice seeing John in this outfit.

A classic picture from Dave Gibbons. This was during the time when John first assumed the responsibility of being the full time Green Lantern of Sector 2814.

This is John as depicted by Alex Ross, from the series Justice. It was nice seeing John appear in that.

This Keith Pollard image is so Bronze Age. This is from Green Lantern Vol. 2 #165. That issue features a story in which John and Green Arrow team up to defeat a crystal monster that threatens the Earth.

And speaking of the Bronze Age, it would be a shame to not include an image from John Stewart’s creator, Neal Adams. From John Stewart’s debut in 1971…

Looking at these images makes me think of how great a character and concept John Stewart is, as well as his rich history. I think it’s very interesting that he’s a cosmic defender that comes from the ghetto. Going from that environment to the weird wonders of outer space and being granted such vast power is jarring. But it’s a good kind of jarring! I have never seen that done in any kind of serious context aside from John Stewart.

Apparently, not everyone shares my fervor for that combination, however, as we see in this short article:
Marvel VS. DC: Nigga Edition

The writer compares John Stewart to Luke Cage, and prefers Cage because:

…he is a real nigga who stays on the streets real heavy. He was always on the block real heavy in Harlem and took no bullshit. John Stewart is powerful and shit but he’s not on the streets though, I’m not a fan of that outer space shit as much. And plus there are other dudes in the Green Lantern Corps that can do the same shit.

Luke Cage has a big house he paid a dollar for ($1) and he has a white girl on his arm and a kid. This nigga came up from the struggle and is now living the American Dream. While John Stewart is in outer space and shit not making the situation work for him.

What this individual dislikes about John Stewart is exactly one of the things that draws me to the character. What’s cool about John Stewart is he has the ‘for the people‘ aspect to him, as was recently touched upon in Green Lantern Corps #25, while also being a very powerful intergalactic peace keeper. What sets John Stewart apart from some other Bronze Age Black characters is that he’s more than just a ghetto fighter.

How generic is it to have a Black man in the ghetto fighting people? Luke Cage does it, Black Lightning does it, Static does it, and so on. John Stewart is more than just your typical Black superhero, which is a reason why I like the character so much. Honestly, there aren’t many Black superheroes I like. That has nothing to do with their race at all. I just don’t often find them to be interesting concepts and captivating, well fleshed out characters, which might be more a fault of the industry at large than of the characters themselves. To me, great Black characters in comics (at least the ones I’m familiar with) are rare.

After John Stewart, my favorite Black comic character is Mist, who is from a Japanese Manga called Knights, by Murao Minoru. If you’re interested in reading about a great leading Black character, or just interested in a fun manga, I recommend it. You can check it out here:
Knights Manga

But back to that article, I’m not quite sure what the person is talking about when they say…

Luke Cage has a big house he paid a dollar for ($1) and he has a white girl on his arm and a kid.

That’s fine and all, but Hawkgirl over Jessica Jones any day of the week!

Above image by Lil’ Hawk.

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Categories: News

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