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A review by monitaroymohan
Alan Scott: The Green Lantern vol. 1 by Tim Sheridan
4.0
I saw a preview of this book in a different comic and was so intrigued I decided to have a read. I have no knowledge of Alan Scott. He’s the first Green Lantern but sort of fell away after the Golden Age. Apparently, in the New-52, he was revealed to be gay. Which really messed things up for the timeline given that Alan is also the father of two other superheroes.
I didn’t know any of this when I started reading the comic, but you don’t need to to get into the story. While this mini series is, to my mind anyway, a comprehensive explanation for the retcon, it is also a heart-breaking examination of the suppression of love and identity in the supposed Golden Age. I was on the verge of tears during much of the book because it was so sad. So so sad. And it’s not even the worst thing any of us have read of, or know about, what the gay and queer community have had to endure. And continue to endure today. It just, I guess, seemed so crushing for someone who is a superhero to have to feel so much guilt and shame for loving other men, and for him to feel like he had no recourse but to eventually live a lie anyway. At least he didn’t get beat up on a regular basis, unlike his gay kin. But then again, he went through hell in Arkham, so, not much was smooth sailing for him. And in the end, to preserve the timeline and ensure his kids are born, Alan ends up living as a straight man for decades anyway. That sucks.
The story is interesting, even though I didn’t understand all the lore about the Lanterns. Alan is a soldier and a scientist on a very specific mission during the war, which is when he meets Johnny and it’s love at first sight for Alan. Their romance plays out in secret, and it’s sweet but also, as I said heartbreaking. Of course things go sideways, but Alan keeps bouncing back. A stint at Arkham and finally being claimed by the Lantern later, and Alan is still unshakable.
And that’s when there’s a twist in the tale. You think you know what the twist is, but it’s a lot more—and I go back to this again—heart-breaking than you thought. It was so weirdly affecting to read.
The essence of this book is betrayal by one’s own country. These characters feel like they are beholden to bigger fish, but those fish don’t care about them. Alan and the Red Lantern are meat, weapons, small fry, disposable, to their governments. I found it interesting how the book leans into just how nasty and insidious J Edgar Hoover was, and how Alan got caught in a bind with him, but was able to break through in the end.
But the Red Lantern’s story was horrifying. So little shown, so much more implied. It’s scary how brainwashed some people can be that they welcome their own pain. I know American books and media love to point fingers at how other countries do this to their people, but drinking the kool-aid is an American coinage. Just saying. But at least the book does posit that all countries have bad guys in power.
Part of me refuses to believe that Johnny was truthfully saying that he never loved Alan. Like, really mate? He still calls Alan ‘my love’, but is that snark and sarcasm, or hiding the truth? In any case, the fact is that the love of Alan’s life came back from the dead but as a villain who claimed to have never loved him. And then it seems the two encountered one another several times afterwards and what, just had to fight each other like there wasn’t this backstory of love behind them? The more I think about it, the sadder I get.
I knocked a star off because this series should have been longer. I felt the last issue was too rushed, and some of the dialogue and art didn’t quite sync up to make a cohesive narrative. I also think they should have given us more story—the fourth issue ends up with a lot of exposition. That too is heart breaking, though. Love how the creators connected Alan’s resilience to live and love with the power needed to be a Green Lantern, willpower.
There’s a weird thing this book does—there’s a snippet of the story in the Pride book. You won’t miss much of the story without that bit, but it lends just a tiny bit more context to one particular flashback scene.
My one big criticism would be, once Johnny is killed, Alan moves on pretty fast to other flings. I would have liked the creators to make it more obvious that he was still grieving, but maybe he was trying to move on with his life and make the most of it? Or something. Alan’s heart is totally with Johnny, so it’s a disconnect that he loves so quickly again.
The Arkham Asylum bits needed to be longer—not the torture stuff—but you’re writing a commentary on the deplorable state of mental health care and discrimination against anyone who’s different, there has to be more substance. I am glad that it seems Billie was ok in the end and she’s a burlesque singer at the end of the book, it looks like. Good to have closed the loop on that subplot. But I still don’t know how Billie was able to make the lantern that charges the ring. Like how’d she know to make that and where did she get the materials needed for it? Still don’t know.
There’s very little of the JSA in this. I don’t know them much, so I’m fine with that. I like how the Spectre, a man of god who is not religious, puts Alan at ease about his sexuality.
The art is gorgeous in this book. The character faces are expressive, the colours are beyond stunning. I was drawn into the story all the more deeply because of the beautiful artwork.
Can I just say, I want to read more of Alan. But the Alan who’s comfortable with his sexuality and finding new partners. Kinda like Bobby Drake and his gay renaissance. But I don’t know if that’ll happen. I mean, Bobby doesn’t get much page time anymore, so would Alan fare any better?
That last panel though, so lovely. Like, I can’t get over how emotional I got during this series, and that last panel should be a mantra that every queer person recites to themselves when they’re down.
I didn’t know any of this when I started reading the comic, but you don’t need to to get into the story. While this mini series is, to my mind anyway, a comprehensive explanation for the retcon, it is also a heart-breaking examination of the suppression of love and identity in the supposed Golden Age. I was on the verge of tears during much of the book because it was so sad. So so sad. And it’s not even the worst thing any of us have read of, or know about, what the gay and queer community have had to endure. And continue to endure today. It just, I guess, seemed so crushing for someone who is a superhero to have to feel so much guilt and shame for loving other men, and for him to feel like he had no recourse but to eventually live a lie anyway. At least he didn’t get beat up on a regular basis, unlike his gay kin. But then again, he went through hell in Arkham, so, not much was smooth sailing for him. And in the end, to preserve the timeline and ensure his kids are born, Alan ends up living as a straight man for decades anyway. That sucks.
The story is interesting, even though I didn’t understand all the lore about the Lanterns. Alan is a soldier and a scientist on a very specific mission during the war, which is when he meets Johnny and it’s love at first sight for Alan. Their romance plays out in secret, and it’s sweet but also, as I said heartbreaking. Of course things go sideways, but Alan keeps bouncing back. A stint at Arkham and finally being claimed by the Lantern later, and Alan is still unshakable.
And that’s when there’s a twist in the tale. You think you know what the twist is, but it’s a lot more—and I go back to this again—heart-breaking than you thought. It was so weirdly affecting to read.
The essence of this book is betrayal by one’s own country. These characters feel like they are beholden to bigger fish, but those fish don’t care about them. Alan and the Red Lantern are meat, weapons, small fry, disposable, to their governments. I found it interesting how the book leans into just how nasty and insidious J Edgar Hoover was, and how Alan got caught in a bind with him, but was able to break through in the end.
But the Red Lantern’s story was horrifying. So little shown, so much more implied. It’s scary how brainwashed some people can be that they welcome their own pain. I know American books and media love to point fingers at how other countries do this to their people, but drinking the kool-aid is an American coinage. Just saying. But at least the book does posit that all countries have bad guys in power.
Part of me refuses to believe that Johnny was truthfully saying that he never loved Alan. Like, really mate? He still calls Alan ‘my love’, but is that snark and sarcasm, or hiding the truth? In any case, the fact is that the love of Alan’s life came back from the dead but as a villain who claimed to have never loved him. And then it seems the two encountered one another several times afterwards and what, just had to fight each other like there wasn’t this backstory of love behind them? The more I think about it, the sadder I get.
I knocked a star off because this series should have been longer. I felt the last issue was too rushed, and some of the dialogue and art didn’t quite sync up to make a cohesive narrative. I also think they should have given us more story—the fourth issue ends up with a lot of exposition. That too is heart breaking, though. Love how the creators connected Alan’s resilience to live and love with the power needed to be a Green Lantern, willpower.
There’s a weird thing this book does—there’s a snippet of the story in the Pride book. You won’t miss much of the story without that bit, but it lends just a tiny bit more context to one particular flashback scene.
My one big criticism would be, once Johnny is killed, Alan moves on pretty fast to other flings. I would have liked the creators to make it more obvious that he was still grieving, but maybe he was trying to move on with his life and make the most of it? Or something. Alan’s heart is totally with Johnny, so it’s a disconnect that he loves so quickly again.
The Arkham Asylum bits needed to be longer—not the torture stuff—but you’re writing a commentary on the deplorable state of mental health care and discrimination against anyone who’s different, there has to be more substance. I am glad that it seems Billie was ok in the end and she’s a burlesque singer at the end of the book, it looks like. Good to have closed the loop on that subplot. But I still don’t know how Billie was able to make the lantern that charges the ring. Like how’d she know to make that and where did she get the materials needed for it? Still don’t know.
There’s very little of the JSA in this. I don’t know them much, so I’m fine with that. I like how the Spectre, a man of god who is not religious, puts Alan at ease about his sexuality.
The art is gorgeous in this book. The character faces are expressive, the colours are beyond stunning. I was drawn into the story all the more deeply because of the beautiful artwork.
Can I just say, I want to read more of Alan. But the Alan who’s comfortable with his sexuality and finding new partners. Kinda like Bobby Drake and his gay renaissance. But I don’t know if that’ll happen. I mean, Bobby doesn’t get much page time anymore, so would Alan fare any better?
That last panel though, so lovely. Like, I can’t get over how emotional I got during this series, and that last panel should be a mantra that every queer person recites to themselves when they’re down.