The Green Lantern by Morrison

General Discussion Comic Books
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So I recently dropped The Green Lantern by Grant Morrison. Initially I had a favorable opinion of it, based on the art (Liam Sharp does amazing work), and based on the fact that revelations made in later issues would somewhat clear my confusion over what I was reading. Towards the end of the 12 issue run though, I would be lying if I said I understood half of what I was reading. Kind of embarrassed that I don’t even know what to ask…that’s how convoluted I found the material. I like space stuff though…and I’m interested in the whole Green Lantern thing. There’s a lot of rave reviews online about this series, (none of which seem to be as confused as I am) and I can’t help but feel that I’m missing out.

  • Am I alone in this department? Anyone feel the same? Maybe it’s easy to follow and I’m just not very bright? Maybe I need background material?
  • Should I give it another chance? I think they’re doing a Blackstars mini-series now to bridge the gap between the 12-issue runs.
  • Any helpful sites that can help clarify the story a bit more?
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It sounds like Morrison just isn’t for you. His work gets a lot of praise, but there is also many people that think he gets too crazy and don’t enjoy his work at all.

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@50710 perhaps you are right. I didn’t find his All Star Superman confusing though. I guess the combination of:

  • Interest in the Green Lantern material.
  • Admiration of Liam Sharp’s art.
  • Heavy praise given to the series

…really made me want to like the series. Your point is well taken though. Difference between wanting to like something and actually liking it.

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All-Star Superman is one of the few Morrison comics that isn’t very divisive. It is much easier to read than his other work.

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Intergalactic lawman is amazing, have you read that?

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No I have not @LEXC0RP. A GL story, I take it?

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I tend to really like Morrison’s work, but he steadily lost me on GL

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@msgtv for the same reasons I mentioned or other reasons?

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I felt like I was stupid when reading Green Lantern, that I should have studied harder to understand this genius.

In the end i bought the whole lot, the last half unread.

I will not be buying or reading his new series. Coming out this week.where Hal is not one of the good guys.

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@TurokSonOfStone1950…your opening sentence pretty much sums up how I felt while reading the last few issues.

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I had the last three sitting there unread, finally just powered through them so I would be done. I can’t not finish something

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Exactly, bumpy but promising start that got steadily more obtuse

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On a “Morrison Ease of Comprehension” scale where 1 is All Star Superman and 10 is Final Crisis, I’d say The Green Lantern is a 5.

I love it. Yeah, you’re not always going to follow exactly what’s going on or why things are happening. Or you’ll need to go back and reread to piece it together. But even with that, I find the wild ideas and incredible art a journey I look forward to every month.

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I actually haven’t been read any of it. I’m going to give it a try. Green Lantern is one of my all time favorites, and Morrison is my favorite writer. I’ll report back later.

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I love Morrison’s work, especially the stuff that makes my brain hurt. I usually reread his stuff multiple times, and through that process understand more of it. But The Filth still has me scratching my head.

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Interesting…so what y’all are saying is the confusion is part of the appeal. Meant to be slow reads with re-reads to fully comprehend?

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@Le_Pig…I agree regarding the art…also something about the general vibe. That’s what kept me reading. Perhaps I need to read the whole thing together again and maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to appreciate it more. Can’t say that’s my preferred way of enjoying a comic though.

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Yea its a good one, give it a try.

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I didn’t like Grant Morrison’s Green Lantern. I dropped it after the 3rd issue, and I only got #2 and #3 because I had pre ordered them. He’s really hit and miss with me. I liked Seven Soldiers of Victory and some of his Batman run but it’s hard to forgive him for Damian Wayne’s existence.

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Morrison revels in the esoteric. Look at any of his major DC work and you’ll see that he’s attracted to stuff that most writers have no interest in touching. Not only conceptually, but also continuity-wise.

This isn’t a good or bad thing, merely subjective. I personally find that I’m initially lost, but after a re-examining of what I’ve read (coupled with researching the more obscure bits he sprinkles in) I come out of it knowing the character’s history a bit better, and that’s cool to me.

I would recommend his JLA run. It’s pretty digestible and still one of the best Justice League runs of all time!

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