Celebrating Green Lantern's 75th Birthday With Cake

The party continues for Green Lantern's 75th anniversary but let's face it, what is a party without cake?  And what is a geek party without geek cake?  So, in an exciting first for Flodo's Page, I would like to welcome a very special guest writer to the blog.  She is the undisputed queen of geek cakes and my long-time Super-Blog Team-Up comrade, Karen Williams from Between The Pages Blog, the most delicious nerd culture fansite on the web.  In honour of GL's 75th Karen has a real treat in store for us - five of the finest Green Lantern themed cakes ever baked. So without further ado...

KW:       Back in 1940, Martin Nodell, a young comic book creator who had only been working for All-American Publications for a short period of time, went to the opera and saw Richard Wagner's classic The Ring of the Nibelung. He left with the idea for a superhero whose powers came from a magic ring. From that idea, Martin went on to create a new superhero called Green Lantern. That was 75 years ago this summer! So today, we are celebrating Green Lantern's 75th birthday with cake!

Alan Scott was the original Green Lantern. Here is Alan with his famous Golden Age counter parts: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash. Talk about a winning hand. The awesome Justice Society of America / Poker Hand Cake was made by Annette.

By the 1950s, interest in superheroes was waning. So In 1951, DC Comics published the last appearance of the Justice Society of America. This was Alan Scott’s last Golden Age appearance. This probably would have been Green Lantern’s last appearance ever if not for Julius Schwartz. Julie was an agent for famous science fiction writers like Ray Bradbury and H.P. Lovecraft. But, he was also a comic book editor. Since science fiction was popular, he decide to try to revive golden age characters like Green Lantern, The Flash, The Atom, and Hawkman by creating new versions of these classic characters and giving them a science fiction spin. In 1959, a new Green Lantern – Hal Jordan appeared. Hal was given his ring by a dying alien, had adventures in space, worked for a little blue men, and was part of The Green Lantern Corp. This great cake, made by Jo Takes The Cake, is based on the Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern’s costume.

 

This stunning cake, made by Matty Cakes, recreated Green Lantern's power battery.

 

 

In 2011, Green Lantern stared in his own feature film. This cool cake, made by Erivana Cakes, features the lantern, glove, and power ring from the movie.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Green Lantern’s popularity was dropping again. In 2004, up and coming comic book writer Geoff Johns became the writer of Green Lantern. He began a 10 year run on Green Lantern that would add tons of new characters to the Green Lantern universe and restore Green Lantern’s popularity. For years, the Green Lantern Corps had green power rings and Sinestro, the renegade Green Lantern, had a yellow power ring. Geoff Johns created a whole series of power rings. In addition to Green there is Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Black, and White. Each ring color is powered by a particular emotion. Green = Willpower, Red = Rage, Orange = Avarice, Blue = Hope, Indigo = Compassion, Violet = Love, Black = Death, and White = Life. This wedding cake, made by the legendary Carlo’s Bake Shop (home of Buddy, the Cake Boss), is based on the cover to Green Lantern 18. It features Green Lantern, Star Sapphire, and Larfleeze.

It has been 75 years, since Martin Nodell, sat in the audience of an opera and dreamed of a superhero with a magic ring. Like that ring, Green Lantern’s first 75 years have been magical. Happy Birthday Alan Scott and Thank You Martin for creating magic!

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And thank you Karen for treating us to such wonderful collection of cakes.  You can find more from Karen on her fabulous Between The Pages blog, and if you pop over there right now you might even come across a Green Lantern anniversary guest post from yours truly!

And don't forget to check out all the other fansites and podcasts that are joining Karen and me in celebrating 75 illustrious years of Green Lantern.

Back Where It All Began - 75 YEARS OF GREEN LANTERN

In 1940, while much of the world was headed on a devastating course towards World War, a new hero burst into life in the pages of All-Americans Comics to “shed light upon dark evil.”  And 75 years later the legacy of this self-same hero continues to do just that.  In that time we have been introduced to literally hundreds of character baring the moniker of Green Lantern but I thought it would be a fitting 75^th anniversary tribute to take a look back at where it all began.

All-American Comics #16 has a cover date of July 1940 but according to that wonderful reference source Mike’s Amazing World of Comics the issue actually hit newspaper stands on May 21, 1940.  The book was a collection of humour and adventure romps that included original stories alongside reprints of older strip comics.  The cover art of most previous issues promised readers a rollicking good adventure but nothing compared to the thrilling noir of a masked, cloaked Alan Scott leaping perilously across an exposed girder straight into the muzzle of a loaded tommy gun.  The character’s origin tale is a whistle-stop tour of everything that ever went into a ‘boys’ own adventure’.

The Green Lantern opens with an explosive train crash orchestrated by a crooked businessman seeking revenge after losing out on a new construction contract.  The only survivor of the crash is his rival who is protected by the supernatural light emanating from a mysterious green railway lantern. The lantern speaks to the survivor, Alan Scott, in “an ageless, toneless voice”, recounting the details of its own magical history.  It first came to earth as a flaming meteor with prophetic abilities and was duly carved into a lantern shape by Chinese lamp maker with a reputation for sorcery.  Fearing the lamp was cursed, the lamp maker’s associates killed him and burned his possessions own to meet their only dreadful end to the mystic green flame.  The lamp next turns up many years later to grant sanity to a patient in a mental asylum.  The patient remoulds the lamp into a modern railway lantern which finally passes into the hands of Scott during that fateful train journey.  The lantern imbues him with extraordinary powers and recruits him to fight evil.  All this this in 3 pages of a comic book!  They don’t write ‘em like that anymore…

Despite the many developments and new directions introduced with Green Lantern over the course of the last 75 years it is pleasing to note some of today’s core character traits were established in this very first story.  The Lantern explains the nature of its gift to Alan, “Power shall be yours if you have faith in yourself.  Lose that faith and you shall lose the energetic power of the Green Lantern, for will power is the flame of Green Lantern”.  Without these words, penned by legendary writer Bill Finger, Geoff Johns might never have created the emotional spectrum and the landscape of the modern day Green Lantern universe might look very different indeed.  How could artist Martin Nodell have know, when he devised this character at the age of 25 under the pseudonym Mart Dellon, that it would go on to become his most famous creation. Nodell didn’t want his works in comics to stigmatise his chances of an advertising career.  And while we are discussing credits, much respect should be paid to Sheldon Moldoff for bringing us the gripping noir cover mentioned earlier. 

Under the green flame’s instruction Alan Scott fashions a ring from its metal that manifests his powers for 24 hours before being recharged at the green flame’s lantern source.  His first act as a newly appointed superhero is to swear vengeance on the saboteur responsible for the tragic deaths of his fellow train passengers.  The ring immediately flies him through the air to the villain’s hideaway.  It spirits him straight through the wall where he confronts the crook and his startled henchmen.  The flames protective green aura renders Alan impervious to bullets and a steel blade but he unwittingly discovers the green energy’s ‘Achilles heel’ when he is struck over the head by a simple wooden billy club.  This flaw in Green Lantern’s power set was published a full 3 years before Kryptonite was officially introduced to the Superman mythos and would be the forerunner to the Silver and Bronze Age Green Lantern Corps’ weakness to exert the powers over anything coloured yellow.

Of course, the hero was not down for long and Scott immediately bounced back with a flying kick that Bruce Lee would be proud of and a round of good old fashioned fisticuffs that soundly took care of his would be attackers.  Powered by his ring, he whisked the criminal’s leader high into the sky and threatened do drop him.  Not surprisingly the bad guy spilled everything and signed a confession before promptly dying of shock.  Poetic justice is served and Alan feels destiny pulling him towards a life fighting evil wherever he finds it.  The saga ends with our protagonist declaring he will become a dreaded figure sporting a costume so bizarre that he will never be forgotten.  With that he dons the famous Dracula cloak and the red and green swashbuckling garb that has been the original Green Lantern’s signature style ever since.

But what would Green Lantern be without his oath?  The traditional GL oath has seen some changes and variations over the years but the solemn vow to shine brightly over evil has its roots right here in All-American Comics #16, “…And I will shed my light over dark evil… for the dark things cannot stand the light… the light of The Green Lantern".

I’m sure Martin Nodell and Bill Finger could never have imagined how far Green Lantern would go.  All of his earliest appearances pitted him against hoodlums and petty criminals.  He stared down the barrels of revolvers and machines guns and slugged his way to victory with a tasty right hook.  It seems another world from the cosmic level dramas of Zero Hour or Blackest Night, from Kingdom Come or Lights Out.  But all of these stories owe a huge debt of gratitude to an 8 page pulp adventure from 1940 that intrigued and delighted its young readers and kept them coming back for more.  Then again, maybe the journey from street level vigilante to galactic peacekeeper is not so unpredictable after all.  For even in this very first story the mighty power of Green Lantern came from a meteor that crashed to Earth from space.  Perhaps it’s only fitting that one day it would return to the stars once again.

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You can enjoy the early adventures of Green Lantern for yourself in DC Archive Editions: The Golden Age Green Lantern, Volume 1, available from Amazon and all good comic book stores everywhere.

If you enjoyed this post please do keep coming back to Flodo’s Page through June and July 2015 when we will have some other great surprises to celebrate 75 years of Green Lantern.

If that isn't enough for you (and let's face it - why would it be?) be sure to check out these other amazing Green Lantern fansites and podcasts who will be celebrating GL’s 75^th birthday right along with us:

Blog of Oa

The Lanterncast

Green Blogger's Site

The Brighest Day, The Blackest Night

For more anniversary awesomeness with everybody’s favourite Emerald Gladiator make sure search the hashtag #GL75TH across social media platforms.

Until next time, “Beware Our Power!”

The Ballad of Two Green Lanterns

In a city known as Gotham, on a world some call Earth Two

A hero leaps into the air to get a better view

Of a cascading meteor on a fiery assault.

He shoots a beam of energy to bring it to a halt.

Mysteriously the shooting star disappeared before his eyes

And left our hero open mouthed at a marvellous surprise.

The hero was Green Lantern, wood the Achilles of his ring.

Until that fiery meteor gave him power over everything.

Immediately he hatched a plan, hesitation he had none

As he cleaved vibratory barriers to the world some call Earth One.

He vowed to find his counterpart, the Green Lantern of this place

And tell him of the meteor that fell to Earth from space.

His friend deserved to hear the news, he was an amazing fellow

But he had a weakness too you see, it was the colour yellow.

Unfortunately when GL arrived all was not as he had thought

His ring had lost control of wood, his journey was for naught.

An answer was required, decided Earth Two’s Alan Scott,

And so his magic power ring revealed an evil plot.

An immortal was the cause of all, Krona was his name.

He had schemed to use Alan’s powers to further his own game.

Krona had been imprisoned for the evil he had done

And could not escape the meteor unless he travelled to Earth One.

He knew that Alan would go at once to try and help his friend

If he could fix his power ring and bring its weakness to an end.

Krona’s plan had worked, of course. He was once again the master,

He set about to plague the world with disaster after disaster.

Hal Jordan, Lantern of Earth One, leapt to action straight away

To stop the winds and floods and quakes as he tried to save the day.

His Earth Two pal was at his side to lend a helping hand,

For our two heroes were mighty brave, with Will at their command.

But this not the end of things, even as the dust began to settle

Krona had one more trick to play to test the Lantern’s mettle.

He unleashed stupendous mental strength and took over Alan’s body

(Perhaps he liked the hero’s garb, so colourful and gaudy!).

I’m sure this is the fight that fans would like to see,

Green Lantern and Green Lantern locked in adversity.

Hal Jordan was much less impressed, he had no wish to duel

His friend from another world; how could Krona be so cruel?

Even so he joined the fray, a duty to fulfil,

He’d beat the villain, free his chum and show the power of Will.

Alas it was not meant to be, Krona was far too clever.

He used his stolen Lantern powers to scupper Hal’s endeavour.

All the while Alan Scott had hid in Jordan’s ring,

He appeared now in the nick of time to take care of everything.

The two Green Lantern’s merged their thoughts, their brains became as one.

Convinced that joined together, they’d see the scoundrel’s scheme undone.

In the end the simple dupe of switching rings was all was needed.

With Krona beat, the world was saved, our heroes had succeeded!

In a city known as Gotham, on a world some call Earth Two

A hero leaps into the air to get a clearer view

Of a burning meteor on a path of mass destruction.

But it’s no match for his Lantern power, an energy ring construction.

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I hope you enjoyed my little ballad inspired by the parallel world adventure originally told in Green Lantern #40, (vol. 2), 1965. For more fun and frolics from alternate realities and other worlds please click the links below and join the Super-Blog Team-Up as they introduce you to a myriad of mysterious lands and strange places the like of which you have never seen before!

Amazing Spider-Talk:
Chasing Amazing
The Case Against Spider-Man Reign
Superior Spider-Talk
The Case For Spider-Man Reign

Between The Pages

A Tale Of Two Cities On The Edge Of Forever
 

Bronze Age Babies

Things Are a Little Different Around Here...

Firestorm Fan

Firestorm on Infinite Earths -- Countdown Arena

Flodo's Page

The Ballad of Two Green Lanterns

In My Not So Humble Opinion

The Many Worlds of Tesla Strong

The Legion of Super-Bloggers

Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes

 

Longbox Graveyard

X-Men #141 & 142: Days of Future Past
 

The Marvel Super Heroes Podcast (i.e. part of Rolled Spine Podcast)

Epic Comics’ Doctor Zero
 

Mystery Vlog

Marvel & DC's Secret Crossover: Avengers #85–86 (1st Squadron Supreme)

Superhero Satellite

Marvel Comics' Star Comics Line: “Licensed Reality and Parallel Properties”

Ultraverse Network

Altered Reality: The Ultraverse Before and After Black September
 

The Unspoken Decade (1/2)

The Ghost in the Machine: Robocop versus Terminator
 

The Unspoken Decade (2/2)

5 Batmen, 1 Superman, ZERO HOUR



A Traditional Season's Greeting

Christmas and the holiday season is a very traditional time of year when we remember times past and family spread far and wide.

With this in mind I was struck by the appropriateness of the cover for Green Lantern #18 (vol. 1), 1945.  You couldn't be any more traditional in the Green Lantern universe than Alan Scott and Doiby Dickens, the original Golden-Age GL and his trusty cab driving sidekick.  And while they may not be from Oa, these two are definitely part of the wider Green Lantern family and the inspiration for some of the finest superhero comics ever written.

So from myself and all our contributors here at Flodo's Page, have a Merry Christmas, a wonderful holiday and may 2015 bring the Brightest Day to you, your family and all of your loved ones.

Check me out... with Green Lantern!

DC Comics have released a selection of "selfie" variants this month to adorn the covers of some of their mainstream titles.  

And, I have to say, I am enjoying the heck out of them
 a lot more than any self-respecting mid thirty-something family man should probably choose to admit...

Green Lantern Corps #34 by Mike McKone

Green Lantern #34 by Craig Rousseau

Earth 2 #26 by Kevin Maguire

With This Power Ring I Thee Wed

My lovely twitter pals @HulkSmash1985 and @LottieJonesy are getting married next week so I thought it would be only right to wish them the very best of wedding luck... Lantern style.

Something old,

something new,

something borrowed,

something blue!

Have the best day ever, guys!!!