Feeling Green Again
- Ron
- 6 hours ago
- 4 min read
Last week saw release of Green Lantern #33, which was also Green Lantern #600 for the sake of legacy numbering. DC invited me and my Kyle Rayner co-creator Darryl Banks to team up again for a Kyle story, something to celebrate the Green Lantern legacy as whole, and Kyle’s in particular.
The result is “Light in Darkness” with Darry providing pencils and inks, color by Chris Sotomayor, and letters by Dave Sharpe. I’m not sure it sums up everything we wanted to say about Kyle – that’s probably a much longer story – but it’s at least a love letter to our guy. Darryl drew the hell out of the pages, including designing two new Green Lanterns who appear in the story.
With Darryl’s kind permission, these are his design sheets for the new characters (whose names changed slightly in the final story). We discussed the inspiration for the characters in person when we were at the GalaxyCon Columbus last December, which is Darryl’s hometown. When I suggested designs based on a lionfish and a bird of prey, Darryl said those were the exact inspirations he was already thinking of. Great minds thinking alike, obviously.
Another peek behind the curtain: when Kyle is seen in civilian clothes in the story, we originally placed him in a Gaslight Anthem T-shirt, harkening back to Kyle’s early appearances sporting band shirts, probably most famously a Nine Inch Nails tee. Gaslight Anthem is one of my favorite bands; the music means more to me than I can explain in a forum like this. I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know Gaslight’s singer and songwriter, Brian Fallon, a little bit (Brian is a comics guy too). I wanted to give a nod to all that, but DC legal asked us to remove it.
The issue also marks the debut of a new costume for Kyle, designed by David Nakayama, seen on this terrific variant cover.
Last time I said you can’t go home again. Still true. But it seems you can revisit what’s come before and scratch an itch that never quite goes away. Kyle is like that for me and Darryl. Nice to be able to do that.
Collection Agency
A couple of new collected editions featuring my stuff were announced.
First up is Silver Surfer: Infinity Gauntlet Omnibus, which will collect Infinity Gauntlet #1-#6, Silver Surfer issues #34=#66, Thanos Quest #1-#2, material from Silver Surfer Annual #3 and #4, plus more. The volume is split between stuff I wrote at the very beginning of my career, and stuff Jim Starlin wrote before he turned the Surfer series over to me and made my career possible. Much of the art is by Ron Lim, the first artist I ever worked with in the business.
The volume is more than 1,300 pages, with the usual standard and direct market covers (both by Ron Lim). Scheduled to release Nov. 3, 2026.
On July 28, there’s also a new printing of the Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner Vol. 1 collection, which contains Green Lantern #48-#57, plus assorted tie-in issues. Yes, almost all of that material was in Kyle Rayner Compendium Vol. 1, which was released a few years ago and has gone through at least three printings (the most recent printing might be sold out).
I get a lot of questions about a possible Kyle Rayner Compendium Vol. 2, and the short answer is… I don’t know. It seems like the first volume sold well (if my royalty statements are any indication), so a second volume seems like a logical venture, but I’ve heard nothing one way or the other.
Con Job
Two more of my convention appearances have been announced, as well as a library appearance in Hawaii.
On May 16 and 17, I’ll be at Tidewater Comic Con at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. I did this show a number of years ago and had a good time, including a great beach-side meal at the Virginia Beach Hilton with my pal Steve Orlando. The Hilton was memorable enough that I stayed there last year on a brief vacation to the Virginia shore and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
I’ll also be returning to Baltimore Comic Con on Sept. 25-27, one of my favorite shows every year, very much a COMIC con. Returning to Baltimore also means a return to the Rusty Scupper, across the bay from the convention center, for crab cakes and Old Fashioneds.
I’ll also be in Honolulu, Hawaii in the middle of April for a library visit put together by my friend and librarian Hillary Chang. I’ll be in Hawaii April 16-18 at the McCully-Mōʻiliʻili Public Library, as well as an appearance at the Washington Middle School. Events details can be found here:
Dread-full
The Kickstarter campaign for the next original graphic novel in Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar saga is currently funding on Kickstarter from Monkey Wrench Entertainment. “Dreadstar vs. Dreadstar” is the third in a series of five OGNs Starlin is writing, penciling, and coloring, chronicling the remaining adventures of Vanth Dreadstar and company. This one pits Vanth Dreadstar against his daughter, Kalla, in this kind of cosmic epic we’ve come to expect from Starlin.
The entire graphic novel is complete, including lettering and coloring, so once the campaign is complete, all that needs to be accomplished is printing and fulfillment. The two remaining Dreadstar OGNs have also been drawn by Jim already.
The Kickstarter link can be found here:
The campaign runs until April 16.
