Green Lantern is the name of several characters from the DC Comics universe. This character had a very colorful history, which several times significantly changed the hero for the realities of his time. The Green Lantern series first appeared in 1940, but in the early 2000s, the hero’s popularity waned. However, with the release of the movie directed by Geoff Johns in 2011, the superhero was again talked about.
At the time of his appearance in the DC Comics universe in 1940, Green Lantern was named after Alan Scott, a man who gained superpowers as a result of a railroad accident. The Ring of Power brought unlimited powers to the wearer. As the story goes, the Green Lantern Ring creates constructs of solid light, allowing for space travel, and holds a vast amount of data from across the universe, as well as making the wearer nearly invulnerable.
And in the late 1950s, a period also known as the Silver Age of Comics, Green Lantern appeared in the pages of “Showcase #22” issue already under the image of Hal Jordan. It was he who became one of the founders of the Justice League of America. As early as 1961, the Green Lantern Series won the Alley Award for Best Adventure Hero/Heroine with Their Own Book Series.
However, as mentioned above, by the 2000s Green Lantern was almost forgotten. But in 2011, the movie Green Lantern, directed by Martin Campbell and starring Ryan Reynolds as the main character, premiered. The movie tells the story of how the image of Hal Jordan specifically as a superhero evolved.
Today Green Lantern is ranked 7th in the list of 100 best comic book heroes according to the independent portal “IGN”, and his minimalistic logo, which looks like an eye or a lamp, is one of the most interesting and recognizable emblems in the DC Comics universe. In addition to the obvious explanation, the Green Lantern logo has also a hidden meaning making this symbol more complex and emotionally loaded.
The current emblem is a stylized depiction of a (surprise, surprise!) green lantern. One more interpretation suggests that it also symbolizes an exertion of willpower. In this case, the emblem should be interpreted as a circle forcing two lines apart. Although, at first glance, this explanation may seem far-fetched, it does make sense if you take into consideration the role of willpower for the Green Lantern Corps. For instance, the effectiveness of the power ring depends on the willpower of the person who is wearing it. Also, green is associated with willpower.
Interestingly enough, what we now consider the main Green Lantern emblem wasn’t used in the earliest issues – there was no set logo at the time.
The Golden Age Lantern was introduced in All-American Comics #16 in summer 1940. The lettering was made in simple sans-serif type (except the “G”). Each of the 1940-41 issues featured a different lettering.
The cover of the first magazine devoted exclusively to the Green Lantern (1941) featured the elements that would later appear on the logo (most notably, the lantern itself). There has been no official information about the author, but Todd Klein, who has been working in comics for several decades, suggested that it was the Green Lantern artist and co-creator Martin Nodell.
We should definitely point out the Silver Age issue of 1969, where the lantern emblem by Gil Kane appeared, which looked very much like the current one. However, even in earlier issues one could notice a similar emblem on the superhero’s chest (drawn by Ira Schapp).
While the issue # 123 in 1979 made a decisive step toward using a simplified and modern Green Lantern logo, the following magazines returned to the more intricate versions. In the course of time, however, they were being replaced by the minimalistic lantern symbol more and more often.
Unlike the lantern emblem itself, the wordmark has been completely overhauled with every new issue. It has been typically based on a hand-drawn lettering rather than an existing font.
While the lantern itself is always green, it can be given on a variety of backgrounds. The most common one is white, while alternative backgrounds are typically light. Earlier versions, though, included other color schemes, for instance, a black lantern on the green background, or a dark blue emblem on the light green background.