DC is putting Green Lantern John Stewart on a pedestal this summer with a 'best of' collection coinciding with the 50th anniversary of his debut.
Scheduled to go on sale June 22, Green Lantern: John Stewart – A Celebration of 50 Years will include comics as well as original essays by co-creator Neal Adams, the character's voice actor for many cartoons Phil LaMarr, along with comic writers John Ridley and Geoff Johns.
The comics scheduled for inclusion are:
- Green Lantern Vol. 2 #87 'Beware my Power!' by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams
- Green Lantern Vol. 2 #182 'It's a Dirty Job, But...!' by Len Wein and Dave Gibbons
- Green Lantern Vol. 2 #185 'In Blackest Day' by Wein and Gibbons
- Green Lantern Vol. 3 #74 'Stand' by Ron Marz and Darryl Banks
- Green Lantern Vol. 3 #156 'Walking Tall' by Judd Winick and Dale Eaglesham
- Green Lantern Vol. 4 #49 'Semper Fi' by Geoff Johns, Ed Benes, and Marcos Marz
- Justice League Vol. 4 #40 'Invasion of the Supermen, Part 1: Impact' by Robert Venditti and Doug Mahnke
- Justice League of America #110 'The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus' by Wein and Dick Dillin
Some of those are among the best Green Lantern stories of all time, for ANY Green Lantern.
In this announcement, DC frames Jon Stewart as "DC's first Black Super Hero," but the publisher may be overlooking Black Racer, whom Jack Kirby created in a book (New Gods #3) published a few months before Stewart's debut (Green Lantern #87) .
Like many of DC's anniversary collections recently, Green Lantern: John Stewart – A Celebration of 50 Years will featurely a newly-drawn cover by DC chief creative officer/publisher Jim Lee, along with inker Scott Williams and colorist Alex Sinclair.
John Stewart is currently starring in the Future State: Green Lantern limited series, and will be one of the central characters in the upcoming April relaunch of the Green Lantern ongoing title.
John Stewart ranks high on Newsarama's list of the best Green Lanterns of all time.