Green Friendliness: JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #33, 36 (JLI 46)

[tcampbell1000]

Giffen plot and breakdowns, DeMatteis script, Hughes pencils #33, Tom Artis pencils #36.
Warning for suicidal behavior.

Issue #33, “Nitwits, Knuckleheads, and Poozers!,” begins with an old-fashioned narrative caption or two. “It’s a lazy afternoon, and Guy Gardner is bored. Heaven help us all.”



Guy is being cruel but not inaccurate. At this point, most of the Green Lantern rings had been depowered, including the ring of Kilowog, who'd already endured traumatic separations from his race and then watched their destruction. Now he had yet another reasons to feel cast adrift in the universe. Don’t think too hard about his name (Green Lantern Corps #219, New Guardians #4).




Guy had appeared in Green Lantern Corps before joining the League, and in #210, he had a memorable battle with Kilowog back when Kilowog was allied with Russia and the Rocket Reds:




Coming back to the old digs, Guy seems to pick up right where he left off.



Highlight reel:





…?...




Guy Gardner: capable of friendship. Who knew?

I won’t say Guy is being an ideal friend here. He’s dismissive of Kilowog’s accomplishments and, of course, feeding him more self-aggrandizing lies than a conservative talk-radio host. But he did just lend Kilowog his most prized possession like it was nothing, and the bright idea he’s cooking up in the last frame is focused on others’ needs, not his.




Guy will say that he just did this so Max and Oberon would “recognize his greatness,” but at the end of the day, he has been a real help to both the League and his buddy. And Kilowog does not seem to mind at all when he learns the truth about Guy’s place on the team. Dude’s just glad to have a job!



So glad that he starts to get tangled up in Beetle and Booster's wildest get-rich-quick scheme ever, but we'll cover that next time.

There’s also two pages with Arisia, poor Kilowog’s only regular visitor, who picks the worst possible time to check up on him back at the Green Lantern Citadel.



I looked up Arisia’s appearances after this, a regrettable misuse of my time that I will not inflict on you. Suffice to say, no one’s moved her too far past her age-inappropriate history as “Hal Jordan’s Biggest Mistake And That’s Really Saying Something.” The above scene, which ends with a house about to be dropped on her head, is still one of her better speaking roles.



(She acted more or less respectable in some 21st-century pairings...with the Green Lantern whose gay-unfriendly name rivals the use of the Golliwog as the worst storytelling choice of Alan Moore's entire career. One step forward, one step back.)

Issue #36 is titled "G'Nort by G'Nortwest" because it stars G'Nort and I don't know why else. G’Nort is having his own personal male loneliness epidemic. Which is a pretty typical day for him.



With friends like these, G’Nort could use some enemies. And good news…!



The Skier crash-lands on Earth, breaking his cosmic ski unit, but he finds G’Nort at once. Or rather, G’Nort finds him.




While the Skier’s situation goes from bad to worse…




G’Nort does a sitrep for his admiring colleagues.



The Skier was such a “bigwig” because he was the herald of Galac--sorry, of Mister Nebula, cosmic redesigner.



The others realize that, ridiculous as this might sound, there’s the potential for real trouble if the Skier decides to revenge himself by summoning Mister Nebula to Earth. This is the scenario hinted at by the cover.



But really, the Skier, who’s out of melodrama, power, and options, is just trying to throw himself off the nearest skyscraper.



So there we have it! Two stories in which nearly friendless Green Lanterns make their old sparring partners into friends!



Or into “associates,” at least.

Thursday: The one with the funny homicidal Max Lord.

Comments

[iamrman]

Poor Kilowog. I'm not sure what is worse, yoir entire planet getting woped out during the Crisis or reduced rto becoming a part of the New Guardians' supporting cast.

[ixajaw]

I actually really like Guy's face in the middle here. Got some grit to it. Even if he looks like an evil henchman a little bit.

[cainofdreaming]

Has Kilowog ever had a crossover with certain blue-eyed idol of millions? I feel like they'd hit it off.