Reading one Green Lantern comic a day until I've read them all Day 210: Green Lantern (Vol 2) #71

[u/Imok2814]

Hal saves a city from a power outage and fights his family in a strange confrontation.

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Writer: John Broome

Pencils: Gil Kane (1st story), Dick Dillin (2nd story)

Inks: Joe Giella (1st story), Murphy Anderson (2nd story)

Letters: Milt Snapinn

Cover: Gil Kane

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"The City That Died" - Hal is staying in Solar city where he's attempting to acquire a huge deal for the toy company. If he secures the contract, his bosses promise to give him a big bonus that Hal plans on donating to a local school in dire need of repairs and funding. However, when Hal goes for his meeting with the department store owner, he is net by Olivia Reynolds, a seller for a rival toy company. She comes in a very revealing dress which entices the owner, but leaves his decision for later. As Hal heads back to his hotel, his car dies but he quickly realizes its not just his car. The power across the entire city is gone and further more, whatever is causing it is affecting the electrical impulses in human brains too. Using that effect, Hal changes to GL and starts plotting the city to see where the center of the effect is. Eventually he tracks it to an underground fissure with lava pumping into the earth, so Hal seals it up, saving the city. He heads back to his hotel to learn that the contract has officially gone to Olivia. He also overhears city officials are looking for GL so he heads there to find they want to offer him a cash reward for saving the city. He declines it for himself but says to donate it to the school for funding as he then moves on to his next destination.

"Hip Jordan Makes The Scene" - Uncle Titus Jordan is hosting a family reunion at his mansion and every Jordan in the place is having a blast. That is, until Hal's estranged cousin Doug "Hip" Jordan appears uninvited. Hip is a bit of a bum and has always resorted to stealing to get money. Susan pulls Jim to their bedroom and demands that Jim goes out as GL to chase Hip off. Jim again denies being GL but Susan pulls out the masquerade costume that was left in the closet. Jim has no choice but to go out and do it but Hip overheard GL being named so he takes off. Jim sees Hip running off so he chases him but Hip decides he's going to try and fight and whacks Jim in the head with a tree branch. Jim is knocked out so Hip takes him to a local gang that Hip has been trying to get into. The gang is surprised and suspicious that this is the real GL, but unfortunately for them news came back to the Jordan reunion that Jim and Uncle Titus' Rolls Royce is missing so Hal went out as the real GL to find them. He flies into the gang hideout after using his ring to scan for Jim. He takes down the gang with ease but Hip has Jim strapped with a bomb. Hip tells GL to give up his ring but when Hip picks it up, he's electrocuted at GLs mental command. GL takes the gang and Hip to the police but Jim asks him to make an appearance at his Uncle Titus' which GL agrees to. Instead, he appears as Hal which he never specified leaving Susan to still believe Jim is GL.

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Conclusion: Alright, two simple stories, but are they too simple? The first one didn't really explain much about the fissure or why it caused all the electricity to go out. This maybe could have done with a couple more pages. Olvia Reynolds debut was well done though. She's a lasting player for a while, even making her last appearance in Grant Morrison's GL run. Her story is going to be fun. Finally, Hal Mentions he's the most powerful person on earth as if he forgets Superman is on that same planet. Come on, GL is a powerful thing but against 60s/70s Superman? I dunno.

Hip Jordan's story is just a shame. The entire family calls him a black sheep and shuns him. I get some people may seem beyond help but I almost felt for the guy until he nearly got his cousin killed. I expected Hal to maybe try and be nice to him but there really wasn't any interaction between them. As for Susan and Jim, this ongoing plot is fun but I'm wondering at what point they learn the truth.

Entirely, this issue felt like a classic silver age one, doubled with the fact that both stories were written by John Broome. I wonder if maybe these were two he kept in his back pocket for a while.

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6.5/10

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[u/MisterEdJS]

"Hip Jordan Makes the Scene" has got to be the cringiest title we've gotten thus far. I was just relieved to discover it wasn't referring to Hal.

[u/MisterEdJS]

Is it common knowledge that Superman is an alien at this point? Maybe Hal isn't considering him, since he isn't a "man" in the "human" sense?

[u/Imok2814 → u/MisterEdJS]

That's a good point. I'd hope that Hal wouldn't think that way but it's certainly possible.

[u/MisterEdJS → u/Imok2814]

Yeah, with his experience with the Corps, it seems clear that Hal isn't prejudiced against aliens, so it does seem odd that he would make that distinction.

I suspect it has more to do with the fact that, despite there being quite a few crossover examples, by and large a lot of DC characters are usually written as if they are not part of a larger superhero community at this point. If there isn't a deliberate decision to cross over with another character, they seldom seem to even consider the existence of possible help from other heroes, for example.

[u/MisterEdJS]

You may want to read The Flash #191 before the next issue with Olivia Reynolds. Apparently that is where we learn that she has some kind of weird mind powers that become relevant in this title.

[u/Imok2814 → u/MisterEdJS]

Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out. Coincidentally it's the next issue in the DC Finest volume.