Speaking with Comicosity, Green Lantern writer Robert Venditti discussed a bit about the upcoming month long lantern event “Lights Out” Below you’ll find some of the highlights where Venditti discusses supporting casts, the death of a lantern corps and more. If you’re behind on your lantern titles…spoilers beware.
Venditti on the supporting cast of Lanterns:
I’ve been surprised by how deep the roster of supporting characters is and how much fun they are to write. So much of my pitch focused on Hal by necessity, but making him the leader of the Green Lantern Corps and basing him on Oa has allowed me to spend a lot of time with characters like Kilowog, Soranik Natu, Voz, and others. It’s something I’m going to continue to do, particularly after “Lights Out,” when readers will start to meet some new Lanterns as well.
On expanding the mythology of Green Lantern with “Lights Out”:
“Lights Out” was a large part of my pitch for my first year on Green Lantern, and when DC told me they wanted to feature Relic’s origin story in one of their Villains Month issues—and have the story told in twenty splash pages—that essentially meant I was being given the chance to create an entire universe and then blow it up in just twenty panels. How do you not get inspired by something like that? I saw it as an opportunity to tell a story that not only expanded the Green Lantern mythology, but also doubled as a primer of sorts that could introduce new readers to the concept of the emotional spectrum and the various ring corps.
Why was the decision made to kill of the Blue Lantern Corps?
It’s an opportunity to bring new conflicts into the Green Lantern line. The Blue Lanterns are arguably the most powerful of all the corps, and their ability to supercharge green rings has often been used as a resource. Without the Blue Lanterns, the balance of the spectrum is tipped in a way that’s only going to make things more difficult for Hal and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps.
Venditti when asked what his goal is for Hal Jordan:
It’s about finding the qualities that make Hal unique as a character and placing him in situations that will highlight those qualities — both the good and the bad. How is Hal’s leadership style different from John Stewart’s or Guy Gardner’s or even Batman’s? Hal is very much a man who acts on instinct, something that goes back to his roots as a fighter pilot, so how does that approach help him or hinder him?
Venditti says each of the four (main) lantern heroes will have a big role in “Lights Out”
We worked hard to make sure each of the Earth Lantern leads — Hal, John, Guy, and Kyle — have a major role to play in “Lights Out.” This is a story that’s going to have significant, long-term effects on not just the Green Lantern line, but the wider DC universe as well. Some of those effects will be apparent, and others will hopefully surprise people. The consequences can’t be overstated.