Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. I’m still writing posts months in advance (in preparation for writing/editing novels during the final months of 2025), and we don’t yet know when Lanterns will release on HBO Max. We only have a release date of First Quarter 2026. We do know that Lanterns will feature at least three Green Lanterns (Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner), so we’re releasing Green Lantern Starter Stories for all three characters over the next few months, just in case you want to get started reading Green Lantern comics. Our next Green Lantern in this series is John Stewart.
Typically, I like to include numerous storylines for people to begin reading a character, but John Stewart bounced around a lot before he became a standard DC Comics character. And John Stewart has a bunch of single-issue stories. We haven’t had too many single-issue stories in recent Getting Into Comics installments, but many of these John Stewart issues are collected in various John Stewart Green Lantern anthologies, and they’re available online. Buckle up. We’re in for a wild ride.
Single Issues
“Beware My Power!” (Green Lantern Vol 2 #87; written by Dennis O’Neil/art by Neal Adams; January 1972)
While “Beware My Power’s” politics may be dated and cause a little cringe, you can see where the creative team behind Green Lantern/Green Arrow (Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams) were going with John Stewart during his first outing. As a Green Lantern rookie, John Stewart must prove his worth to a skeptical Hal Jordan by showing he can protect a racist politician from assassination. Things go haywire, but in the end, Stewart proves himself worthy of Green Lantern’s light.
“Beware My Power” proved John Stewart to be a character worthy of exploration over the years. He would evolve into an iconic DC Comics hero.
“The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!” (Justice League of America Vol 1 #110; written by Len Wein/art by Dick Dillin; December 1973 or April 1974)
Justice League of America Vol 1 #110 is a comic book oddity. “The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!” story makes sense for a comic released during December, and the comic book states it’s “The Year’s Most Startling Story! The Murder of Santa Claus, 1973!,” but the cover also has a date of April 1974. What? I included both December 1973 and April 1974 as the dates for this comic.
Date screw-up aside, “The Man Who Murdered Santa Claus!” is the second time John Stewart donned the Green Lantern costume. Even if this story’s original date was December 1973, John Stewart had to wait almost two years to reappear. DC Comics didn’t know what to do with John Stewart. The story is straightforward. A villain named The Key murdered a department store Santa, and the Justice League investigates.
“It’s a Dirty Job, But…!” (Green Lantern Vol 2 #182; written by Len Wein/art by Dave Gibbons; November, 1984)
Villain Major Disaster began as a Captain Atom nemesis before turning into a Hal Jordan Green Lantern foe. By 1984, Jordan had given up being Green Lantern. Jordan doesn’t even know who took over for him as Green Lantern of Sector 2814 (which includes Earth). Jordan invites his long-time friend John Stewart to a drink when the duo watches Major Disaster cause havoc in Jordan’s home city of Coast City. Major Disaster intends to draw out Hal Jordan, and Hal takes the bait. He calls his superhero friends at the Justice League, as John Stewart flies off as the new, full-time Green Lantern.
“Second Contact” (Justice League Adventures Vol 1 #22; written by Stuart Moore; art by John Delaney; October 2003)
The Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series played a huge role in building John Stewart’s popularity. These cartoons had a comic book counterpart, named Justice League Adventures, which continued the same John Stewart from the comics. In “Second Contact,” John recounts the last time he battled the villain Shayol; three of Stewart’s Green Lantern Corps allies were killed. “Second Contact” is John Stewart’s first time commanding a Green Lantern Corps mission, which just happens to include battling Shayol. He warns his young Green Lantern colleagues of the danger.
“Semper Fi” (Green Lantern Vol 4 #49; written by Geoff Johns; art by Ed Benes and Marcos Marz; February 2010)
“Semper Fi” is part of the major Blackest Night crossover event. While many stories revolve around Hal Jordan, “Semper Fi” shows John Stewart in action. The Blackest Night event featured a reimagined Nekron, the embodiment of death. Nekron, with the help of his right-hand man, Black Hand, resurrects numerous people in the DC Universe. The pair converts these undead into a Black Lantern Corps.
In Green Lantern Vol 4 #49, John fights an army of Black Lanterns. One of these Black Lanterns is John’s dead wife, Katma Tui. “Semper Fi” doesn’t pull punches. John was responsible for the planet Xanshi’s destruction (where John’s wife died), and the Black Lantern Corps did what he couldn’t. It saved the victims of Xanshi.
“Powers That Be” (Green Lantern Corps Vol 3 #25, written by Van Jansen and Robert Venditti; art by Victor Drujiniu, Ivan Fernandez, and Allan Jefferson; 2014)
“Powers That Be” functions as a prequel story. It revisits a day in the life of John Stewart before he became Green Lantern. During his days as a Marine, John is sent to Gotham City to help civilians during a blackout, only to discover an anarchist revolt threatening to tear the city apart. We gain insight into John’s character without his Power Ring. While maintaining John’s origin story’s morality, “Powers That Be” manages to avoid the original’s heavy-handed message.
“The Architect” (Secret Origins Vol 3 #9; written by Chrles Soule; art by Alessandro Vitti; 2015)
The New 52 retold numerous DC Comics’ origins. Because they wanted to finish these origins quickly, the New 52 universe loaded comic book issues with the origins of multiple characters. So, don’t be alarmed that Swamp Thing is on the cover of Secret Origins Vol 3 #9.
In John Stewart’s story, he recently retired as a marine and now works as an architect. Stewart is suddenly attacked by a Manhunter who wants the blood of a Green Lantern. John’s courage in the face of an emotionless killing machine earns him a power ring, but the New 52’s Guardians may not be as benevolent as other iterations. The little blue creeps sent the Manhunter to Earth, risking the lives of hundreds (if not thousands) of innocents, to test John’s mettle.
Storylines
“Cosmic Odyssey” (Cosmic Odyssey #1-4; written by Jim Starlin; art by Mike Mignola; 1988)
“Cosmic Odyssey” may be the one story that does the most to define John Stewart. In this Batman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, and New Gods crossover, the team battles a being made of Anti-Life itself. John Stewart and Martian Manhunter find the planet Xanshi infected by the Anti-Life Aspect. After evading a volcanic eruption, John arrogantly blames Martian Manhunter for holding him back, restraining him in a construct bubble.
John’s actions directly led to the planet Xanshi exploding. This tragic failure leaves a deep emotional scar that John Stewart never forgets. It also turns out that Xanshi has a sole survivor, Fatality, who makes it her mission to eradicate all Green Lanterns. “Cosmic Odyssey” is a must-read for any John Stewart Green Lantern fan.
“Green Lantern: Mosaic” (Green Lantern: Mosaic #1-18; written by Gerald Jones and Joe Filice/art by Cully Hamner, Trevor Scott, Chris Wozniak, Jim Balent, Mark Beachum, Mitch Byrd, Luke McDonnell, and Chris Hunter; June 1992-November 1993)
We go from one of John Stewart’s most poignant stories (in “Cosmic Odyssey”) to one of his wildest in “Green Lantern: Mosaic.” One of the Guardians of Oa merges together a city comprised of cities from disparate alien worlds. John Stewart is tasked to keep this patchwork “mosaic” of worlds in one piece.
“Green Lantern: Mosaic” shows the most alien of DC Comics’ cosmic residents. It’s a joy watching John Stewart attempt to keep the peace with this group of unique, diverse, and fascinating alien cultures. “Mosaic” explores where Green Lantern stories could go. Not only does “Green Lantern: Mosaic” help define John Stewart as an expert mediator, but it also serves as a window to DC Comics’ alien populations.
“Revolt of the Alpha-Lanterns” (Green Lantern Corps Vol 2 #48-52; written by Tony Bedard; art by Ardian Syaf; 2010)
In the wake of the Justice League cartoons, John Stewart received some amazing stories in the 2010s, beginning with the “Revolt of the Alpha-Lanterns.” This story resurrects Cyborg Superman as he manipulates the Alpha Corps to do his bidding. The Alpha Lanterns begin “requisitioning” unwilling Green Lanterns to join their emotionless ranks. While Ganthet, Kyle Rayner, and other Green Lanterns resist, John Stewart leads the charge.
“Alpha War” (Green Lantern Corps Vol 3 #8-12; written by Peter Tomasi; art by Fernando Pasarin; 2012)
While the Green Lantern Corps serves as a galactic police force (of sorts), the Alpha Lanterns are Internal Affairs, meant to keep them in check. In “Alpha War,” John Stewart is accused of murder and incarcerated by the Alpha Lanterns. The allegations are based on incomplete evidence, and a guilty verdict means execution. Guy Gardner and the other Green Lanterns band together to break Stewart out of prison and prove his innocence. After “Alpha War,” the Alpha Lanterns will never be the same.
Those are the John Stewart Green Lantern stories that made our list. We covered Hal Jordan starter stories last month, and will be covering Guy Gardner’s starter stories next month. Are there any John Stewart Green Lantern stories you would add to this list? Let us know in the comments, Geekly Gang. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
jkgeekly.com 