Green Lantern #9
Green Lantern #9 (cover-dated December 1961) delivered the first cover appearance of Sinestro — the rogue former Lantern who would become Hal Jordan's defining arch-nemesis — just two issues after the character's debut in #7, cementing the rivalry that would drive the Green Lantern mythology for more than six decades. The lead story also introduced the conceptual seed of a yellow power ring opposing the green one, an idea that later writers expanded into the entire Sinestro Corps and the broader emotional-spectrum lore of Geoff Johns's era. Beyond the villain showcase, the backup story debuted the Jordan Brothers — Jack and Jim — giving Hal one of the most fleshed-out civilian family lives of any Silver Age superhero, a distinction noted by historians as unusual for the era. As the final issue priced at ten cents before DC's price increase, the issue also marks a quiet publishing milestone that collectors and historians use to bracket the early Silver Age Green Lantern run.
In "The Battle of the Power Rings!", Hal Jordan teams up with his brothers Jim and Jack Jordan during Jack’s political campaign, while reporter Sue Williams digs into Jim’s mysterious past—uncovering hints that he might be the secret Green Lantern. Written by John Broome and brought to life by Gil Kane’s dynamic art and Joe Giella’s sharp inks, this 1961 classic blends political intrigue with superhero mystery, all capped by a striking cover by Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson.
In "The Battle of the Power Rings!", Sinistro wields his yellow power ring to drain energy from the Green Lanterns’ rings, weakening them just as he prepares to strike at the Guardians of the Universe on Oa. With the balance of power hanging in the balance, the fate of the Corps rests on a single, desperate stand.
In "Green Lantern's Brother Act!", Hal Jordan teams up with his siblings Jim and Jack to support Jack’s political campaign, bringing his superhero skills into the world of politics. As reporter Sue Williams digs into the mystery, she becomes determined to uncover the truth behind Jim Jordan’s possible secret identity as Green Lantern.
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The issue was produced by the same tight-knit Silver Age team responsible for the entire early run: writer John Broome and penciler Gil Kane, working under editor Julius Schwartz, who championed the science-fiction-inflected reimagining of DC's characters throughout the late 1950s and 1960s. The cover was penciled by Gil Kane and inked by Murphy Anderson, while the interior stories carried inks by both Murphy Anderson and Joe Giella — the two inkers who most frequently refined Kane's dynamic figure work during this period. Gil Kane, a Latvian-born artist whose career would span five decades and virtually every major comics company, was still developing the signature style that would make him one of the most influential draftsmen of the Silver Age, and the Green Lantern series was a key proving ground for that growth. The letters column of this specific issue includes an early letter from the future Marvel writer Roy Thomas asking how to pronounce 'Sinestro,' a small but charming artifact of the character's fresh arrival in comics culture.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First cover appearance of Sinestro (his overall second appearance in comics, following Green Lantern vol. 2 #7, August 1961).
- Lead story title: 'Battle of the Power Rings!' — written by John Broome, penciled by Gil Kane, inked by Murphy Anderson.
- The story features the earliest depiction of a yellow power ring: Sinestro wields a ring that siphons energy from other power rings rather than generating its own, a concept later retconned and vastly expanded in modern Green Lantern mythology.
- Backup story title: 'Green Lantern's Brother Act!' — first appearance of Hal Jordan's brothers, Jack Jordan (running for District Attorney) and Jim Jordan (his campaign manager), establishing Hal as one of the few Silver Age heroes with a living, active family.
- The issue is the last in the volume priced at ten cents, making it the final entry in the original Silver Age Green Lantern 10-cent run.
- Cover date: December 1961; on-sale date approximately November 1, 1961; 36 pages, full color.
- The letters column features an early published letter from Roy Thomas — then a young fan, soon to become a major Marvel writer — asking how to pronounce Sinestro's name (answer given: accent on the first syllable).
- Reprinted in: Green Lantern Annual #1, The Green Lantern Archives Vol. 2, The Green Lantern Chronicles Vol. 2, Showcase Presents: Green Lantern Vol. 1, The Green Lantern Omnibus Vol. 1, and Green Lantern: 80 Years of the Emerald Knight: The Deluxe Edition (the lead story specifically).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Rymdmannen #2/1962 (1962), Groene Lantaarn Classics #2707 (1970), Justice League of America #114 (1974), Die Grüne Laterne #9 (1976), Green Lantern Annual, No 1, 1963 Issue #[nn] (1998), Green Lantern Archives #2 (2000), Showcase Presents: Green Lantern #1 (2005), The Green Lantern Chronicles #2 (2010), The Green Lantern Omnibus #1 (2011), Green Lantern: The Silver Age #1 (2016), Green Lantern: The Silver Age Omnibus #1 (2017), Green Lantern: 80 Years of the Emerald Knight The Deluxe Edition #[nn] (2020), Top Comics Die Grüne Laterne #101
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