Darkstars or Blackstars? The Future of Green Lantern

Comics News
Darkstars or Blackstars? The Future of Green Lantern
By Hervé St-Louis
August 14, 2019 - 19:19

DC Comics
Writer(s): Grant Morrison
Artist(s): Xermanico
Cover Artist(s): Liam Sharp

DC announced a new series labelled Green Lantern Blackstars that follow up another devastation of the Green Lantern Corps with a new contender space police force. Long time Green Lantern and Justice League founder Hal Jordan will be the lead character in this new series.

If this sounds oddly familiar, it is because it is. At first glance, when I read recent The Green Lantern comics, I thought that writer Grant Morrison, who will also write Green Lantern Blackstars had revived the Darkstars. Even while looking at the press release from DC Comics, my mind continued to swipe the term Darkstars for Blackstars. I bet I’m not the only one who does that.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Darkstars, they were the original alternative space cops to the Green Lanterns. Well, if my memory serves, they were more than your local cops, which is what a Green Lantern is. They were deputies or detectives with a bit more authority than a Green Lantern. Call them special agents. Much like Morrison’s Blackstars, they wore red energy exoskeletons that enabled them to fly, shoot energy bolts, create force fields and survive in the depth of space. They were also influenced and controlled by the Guardians of the Universe’s long lost cousins, the Controllers.

Welsh science fiction writer Michael Jan Friedman and cartoonist Larry Stroman* created the Darkstars and their first Earth-based deputy Ferrin Colos. Some of his deputies included Green Lantern John Stewart and Donna Troy.

In Brightest day in darkest night, in brightest day in blackest night, now we have the Blackstars who will step into their own three-issue mini-series following the disappearance of the Green Lantern Corps. Helping Morrison craft this new cultish and vampiric version of the Darkstars is artist Xermanico. Current The Green Lantern artist Liam Sharp will provide covers, tying the current series with the new mini-series, debuting November 6, 2019.

*Wikipedia contributors incorrectly credit British cartoonist Mike Collins as the co-creator of the Darkstars.