Most Expensive Green Lantern Comics: Key Issues and Real Market Values

Green Lantern is one of the few DC franchises to have spanned every era of comics history by changing its lead character along the way. Alan Scott, a railway engineer empowered by a magical ring, debuted in July 1940. Hal Jordan, a test pilot turned intergalactic cop, relaunched the title in the Silver Age. John Stewart (1972) and Guy Gardner (1972, cameo) broadened the Corps. The franchise received a landmark modern renaissance under Geoff Johns (Green Lantern: Rebirth, 2004; Sinestro Corps War, 2007; Blackest Night, 2009). The next adaptation is the Lanterns series on HBO/Max (scheduled premiere August 16, 2026), starring Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: eBay medians from our estimator (eBay.fr + eBay.com, June 2026) and records documented by Heritage Auctions and specialist press. The two headline grails — All-American Comics #16 and Showcase #22 — belong to series not covered by our tool: the figures cited for them are exclusively documented auction records. The eBay medians from our tool for the Green Lantern vol.2 series reflect a blend of all grades and all printings — they represent the entry-level market, not high-grade CGC copies.

Green Lantern key issue ranking (real market values, June 2026)

The two top grails are absent from our eBay estimator: they belong to distinct series (All-American Comics, Showcase). Issues from the vol.2 series (1960–1988) have reliable eBay medians, but those medians reflect copies of all grades combined — high-grade CGC copies trade at significantly higher levels.

Record sources: Heritage Auctions, sellmycomicbooks.com, GoCollect, qualitycomix.com.

All-American Comics #16 (1940): the Golden Age grail

Published in July 1940, All-American Comics #16 introduces Alan Scott, a railway engineer who forges a power ring from a mysterious green lantern. The character was created by Martin Nodell (art) and Bill Finger (script). This Golden Age Green Lantern has no cosmic connection to the Silver Age version: his ring draws on magical energy rather than willpower. The issue is extraordinarily scarce — by 2020, the CGC Census had certified only 58 copies in all grades, compared to 270 for Batman #1 which appeared just a few months earlier. Our eBay estimator lists All-American Comics as a separate series and returns no usable median for this issue. Auction rooms are the only price reference: a CGC 6.5 copy sold for $215,100 at Heritage Auctions in 2018, surpassing the CGC 8.0 that realised $203,150 at Heritage in 2013. A CGC 9.4 unrestored copy is known to exist but has not appeared at public auction; its value is widely estimated above $1,000,000.

Showcase #22 (1959): the birth of the Silver Age Green Lantern

Published in October 1959, Showcase #22 completely reimagines the concept: Hal Jordan, a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft, is chosen by a dying Guardian's ring to serve as the intergalactic police officer for sector 2814. The script is by John Broome, the art by Gil Kane, under the editorial stewardship of Julius Schwartz. The issue occupies the same landmark position for DC that Showcase #4 holds for the Flash — the starting gun of a Silver Age renaissance. The CGC 9.2 copy — the highest-graded example known — realised approximately $149,375 at Heritage Auctions in 2017. Our eBay tool lists Showcase as a separate series: no reliable median is available for this issue through our estimator.

Green Lantern vol.2 #1 (1960) and #40 (1965)

Green Lantern vol.2 #1 (July–August 1960) is Hal Jordan's first solo series issue. It retells his origin and formally introduces the Guardians of the Universe in their role as the cosmic order behind the Green Lantern Corps. A CGC 9.4 copy sold for approximately $56,333 at Heritage Auctions in 2019. Our eBay estimator returns a median of €8 across 40 listings — a reliable signal for the entry-level market, but far removed from what high-grade copies command.

Green Lantern #40 (October 1965) introduces Krona, a renegade Guardian whose forbidden experiment into the origin of the universe inadvertently creates parallel worlds, laying the cosmological groundwork for the DC multiverse. Our estimator returns a median of €9 across 98 listings — the highest listing count of all issues tested, reflecting abundant supply at lower grades. No high-grade auction record has been publicly documented for this issue.

Green Lantern #76 (1970): the run that changed comics

Published in April 1970, Green Lantern #76 opens the legendary run by writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams: Green Lantern leaves space to travel across America alongside Green Arrow, confronting poverty, racism, and drug addiction. The issue is ranked #13 on Overstreet's top Bronze Age comics list and is widely regarded as one of the first books of the Bronze Age era. A CGC 9.8 copy — one of only two at that grade in the CGC Census — sold for $31,000 in 2014. Our estimator returns a median of €9 across 69 listings: the mass market remains affordable, but high-grade CGC copies occupy an entirely different price bracket.

Green Lantern #87 (1972): the first appearance of John Stewart

Published in December 1971–January 1972, Green Lantern #87 introduces John Stewart, a Detroit architect selected as Hal Jordan's backup — one of the first Black superheroes in the DC universe to wear the GL uniform. The same issue contains the first cameo of Guy Gardner, the other potential replacement. Script by Denny O'Neil, art by Neal Adams. With the announcement of the Lanterns series on HBO/Max (Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, scheduled August 2026), collector interest in this key has been reinvigorated. Our estimator returns a median of €9 across 66 listings. In high grade, the documented record is $10,500 for a CGC 9.8 (Heritage Jan. 2025); CGC 9.2 copies have been trading around $950 according to recent GoCollect data.