Green Lantern: the undervalued issues you should know

Green Lantern spans all four eras of the American comic book under different identities: Alan Scott is the Golden Age incarnation (1940), Hal Jordan the Silver Age reinvention (1959), then O'Neil and Adams reshape the Bronze Age with socially engaged storytelling (1970), before Geoff Johns resurrects the entire mythos in 2004. Each era has its key issues — yet several of these landmark comics still circulate below €15 on the secondary market.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: eBay medians from our estimator (June 2026) for issues with sufficient volume (strict rule: fewer than 15 listings, no figure cited), and Heritage Auctions records for out-of-series grails. The eBay median is a blended figure across all grades — high-grade certified copies trade well above it.

Green Lantern key issues and real prices (June 2026)

Median sources: eBay.fr + eBay.com via our estimator, June 2026. Record sources: Heritage Auctions.

All-American Comics #16 and Showcase #22: the unreachable grails

All-American Comics #16 (July 1940, Martin Nodell and Bill Finger) introduces Alan Scott, a railway engineer whose power comes from a magical lantern — no connection to the Guardians of the Universe. A CGC 6.5 copy sold for $215,100 at Heritage Auctions in 2018. Showcase #22 (October 1959, John Broome and Gil Kane) reboots the concept with Hal Jordan, a test pilot recruited by the intergalactic Corps: a CGC NM- 9.2 copy reached $149,375 at Heritage in 2017. Both issues are catalogued as separate series by our eBay tool — auction rooms are the only price reference.

Green Lantern #40 (1965): €9 for the birth of the Guardians

Published in October 1965 (John Broome, Gil Kane), Green Lantern #40 introduces Krona, an Oan scientist whose forbidden experiment on the origin of the universe shatters reality into an infinite multiverse — the mythological foundation for Crisis on Infinite Earths and the entire DC multiverse concept. Our estimator records 98 active listings, median €9 (low €5, high €12). The high listing count and low median reflect predominantly unslabbed low-grade copies; certified high-grade examples trade considerably higher.

Green Lantern #76 (1970): the Bronze Age begins for €9

Published in April 1970, Green Lantern #76 marks one of the sharpest creative pivots in American superhero comics. Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams took a flagging series, added Green Arrow, and redirected it toward concrete social issues: systemic racism, poverty, drug culture. The opening story earned O'Neil the Shazam Award for best individual story of 1970; the issue is widely cited as a trigger point for the Bronze Age. Our estimator returns 69 active listings, median €9 (low €7, high €11). VF or better certified copies already trade in the hundreds of euros.

Green Lantern #87 (1972): John Stewart for €9

Cover-dated January 1972, Green Lantern #87 (O'Neil and Adams) introduces John Stewart, an African-American architect chosen as Hal Jordan's potential replacement — one of the earliest leading roles given to a Black character in DC Comics. The issue also holds the second appearance of Guy Gardner (first in #59, 1968). Our estimator records 66 active listings, median €9 (low €7, high €9). The Lanterns HBO series (premiering August 16, 2026), with Aaron Pierre as John Stewart and Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan, could bring renewed interest to this foundational issue.

Why do these issues remain so accessible?

The €9 median reflects the market structure: most copies on eBay are low-grade, unslabbed, acquired decades ago by readers rather than speculative collectors. The listing volume (66 to 98 depending on the issue) is sufficient for a reliable signal, but blends all grades together. A CGC 8.0 or 9.0 certified copy of any of these three issues already occupies a very different price tier. For a collector seeking a reading copy or an affordable entry point into DC Bronze Age history, the importance-to-price ratio here is hard to beat.