Green Lantern vol. 2: an analysis of the Silver Age launch key issues

Green Lantern is a singular case in DC history: the name and the symbol — a green lantern and a power ring — have belonged to two entirely different characters with nothing in common. Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern (All-American Comics #16, July 1940, Martin Nodell & Bill Finger), draws power from a mystical green flame. Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern, is a test pilot drafted by an intergalactic police force, the Green Lantern Corps, answering to the Guardians of the Universe — a fully science-fiction concept introduced by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane in 1959. Both characters coexist in DC continuity and even meet face-to-face as early as Green Lantern vol. 2 #40 (October 1965).

This guide relies exclusively on verifiable data: eBay medians from our estimator (eBay.fr + eBay.com, June 2026) and auction records documented by Heritage Auctions, GoCollect, and the specialist press. Showcase #22 belongs to a separate series not covered by our tool — all figures cited for that issue come from auction results only. For the vol. 2 series, the eBay median reflects all printings and grades combined (a blended median), which mechanically pulls the figure toward the low end; high-grade Silver Age keys trade far above that baseline.

Green Lantern key issues: summary table (June 2026)

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

Showcase #22 (1959): the birth of Hal Jordan

Published in October 1959, Showcase #22 is the founding document of the Silver Age Green Lantern. John Broome wrote the script and Gil Kane provided the art — the same creative team that would define the series for most of its early run. The story introduces Hal Jordan, a fearless test pilot at Ferris Aircraft, chosen by the dying alien Abin Sur to receive his power ring and lantern and serve as Earth's representative in the intergalactic Green Lantern Corps. The issue also introduces Carol Ferris, Hal's employer and future love interest (and eventual Star Sapphire). Our eBay tool does not cover the Showcase series; auction results are the only reliable price reference. A CGC 9.2 copy sold for $149,000 at Heritage Auctions in 2018 — still the highest documented sale on record for this issue. A second CGC 9.2 copy changed hands for $105,000 in 2021. Entry-level demand is equally telling: a CGC 0.5 was changing hands for around $1,200 in 2024, reflecting how deeply the market extends even for heavily worn copies.

Green Lantern vol. 2 #1 (1960): the solo series launches

Following the success of Showcase #22 — and two further tryout issues in #23 and #24 — DC launched Hal Jordan's solo series in August 1960. Green Lantern vol. 2 #1 retells the hero's origin and formally debuts the Guardians of the Universe as a recurring presence, laying the cosmological foundation the series would build on for decades. Broome and Kane again supply the script and art. The issue ranks 34th on Overstreet's Top 50 Silver Age Comics list. Our estimator records 40 active eBay listings with a blended median of 8 € — a figure that reflects the weight of lower-grade and reprint copies. High grade tells a different story: the documented record stands at $56,333 for a CGC 9.0, sold in 2019, consistent with a confirmed Silver Age key.

Green Lantern #40 (1965): Hal Jordan meets Alan Scott

Green Lantern vol. 2 #40 (October 1965) brings the two Lanterns together for the first time: Hal Jordan of Earth-1 and Alan Scott of Earth-2, the Golden Age Green Lantern. The story, again by Broome and Kane, introduces Krona, an Oan scientist whose forbidden experiment — attempting to witness the birth of the universe — shattered reality into an infinite multiverse. That act of cosmic hubris would be formally revisited twenty years later in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Our estimator returns 98 listings and a median of 9 €. The documented high-end record for this issue stands at $5,200.

Bronze Age: the O'Neil / Adams run and the new Green Lanterns

Green Lantern vol. 2 #59 (March 1968) introduces Guy Gardner as an alternate ring candidate; a CGC 9.8 sold for $10,200 in 2021. The true creative watershed comes with Green Lantern vol. 2 #76 (April 1970), which marks Denny O'Neil's arrival as writer and Neal Adams's as penciller. The series pivots to socially charged storytelling — drug addiction, racism, urban poverty — in a partnership with Green Arrow that permanently altered the register of superhero comics. Our estimator records 69 listings with a median of 9 €; a CGC 9.6 copy has sold for approximately $7,000 and the issue holds the 13th spot on Overstreet's Top 25 Bronze Age Comics list. Green Lantern vol. 2 #87 (December 1971) then introduces John Stewart — DC's first prominent Black superhero in a major ongoing title — and marks Guy Gardner's second appearance: 66 eBay listings, median 9 €, with the highest documented sale at $3,050 for a CGC 9.8 in 2011.

Green Lantern on screen: the Lanterns effect (2026)

After the 2011 Green Lantern film starring Ryan Reynolds failed to launch a franchise, the property is returning via television. The HBO/Max series Lanterns, confirmed to premiere on 16 August 2026, casts Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart across eight episodes. The show's buddy-cop premise — two Lanterns investigating a murder in rural Nebraska — echoes the grounded, character-driven spirit of the O'Neil / Adams run from the early 1970s. The first appearances of Hal Jordan (Showcase #22) and John Stewart (Green Lantern #87) are the two issues most likely to see increased collector interest ahead of the premiere.