Modern Green Lantern Key Issues: Emerald Twilight, Rebirth, Blackest Night

Green Lantern is one of the rare DC franchises that has periodically reinvented its ring-bearer: after Alan Scott (Golden Age, 1940) and Hal Jordan (Silver Age, 1959), the 1990s and 2000s produced a wave of key issues that now command sustained collector interest. These modern comics have the advantage of genuine eBay volume — enough listings to generate reliable medians — provided you understand that a blended all-grades median is a far cry from the price of a slabbed high-grade copy.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: eBay data from our estimator (eBay.fr + eBay.com, June 2026, sub-15-listing guard applied) and facts documented by specialist sources. Rebirth #1, Sinestro Corps Special #1, and Blackest Night #1 belong to distinct series not indexed by our tool; their values are presented qualitatively based on secondary market observation.

Emerald Twilight (#48–50, 1994): the birth of Kyle Rayner

In 1993–1994, DC Comics made the radical decision to replace Hal Jordan — the definitive Silver Age Green Lantern — with an entirely new character. The "Emerald Twilight" arc (issues #48 to #50 of Green Lantern vol. 3), written by Ron Marz and drawn by Darryl Banks, depicts a grief-stricken Hal Jordan destroying the Green Lantern Corps after the annihilation of his home, Coast City, then being stripped of his ring by the remaining Guardians. Ganthet, the last surviving Guardian, gives the final working ring to Kyle Rayner, a struggling freelance comic artist with no heroic background.

The blended €9 median reflects the wide range of conditions across a high-print-run Modern Age comic: an ungraded Very Fine copy barely exceeds that level, but a CGC 9.8 copy commands a meaningful premium on the secondary market based on recent sales. Issue #48 remains the most in-demand of the three, as it contains the very first panel showing Kyle Rayner.

Green Lantern: Rebirth #1 (2004): Hal Jordan returns

Green Lantern: Rebirth is a six-issue limited series written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Ethan Van Sciver, published between December 2004 and June 2005 by DC Comics. It explains how Hal Jordan, who had been possessed by the fear entity Parallax, is freed, resurrected, and reinstated in the Green Lantern Corps. The first issue carried a cover price of $2.95 and was reprinted multiple times — confirming you hold the first printing matters for value. Our tool does not cover the Green Lantern: Rebirth series (separate slug), but the secondary market shows raw NM copies trading between roughly $5 and $15 depending on demand, with CGC 9.8 copies fetching a significant premium. The series is widely regarded as the starting point of the modern era of the franchise and is an essential reference in any serious modern Green Lantern collection.

Sinestro Corps War (2007)

In 2007, Geoff Johns launched "The Sinestro Corps War" with Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1 (August 2007), followed by Green Lantern vol. 4 issues #21 through #25. The arc introduces Sinestro's Corps — wielders of yellow fear-rings — and expands the Emotional Spectrum concept (coloured rings tied to specific emotions) that underpins the entire subsequent decade of the franchise. The Sinestro Corps Special #1 is the collector's key: it establishes the narrative framework and includes the first appearances of several important Corps members. Ungraded copies circulate at modest prices; certified copies are scarcer, as this issue was slabbed far less frequently than 1990s keys.

Blackest Night #1 (2009): Emotional Spectrum climax

Blackest Night is an eight-issue DC event written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Ivan Reis, published from July 2009 to March 2010. The Black Lanterns — heroes and villains reanimated by death-rings — invade the DC universe, threatening every other Corps. Issue #1 opens the event in spectacular fashion and features the concept's highest-profile debut in print. Our tool does not cover the Blackest Night series (separate slug), but raw NM copies remain accessible on the secondary market, and CGC 9.8 copies trade at higher levels. Collector interest in this event has been rekindled by the HBO series Lanterns, premiering August 16, 2026.

The HBO Lanterns series and its impact on values

The series Lanterns, airing on HBO from August 16, 2026, stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart — two intergalactic cops investigating a murder in the American heartland. Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner. The show was created by Tom King, Damon Lindelof, and Chris Mundy. The casting announcements and first trailers (March 2026) revived interest in keys introducing John Stewart — notably Green Lantern vol. 2 #87 (1972, 1st John Stewart appearance, eBay median €9, 66 listings) — and across the modern keys covered in this guide. Adaptation windows rarely sustain long-term price movements, but they do create visibility that informed collectors can use to their advantage.