The most iconic Green Lantern covers — collector's guide

Green Lantern is unique in American comics: the mantle has been worn by several distinct characters across different eras. Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern (1940), is a railway engineer whose power stems from a mystical metal lamp — with no connection to the intergalactic Corps introduced two decades later. Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern (1959), is a test pilot recruited into a peacekeeping corps that spans the universe. John Stewart (1972) and Guy Gardner (also 1972, in cameo) broadened the concept still further. This wealth of characters translates into key issues spanning every era of comics history — and covers that have shaped the graphic language of the medium.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: eBay data from our estimator (eBay.fr + eBay.com, June 2026) and records documented by Heritage Auctions, ComicConnect, and specialist press. All-American Comics #16 and Showcase #22 belong to separate series not covered by our tool — figures cited for those issues are documented auction records only. For Green Lantern vol.2 issues, our estimator returns blended medians across all grades and all printings: for high-grade copies, auction records remain the relevant benchmark.

Green Lantern cover and key issue ranking (documented values, June 2026)

The Golden Age and Silver Age grails are not reachable via our eBay estimator (separate series). For Green Lantern vol.2 issues, our tool returns usable medians — to be read as entry-level prices; high-grade copies command considerably more.

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

All-American Comics #16 (1940): the birth of the original Green Lantern

Published in July 1940, All-American Comics #16 introduces Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, in a story drawn by Martin Nodell and scripted by Bill Finger. Alan Scott is a railway engineer whose power derives from a ring fashioned from a mystical green metal lantern — entirely separate from the science-fiction mythology of Oa and the intergalactic Corps that would arrive two decades later. Nodell's cover, with its green-clad silhouette dominating a locomotive, is one of the first great superhero covers of the Golden Age DC line. Our eBay tool lists this series separately and returns no usable median. In 2018, a CGC 6.5 copy — a mid-range grade for a comic now more than eighty years old — sold for $215,100 at Heritage Auctions. ComicConnect has also listed a CBCS NM+ 9.6 copy, confirming that a small number of very high-grade examples exist, though no public sale at that grade has been documented to date.

Showcase #22 (1959): the defining Silver Age cover

Published in October 1959, Showcase #22 reinvents Green Lantern as Hal Jordan, a test pilot who inherits a power ring from a dying alien. The script is by John Broome, the art by Gil Kane, under the editorial direction of Julius Schwartz — who had orchestrated the same reinvention for the Flash in 1956. Gil Kane's cover, showing Hal Jordan bursting out of his flight suit to don his green costume, is one of the founding images of the Silver Age: it captures the shift from a mystical Golden Age hero to a space-age science-fiction concept perfectly in tune with the era of the space race. As with All-American Comics #16, our eBay tool returns no usable median for this separate series. In 2017, a CGC 9.2 copy — the highest graded example known at the time — sold for $149,000 at Heritage Auctions. Lower-grade copies circulate for several hundred to several thousand dollars depending on condition.

Green Lantern #76 (1970): Neal Adams's masterpiece

In 1970, Green Lantern #76 launched the legendary run written by Denny O'Neil and drawn by Neal Adams. Green Arrow joins Green Lantern as co-star, and the series pivots to social realism — racism, poverty, drugs — that broke sharply with the science-fiction adventures of the 1960s. Neal Adams's cover for #76, in which an elderly Black man directly challenges Hal Jordan's failure to protect the oppressed on his own planet, is considered one of the most important comic book covers ever printed. In 2015, the original artwork sold for $442,150 at Heritage Auctions — a record for a Bronze Age cover. For the comic itself, our eBay estimator returns a median of €9 across 69 listings, all grades and printings combined. In high grade, a CGC 9.8 reached $31,000 in 2014; a CGC 9.6 has been reported at around $7,000. The eBay median therefore reflects mid-grade copies and reprints — CGC 9.0 and above command significantly more.

Green Lantern #87 (1971–1972): the first appearance of John Stewart

Published at the end of 1971 (cover-dated December 1971 – January 1972), Green Lantern #87 is again written by Dennis O'Neil and drawn by Neal Adams — in direct continuity with the #76 run. It introduces John Stewart, an African-American architect chosen by the Guardians of Oa as Hal Jordan's replacement, and features the first cameo appearance of Guy Gardner. John Stewart is today one of the most recognisable Green Lanterns, largely thanks to his prominent role in the Justice League animated series (2001). Our eBay estimator returns a median of €9 across 66 listings — a reliable signal for low- to mid-grade copies. No high-grade CGC sale has been documented publicly at a level comparable to the other keys in this guide.

Gil Kane's Silver Age classics: Green Lantern vol.2 #1 and #40

Green Lantern vol.2 #1 (1960) launches Hal Jordan's solo series with a Gil Kane cover emblematic of Silver Age design — bold colours, dynamic composition, the power ring front and centre. Our eBay estimator returns a median of €8 across 40 listings of all grades combined. No high-profile high-grade sale is documented publicly; the issue remains a desirable collector piece but less spectacular as a grail than Showcase #22.

Green Lantern #40 (May 1965) features another landmark Gil Kane cover: this issue introduces Krona and reveals the origin of the Guardians of the Universe — a pivotal moment in DC's cosmology. Our estimator returns a median of €9 across 98 listings, the highest volume of any issue in the series. In very high grade, a CGC 9.8 reached $6,200 at Heritage in 2009.

Green Lantern on screen in 2026: impact on collecting

The Lanterns series (HBO/Max, scheduled to premiere on 16 August 2026) stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, in an eight-episode thriller format inspired by True Detective. A second season was confirmed as early as May 2026. This raised profile has renewed collector interest in keys tied to both characters — Showcase #22 for Hal Jordan and Green Lantern #87 for John Stewart have both appeared prominently on collector watchlists since the casting was announced. The 2011 film starring Ryan Reynolds, which underperformed at the box office, had no lasting impact on valuations; the new HBO series, backed by a major production and distribution budget, represents a significantly more powerful visibility driver for the character.