Green Lantern

Q: Are superheroes inextricably tied to their alter-ego day jobs? For example, does Clark Kent have to be a journalist, or Hal Jordan a pilot? — @Chan_180 A:For all the questions about whether the Secret Identity is a concept that can still provide drama within the superhero genre or something that just sticks around as an outdated trope from the Golden Age that was handed down to comics by Emma Orczy and the Scarlet Pimpernel, the idea of getting rid of the day job is something that's rarely discussed, probably because it hasn't actually happened all that often. Let's face it: If you're a superhero, you're a whole lot more likely to literally come back from the dead than you are to start a new career once you're in your thirties.

The Funko Pop craze shows no signs of slowing down, and yesterday the manufacturer announced perhaps its most inevitable line of Pop Vinyls yet, featuring the core cast of Batman: The Animated Series. It also announced a new line of Dorbz based around Green Lantern and the various Lantern Corps and, in a delightful surprise, a line of Mystery Minis based around DC Super Heroes & Pets.

The DC Icons series has been an interesting experiment from DC Collectibles. Following the lengthy run of New 52 figures, shaking things up by putting out characters from the vast DC Comics catalog from all different eras has proven to be quite an exercise. Though the figures in the Icons line are just out of scale with most of its contemporaries, that doesn't diminish the quality of the figures... even if it does make them look just out of place on display with other toys. We got a look at the latest additions --- John Stewart, the Joker, and Firestorm --- just in time for their release this month. All three candidates are strong additions, and give us versions of these characters that have been sorely lacking representation on the toy front.

This weekend we were at Flame Con in Brooklyn to capture the kaleidoscopic cosplay strutting through the queer comics convention's second exhibition. Highlights include Stevonnie, Wiccan, Jubilee, Stranger Things' Barb, Rufio, multiple Magnetos, and a disgruntled Asgardian coffee shop employee!

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics. Complementing our countdown of the Five Best Face Turns from a few weeks ago, this week we're counting down the five best (or, to be honest, sometimes worst), most shocking, and most devastating instances of a character turning bad or revealing themselves to have been bad all along.

On this day in 1959, issue #22 of DC Comics' Showcase appeared on newsstands. Three years earlier, in issue #4, the anthology series had introduced a radically new take on the company's super-speedy Flash character, and in doing so, laid the groundwork for a full-fledged revival of the superhero genre. In the time since, Showcase alternated through a variety of new features (Manhunters; The Flash; Challengers Of The Unknown; The Space Ranger; Rip Hunter, Time Master; Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane; Adam Strange), but with #22, it once again returned to the well of iconic properties, taking the name of a Golden Age hero and lending it to an all-new character. The original Green Lantern of the 1940s was a guy who channeled mystical "green flame" powers through a talking lantern (and a ring made from metal that he cut out of said lantern), and wore an eye-popping multi-hued outfit that looked like it was assembled by a color-blind tailor on his last day before retirement.

Can’t decide which superheroes are your favorites? Why not enjoy a little bit of all of them? That's the great thing about superhero teams; they bring together everyone from the most famous and iconic heroes to the most bizarre and obscure. And no superteam captures that idea better than the Justice League. For your viewing pleasure, we’ve amassed our own super gallery featuring cosplayers portraying members of the Justice League throughout the years. Every cape, every cowl, every leotard featured shows off the enormous wealth of talent on the part of the cosplayers who take up these heroes' mantles. These are the best Justice League cosplays ever.

If you know Gerard Jones from his work this century, you probably think of him as a comics and pop culture historian. And he fills that role well in books like Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book and Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Superheroes and Make-Believe Violence. But in the late '80s and early '90s, he didn't just write about comics, he wrote comics, notably for Marvel, DC, and Malibu. And he was one of the most important comic book writers in an era that's remembered primarily for its artists.

Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, gained his powers from a magic lamp and wielded the energy with a ring forged from its metal. As one of the first superheroes in what would become the DC Universe, Alan Scott was a founding member of the Justice Society of America and paved the way for generations more heroes, and though his successors come from a very different lineage, the name Green Lantern has always represented indomitable will.

The early days of Arrow Season 4 saw enough Green Lantern teases to get fan hopes up, but will Season 5 do the same? The latest addition features a surprising personal connection to Hal Jordan, as Carly Pope joins Season 5 as a Coast City reporter.