Green Lantern’s cinematic history has been less than stellar (to put it mildly). However, the best Green Lantern comics stand up as some of the most iconic of the medium. However, it can be daunting to comb through more than 80 years of comic history to find the must-reads. So, we’ve put together a guide below so you can get started reading some of the classics.
Best Green Lantern comics as of 2025
Multiple heroes have gone by the name Green Lantern over the years. In fact, there’s a whole corps that uses the iconic rings to fight evil. The first Green Lantern, Alan Scott, was a fairly run-of-the-mill superhero, but the second one, Hal Jordan, would eventually receive some of the deepest lore of any hero in the DC Universe.
The Green Lantern Corps is deeply rooted in the DC mythos, so you’ll likely want to explore more of their stories. However, the comics below are a great place to dip your toes and get started.
Sinestro Corps War
Written by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons, with art by Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, and Ethan Van Sciver, Sinestro Corps War ranks among the best events in DC Comics history. An 11-part crossover that includes Green Lantern #21–25, Green Lantern Corps #14–19, and Sinestro Corps Special #1, the Sinestro Corps War story picks up after Green Lantern: Rebirth (another strong honorable mention for best Green Lantern comic). The plot focuses on Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner as members of the Green Lantern Corps.
Together, the group faces off in an interstellar war against the Sinestro Corps, led by Sinestro himself, a former Green Lantern turned power-hungry despot bent on ruling the universe.
Fan reception is overwhelmingly positive here, particularly for the story’s pacing and its ability to seamlessly weave together the Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps narratives. The central conflict between the Corps and Sinestro reaches its peak, delivering both explosive action and emotional stakes for the characters. This is fortunate, as this comic-reader can’t stand action at the expense of development. The artwork was also widely praised, with the first issue receiving an Eisner Award nomination for Best Penciller/Inker Team.
Earth One
Departing from standard DC continuity, Green Lantern: Earth One (2018) is a two-volume reimagined origin story from writers Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman. In this version, Hal Jordan is a disillusioned former NASA astronaut now working for a mining corporation deep in space. It’s not the job he hoped for, but it sure beats staying on an Earth that feels stagnant and directionless.
Hal stumbles upon a power ring and the remains of a fallen Green Lantern, setting him on a path to rebuild the Green Lantern Corps from a handful of surviving ring-bearers. Together, they stand against the Manhunters — a relentless, robotic killing force.
The story has a dark, cinematic tone, with echoes of classic sci-fi franchises like Alien or The Expanse. Hardman, who has experience storyboarding in Hollywood, brings a moody, industrial atmosphere to the art, filled with shadowy panels and a gritty galactic landscape. Earth One succeeds in reinventing the hero for a new era, so much so that this may be not only one of the best Green Lantern comics but possibly one of the strongest Earth One titles, though Batman: Earth One still gives it serious competition. Still, this one actually rethinks how characters fundamentally operate, which maybe gives the edge to Green Lantern.
A New Dawn
The title is often used interchangeably across collected editions—Green Lantern: A New Dawn, Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight/New Dawn, and Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner Vol. 1 all refer to roughly different parts of the same storyline. Initially published in 1994, A New Dawn was written by Ron Marz with art by Darryl Banks. A New Dawn is part of the early Kyle Rayner era and is as a solid jumping-on point, even for newcomers to the Green Lantern comics.This is where Kyle steps in to take over as Earth’s Green Lantern following Hal Jordan’s fall during Emerald Twilight.
Unlike other superhero franchises that tend to keep the same character in the lead — aside from the small but still revolving door of Robins — parting ways with the Green Lantern you grew up with can be tough for longtime readers. But Ron Marz did a good job of rejuvenating the character for a new generation. Kyle Rayner may start somewhat irresponsible with his newfound power, but a traumatic event forces him to refocus and begin growing into the hero he’s meant to be.
Blackest Night
Beyond being one of the best Green Lantern stories, Blackest Night could easily rank as one of the most extraordinary DC crossover events of all time. It takes the stakes of a typical superhero battle and elevates them to galactic horror. Not only does it feature supervillains but an entire army of zombified villains and fallen heroes, reanimated as members of the terrifying Black Lantern Corps. Among them are once-beloved figures like Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and Hawkman.
Published between 2009 and 2010, Blackest Night builds directly off years of groundwork laid in earlier Green Lantern comics. The seeds of the story were first planted at the end of the Sinestro Corps War, where the Blackest Night prophecy was revealed. This prophecy foretold the rise of the emotional spectrum, where each Lantern Corps harnesses the energy of a specific emotion: willpower (green), fear (yellow), rage (red), hope (blue), love (violet), compassion (indigo), and avarice (orange). Ultimately, this corps-combo would kick off a cosmic “War of Light,” ultimately destroying the universe.
According to both Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, Blackest Night serves as the third installment in a Green Lantern trilogy that began with Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004–2005), continued with Sinestro Corps War (2007), and led to this massive, universe-threatening event. This one is part of the best Green Lantern comic list, not only for its entertainment and artistic value but also because it reshaped the Green Lantern mythos and the DC universe.
The Brave and the Bold
Green Lantern has made numerous appearances throughout the nearly 30-year run of The Brave and the Bold, often teaming up with heroes like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. But for this entry, we’re specifically referring to The Flash and Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold, a 2000 one-shot written by Tom Peyer and Mark Waid, with art by Tom Grindberg and Barry Kitson.
While Green Lantern has teamed up with a wide range of DC heroes over the years, this story puts the spotlight on one of the most beloved friendships in the DC Universe: Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. In more recent comics, their dynamic hasn’t been as front-and-center, so if you’re more familiar with modern runs, this is an excellent opportunity to revisit the strong bond and effortless teamwork between the Flash and Green Lantern.
Set just before the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, this story embraces a Silver Age comic style while still delivering all that made Hal and Barry’s friendship so iconic. If you’ve missed seeing this duo work side by side, take a quick trip back to the year 2000 to enjoy some vintage (yeah, crazy, we’re even saying that) chemistry between two of DC’s finest.
How we chose the best Green Lantern comics
Though not as widely known as some of DC’s other iconic heroes, Green Lantern has a solid catalog of stories. So whether you’re a longtime fan or completely new to the character, there are plenty of great entry points to jump into.
As with our other “best of” comic lists, we considered several factors: the quality of the artwork, character development, the significance of each story to the Green Lantern mythos, and the extent to which the comics contribute to the broader DC Universe. These are just a few of our favorites, but yeah, how do you ever pick just five?
