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Green Lantern Reading Order

In brightest day and in blackest night, Green Lantern has been protecting the Earth and fighting against evil in the entire universe since 1940! 

Created by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger, the first  Green Lantern, Alan Scott, made his first appearance in DC Comics’ All-American Comics #16 (July 1940). A founding member of the Justice Society of America, Alan wielded a mystical ring tied to a magical lantern.

In the Silver Age, Green Lantern was reimagined as Hal Jordan, a test pilot chosen by the alien Abin Sur to be the new owner of a power ring fueled by willpower. He joined the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic law enforcement organization created by the Guardians of the Universe on the planet Oa.

Over the decades, others from Earth have joined the Corps, including John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, and more. Each protecting the Universe and Sector 2814 (aka Earth) with the power of their ring. 

Following is our extensive guide to the Green Lantern comics, from the Golden Age to the Geoff Johns era and beyond… to the many adventures in space and on Earth! 

Green Lantern Guide: The Menu

Green Lantern Complete Reading Order: 

  1. Golden Age Green Lantern, featuring Alan Scott (1941-1949)
  2. Silver Age Green Lantern, the debut of Hal Jordan (1959-1979)
  3. Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Travelin’ Heroes (1979-1980)
  4. The Bronze Age and the Tales of the Green Lantern Corps (1980-1988)
  5. The 1990s Green Lantern Part I: The Fall of Hal Jordan (1989-1994)
  6. The 1990s Green Lantern Part II: The Rise of Kyle Rayner (1994-2004)
  7. Green Lantern Modern Era: The Geoff Johns Era (2004-2013)
  8. Green Lantern New 52: The End of an Era, The Start of a New One (2011-2016)
  9. Green Lantern Rebirth: Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (2016-2021)
  10. Green Lantern Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC (2021-2024)
  11. Green Lantern All In (2024-)

An Introduction to The Green Lanterns

Who are the Green Lanterns? 
Check out our primer on the most important Green Lantern Characters

If you’re new to the world of Green Lanterns and would simply like to take a peek at this universe before committing to longer runs, DC Comics has you covered with several books collecting some of the most classic stories from more than seven decades of comics! 

  • Green Lantern: A Celebration of 75 Years
    features stories from all of Earth’s Green Lanterns—from the wartime avenger Alan Scott to brash Guy Gardner, from solemn John Stewart to young, cool Kyle. And, of course, read the rise, fall and redemption of the greatest Green Lantern of them all, Hal Jordan.
  • Green Lantern: John Stewart – A Celebration of 50 Years
    This volume includes Green Lantern Vol. 2 #87, #182, and #185, Green Lantern Vol. 3 #74 and #156, Green Lantern Vol. 4 #49, Green Lantern: Mosaic #18, and Justice League of America #110.
  • Green Lantern: 80 Years of the Emerald Knight
    Iconic stories selected from eight decades of the Emerald Knight, including classic appearances of all the Earth Green Lanterns, and the never-before reprinted “Origin of Vandal Savage”.
  • Green Lantern: The Greatest Stories Ever Told
    Green Lantern (vol. 2) #1, #31, #74, #87, #172; Green Lantern (vol. 3) #3; Green Lantern Secret Files and Origins 2005; Flash and Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold #2

Green Lantern Omnibus Collection

Before getting to the full Green Lantern comics reading order, the following is a listing of all the Green Lantern Omnibus volumes released by DC Comics:

  • Green Lantern: The Silver Age Omnibus vol. 1
    Collects Showcase #22-24 and Green Lantern vol. 2 #1-35.
  • Green Lantern: The Silver Age Omnibus vol. 2 [2025 Edition]
    Collects Green Lantern vol. 2 #36-75.
  • Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Travelin’ Heroes Omnibus
    Collects Green Lantern #76-87, 89-123, Worlds Finest Comics #201, and stories from Brave and the Bold #100, DC Special-Series #1, DC Super-Stars #17, The Flash #218-224, #226-228, #230-231, #233-234, #237-238, #240-246, Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1, and Worlds Finest Comics #210, #255, with a brand-new introduction by Mike Grell. Part of this run is also available in Green Lantern / Green Arrow: Hard-Traveling Heroes Deluxe Edition
  • Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold Deluxe Edition
    Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold #1–6. Explore Hal Jordan and Barry Allen’s friendship throughout six stories set in different periods, the last one around Green Lantern #125.
  • Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Omnibus Vol. 1
    Collects Green Lantern Rebirth #1-6, Green Lantern Corps Recharge #1-5, Green Lantern #1-25, Green Lantern Corps #14-18, Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1, Green Lantern Secret Files 2005 #1, Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman Prime #1 and Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps Secret Files #1. Green Lantern Rebirth is also available in Deluxe Edition.
  • Green Lantern Corps by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Omnibus Vol. 1
    Collects Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1-5; Green Lantern Corps #1-38; Green Lantern #21-25; Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1; And Stories From Showcase ’95 #7-8, Blackest Night: Tales Of The Corps #1-3, And Untold Tales Of Blackest Night #1.
  • Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Omnibus Vol. 2
    Collects Green Lantern #26-52, Blackest Night #0-7, DC Universe #0, Untold Tales of Blackest Night #1-2, Blackest Night Tales of the Corps #1-2. 
  • Blackest Night Omnibus 10th Anniversary Edition
    Collects Adventure Comics #4-5,7, Blackest Night #0-8, Blackest Night: Batman #1-3, Blackest Night: The Flash #1-3, Blackest Night: JSA #1-3, Blackest Night: Superman #1-3, Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1-3, Blackest Night: Titans #1-3, Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1-3, Catwoman #83, Green Arrow #30, Green Lantern #43-53, Green Lantern Corps #39-47, Phantom Stranger #42, Starman #81, Suicide Squad #67, The Atom and Hawkman #46, The Power of Shazam! #48, The Question #37, Untold Tales of Blackest Night #1 and Weird Western Tales #71 
  • Brightest Day Omnibus
    Collects Brightest Day #0-24.
  • Green Lantern Corps by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason Omnibus Vol. 2
    Collects Green Lantern Corps #39-47 #59-60, Green Lantern Corps (The New 52) #0-20, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #1-13, Blackest Night #8, Green Lantern #65-67, Green Lantern (The New 52) #17, #20, Green Lantern Corps Annual #1, and a story from Green Lantern 80th Anniversary JOO-Page Super Spectacular #1.
  • Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Omnibus Vol. 3
    Collects Green Lantern #53-60, Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special #1, Green Lantern (2011) #1-20, Green Lantern Annual #1, Green Lantern Corps #58-60, And Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #8-10.
  • Green Lantern Corps by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason Omnibus Vol. 2
    Collects Green Lantern Corps #39-47 #59-60, Green Lantern Corps (The New 52) #0-20, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #1-13, Blackest Night #8, Green Lantern #65-67, Green Lantern (The New 52) #17, #20, Green Lantern Corps Annual #1, and a story from Green Lantern 80th Anniversary JOO-Page Super Spectacular #1.
  • Red Lanterns: The New 52 Omnibus [2025]
    Collects Red Lanterns #0-27, #29-40; Stormwatch #9; Supergirl #31; Green Lantern/Red Lanterns #28; Green Lantern Annual #2; Red Lanterns Annual #1; Red Lanterns: Futures End #1.
  • Green Lantern by Robert Venditti Omnibus Vol. 1 [2025]
    Collects Green Lantern Corps #21-34, Green Lantern #21-34, Green Lantern: New Guardians #23-24, Green Lantern Annual #2, Green Lantern Corps Annual #2, Green Lantern: New Guardians #23-24, Secret Origins #3 and #9, Red Lanterns #24, and Green Lantern #23.1: Relic.
  • Green Lantern by Robert Venditti Omnibus Vol. 2 [2026]
    Collects Red Lanterns #35-37, Green Lantern: New Guardians #35-37, Green Lantern Corps #35-40, Green Lantern #35-52, Green Lantern Annual #3-4, Sinestro #6-8, Green Lantern: Futures End #1, Green Lantern Corps: Futures End #1, and Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead #1.
  • Far Sector Deluxe Edition
    Collects Far Sector #1-12; Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1; DC Pride #1; DC Power: A Celebration #1; DC Power 2024 #1.

Green Lantern Complete Reading Order

Golden Age Green Lantern, featuring Alan Scott 

Created by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger, Alan Scott first appeared in All-American Comics #16, where a mystical lantern transforms his life, granting him magical skills and turning him into the Green Lantern!

  • Green Lantern is featured in All-American Comics #16-102 (the title’s cancellation).
  • In the fall of 1941, he received his own title, Green Lantern. It lasted 38 issues. 
  • Alan Scott was also a founding member of the Justice League Society and appeared in early issues of All-Star Comics (#1-10, #24-57)
  • Green Lantern also appeared in the early issues of Comic Cavalcade (#1-29), launched in winter 1942.

The Golden Age Green Lantern is not a well-collected period by DC Comics. The publisher released two Green Lantern Archives volumes in the late 90s/early 2000s that are now only available second-hand and are quite expensive.

Green Lantern was cancelled with issue #38 (May-June 1949), and All Star Comics #57 (1951) was Alan Scott’s last appearance in the Golden Age era.

Silver Age Green Lantern, the debut of Hal Jordan

After eight years out of print, Green Lantern made his comeback into the pages of DC Comics. However, Alan Scott didn’t make his return, as the superhero was reinvented by John Broome and Gil Kane, following a demand by editor Julius Schwartz. The duo created Hal Jordan, who made his first appearance in Showcase #22 (October 1959). The Green Lantern of the Silver Age era (and beyond) moved away from the magical elements in favor of a more science-fiction approach.

A former fighter pilot, Hal Jordan was given a power ring and a battery (the famous lantern) by a dying alien named Abin Sur whose spaceship crashed on Earth. With Jordan came the mythology surrounding the Green Lantern Corps, new concepts, and new characters, including the supervillain Sinestor, Guy Gardner and more!  

 

This era has been collected in two omnibuses, and is right now reprinted in the new DC Finest Collection, affordable large-size paperbacks collecting reprints of classic popular stories from different eras: 

  • Showcase #22-24 and Green Lantern (1960)#1-18 are not yet collected in the DC Finest Collection.
    • Supervillain Sinestro made his first appearance in Green Lantern Vol. 2 #7.
    • Carol Ferris, Hal Jordan’s love interest, became the Star Sapphire in issue #16
  • DC Finest: Green Lantern – The Defeat of Green Lantern (1963–1965)
    Collects Green Lantern (1960) #19-39, The Flash (1959) #143, and The Brave and The Bold #59.
  • DC Finest: Green Lantern – Earth’s Other Green Lantern (1965-1968) [2025]
    Collects stories from The Flash #168, Green Lantern #40-61 and The Brave and The Bold #69.

    • Green Lantern Guy Gardner made his first appearance in #59
  • Green Lantern#62-75 are not yet collected in the DC Finest Collection.

DC Comics has also reprinted part of the Silver Age in four volumes of Green Lantern: The Silver Age trade paperbacks (covering 48 issues), as well as in their Green Lantern Chronicles collection (also 4 vol., but only around 20 issues collected).


What about Alan Scott? As a member of the JSA, our Golden Age Green Lantern appeared in Flash #137 where the JSA is reformed. The team made its proper return in the DC Universe in Justice League of America #21-22 while Alan Scott made his first solo Silver Age appearance in Showcase #55, teaming up with Doctor Fate and Hourman. This particular issue is considered the proper revival of the Golden Age characters.

Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Travelin’ Heroes

From issues #76 to #122 (April to Nov. 1979), Hal Jordan is joined by Green Arrow for a journey across America to confront and deal with social and political issues. Coming from writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams, this run has a massive impact on the industry and is today a classic DC comic!

What does it take to be a superhero? Where should a superhero stand in society? What is important to a superhero? These are all questions Green Arrow aims to ask Green Lantern by forcing the space cop out of the stars and onto the ground where real issues are festering. Together, these hard-traveling heroes traverse America, and a few alien landscapes, to understand how the world is not black-and-white. Poverty, corruption, pollution, racism, and drug addiction are only some of the issues the Emerald Warriors face.

At this moment, the best way to collect this period is to go with the Green Lantern/Green Arrow: Hard Travelin’ Heroes Omnibus. This era has also been in part collected in: 

The Bronze Age and the Tales of the Green Lantern Corps

Green Arrow left the title at issue #123, with the series returning to Green Lantern solo adventures for a time. Things would take a new turn in the early 1980s with the publication of The Green Lantern Corps miniseries (also only the fourth comic-book miniseries ever published), before moving to a back-up slot in Green Lantern. 

  • Green Lantern vol. 2 #124-147 have not been collected yet.
    • Dennis O’Neil left the title with issue #129.
    • Created by writer Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton, the Omega Men made their first appearance in Green Lantern #141.
  • Tales of the Green Lantern Corps vol. 1
    Collects Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #1-3; and backup stories from Green Lantern vol. 2 #148, 151-154, 161, 162, and 164-167.
  • Tales of the Green Lantern Corps vol. 2
    Collects backup stories from Green Lantern vol. 2 #168, 169, 171-173, 177, 179-183, 185, 187-190, and Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #1.
  • Green Lantern: Sector 2814 vol. 1
    Collects Green Lantern vol. 2 #172-176 & 178-181.

In Green Lantern Vol. 2 #182, written by Len Wein and illustrated by Dave Gibbons, John Stewart becomes the new Green Lantern of Earth. After that, he must confront threats from Eclipso and Star Sapphire, and even battle his predecessor, Hal Jordan.

  • Green Lantern: Sector 2814 vol. 2
    Collects Green Lantern vol. 2 #182-183 & 185-193. 

    • Created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the sentient planet Mogo made its first appearance in issue #188. 
    • Issue #184 is not “missing,” it was a reprinting of Green Lantern (1960) #59.
    • Guy Gardner is reintroduced in issue #183.

Crisis on Infinite Earths happens here! The Crisis that rebooted the DC Universe and changed the American comic book industry forever had a minimal impact on the Green Lantern Universe (there were casualties and consequences for the Green Lantern Corps). As one of the most important events in Comic book and DC Comics history, we recommend reading it, though it is optional for our Emerald Warriors.

Following the Crisis and the double-sized 200th issue, the Green Lantern title became the Green Lantern Corps, focused on Hal Jordan and a team of Green Lanterne based on Earth, until the comic cancellation in 1988, with issue #224.

Guy Gardner in the JLI!

Not long after the events of Crisis of Infinite Earths and Legends, a new Justice League was created, financed by Maxwell Lord, and far away from the heroic image of the team. This is Justice League International, a sitcom-like version of the League that remains unique to this day. Guy Gardner was one of the member of the team! – Read more about the Justice League International.

Millennium DC Comics Event

Optional. Millennium is a messy crossover event with ties to the Green Lanterns. When a Guardian and a Zamaron appear on Earth and announce they are selecting ten people on Earth to advance the human race, the robotic Manhunters want to prevent this, revealing they have a sleeper agent on Earth to help them. 

The catch (beyond discovering who the sleeper agents are) is that this event cannot be read without most of the tie-ins, where important story bits happen, making the main event less compelling by itself. 

At this date, DC Comics has collected the main event in a trade, but not the tie-ins. 

Spun out from the pages of Millennium was the infamous The today infamous New Guardians series, which was originally destined to be written by Steve Englehart. He quickly left the title when he realized he was not given the creative freedom that was promised. 

Between a lack of good trade and the bad reputation of those comics, we invite you, if you are not a completist, to skip this part.

The Green Lantern has been disbanded! But the former members are staying busy, starting with John Stewart, who appears in the Cosmic Odyssey mini-series from Jim Starlin and Mike Mignola. This story became quite significant for John Stewart, although it is important to know that it was originally Guy Gardner who was supposed to appear in this title, and that not a lot has been made to take that change into account in terms of characterization. 

As for Hal Jordan, he joined the Action Comics Weekly!

The 1990s Green Lantern Part I: The Fall of Hal Jordan

At that point, the Green Lantern wasn’t in great shape and the Green Lantern Corps was still non-existent. DC Comics reintroduced the Green Lantern to readers by revisiting Hal Jordan origin story (retcon a few years later by Geoff Johns), and launching a new Green Lantern title, starting with a first arc featuring Hal, Guy Gardner, and John Stewart:  

The following years have not been properly collected by DC Comics, as part of this era was written by Gerard Jones (who has been arrested and sentenced for crimes we won’t talk about here). To help you navigate this era, we invite you to check out this great issue-by-issue reading order guide made by a Green Lantern fan.

  • Green Lantern (Vol. 3) #9-26 have not been collected.
    • Green Lantern (vol. 3) #19 attempts to retcon Alan Scott’s origin
    • New Series! Green Lantern Corps Quarterly (#1-8) featuring Alan Scott starts after GL #24
    • New Series! Green Lantern Mosaic (#1-18) featuring John Stewart starts after GL #24
    • The One-Shot Green Lantern: Ganthet’s Tale was published between GL #25 & #26.

What about Alan Scott? In a post-Crisis World, the JLA found themselves trapped in Limbo until the events of Armageddon: Inferno, a follow-up to Armageddon 2001. They then came back, including Alan Scott, to the modern-day DC Universe, and their stories were told in Justice Society of America (1992-1993), canceled after 10 issues – only available on digital.

Guy Gardner left the main title at issue #25. He then goes on to star in:

  • Guy Gardner Reborn
    Collects the 3-issue miniseries.
  • Guy Gardner #1-44
    Available on digital after issue #8.

    • Guy Gardner #1-10
    • Guy Gardner #11-14 (Year One storyline)
    • Justice League America #83
    • Guy Gardner #15-16

With issue #17, the title is renamed Guy Gardner: Warrior and will have a tie-in with Zero Hour (see below!). The title lasted until issue #44.

Green Lantern continues, still uncollected…

  • Green Lantern (Vol. 3) #26-43

DC Universe: Trinity is a 1993 crossover miniseries between DC’s space police series Green Lantern, L.E.G.I.O.N.and Darkstars. 

  • DCU: Trinity #1
  • Green Lantern (Vol. 3) #44
  • L.E.G.I.O.N. #57
  • Darkstars #11
  • Green Lantern (Vol. 3) #45
  • L.E.G.I.O.N. #58
  • Darkstars #12
  • DCU: Trinity #2

Death of Superman is one of the most iconic story for the Man of Steel, with the event taking place also having a massive impact on Hal Jordan, who simply lost his mind afterwards.

  • Death and Return of Superman Omnibus
    Collects Superman: The Man Of Steel #17-26, Superman #73-83, Adventures Of Superman #496-505, Action Comics #683-692, Justice League America #69, Superman: The Legacy Of Superman #1 And Green Lantern #46.
  • Green Lantern (Vol. 3) #47 concludes this period as a new main Green Lantern took over… 

The 1990s Green Lantern Part II: The Rise of Kyle Rayner

In the mid-90s, DC Comics wanted to shake things up for the Green Lantern and hired writer Ron Marz to stir the title in a new direction. With artist Darryl Banks, they created Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, named after the character from James Cameron’s The Terminator, who made his first appearance in Green Lantern vol. 3 #48 (1994) as part of the famous Emerald Twilight Storyline. Kyle Rayner became the sole Green Lantern throughout the late 1990s and into the mid-2000s in a very successful run that rejuvenated the franchise. And DC Comics recently started to collect this era in their Compendium Collection: 

While Kyle Rayner is our main Green Lantern, this period is also one of the most important for Hal Jordan, as it is the start f his Parallax era:

  • The Emerald Twilight storyline takes place in Green Lantern (1990) #48-50 with Hal taking on the name Parallax at the end.
  • The story of Parallax continues in Emerald Fallout, during Guy Gardner: Warrior #18-21
  • In the meantime, John Stewart joins Darkstars in issue #21.
  • Parallax’s story continues not long after with the Zero Hour: A Crisis in Time crossover event
    • Green Lantern #54-55, Guy Gardner: Warrior #24, and Darkstars #24-25 are tie-ins
  • Before #56, Green Lantern #0 serves as an epilogue to Zero Hour.
  • Parallax story concludes in Final Night, see below! 

Final Night! This is a major event for Hal Jordan. As Darkness envelops the DC Universe, can DC’s greatest heroes and scientists save the day? With hope all but lost, can Hal Jordan save a planet he previously turned his back on? And if so, at what cost?

  • The Final Night 
    Collects The Final Night Preview, The Final Night #1-4, Parallax: Emerald Night #1, and Green Lantern #81.

Kyle Rayner in the JLA!

After years without A-listers, Grant Morrison and Howard Porter brought the core Justice League team back together, and introduced the idea of JLA as a modern pantheon of gods. This is one of the most celebrated runs on the Justice League, and Kyle Rayner was part of it. – Read more about Grant Morrison’s JLA

Kyle Rayner’s tenure as Green Lantern continues! While waiting for another Compendium that would cover this period, you can find those issues on digital! 

At this point, Judd Winick became Green Lantern’s main writer, starting a new era for Kyle Rayner that has been better collected than the previous years. It’s during his run that Kyle Rayner became known as Ion. 

Alan Scott Modern Entry Point! 

In 2000, “Geoff Johns brought Justice Society of America characters rooted in the Golden Age of comics back to the forefront of comics.” This is one of the most famous runs on the JSA today that can also serve as a modern entry point for readers interested in Alan Scott. – Read more about Geoff Johns’ JSA

Hal Jordan is The Spectre

Set after Day of Judgement, The Spectre (Vol. 4) features Hal Jordan as the human host of the Spectre. The title lasted 27 issues, all written by J.M. DeMatteis and unfortunately uncollected at this date. Hal will appear as The Spectre in JLA and JSA more than once during this time. Follow our guide to Hal Jordan as The Spectre to learn more about it.

Green Lantern Modern Era: The Geoff Johns Era

From DC Comics, “The modern era of Green Lantern begins here”! The start of the 2000s was once again a time for change for Green Lantern. The sales of the main dropped off, Spectre featuring Hal Jordan was cancelled, and the appearance of the character in New Frontier motivated DC to make Hal Jordan a Green Lantern once more!

And then started Geoff Johns ‘epic run on Green Lantern. The writer brought back Hal Jordan, rebuilt and expanded the Green Lantern franchise with new concepts such as the Emotional Spectrum and characters, spin-off series, and major events with the help of Peter J. Tomasi and other writers. It lasted nearly 10 years, going beyond the New 52 reboot! 

For those who are jumping right now into this era and like big books, DC Comics starts to reprint this period in the Compendium collection, collecting Geoff Johns’ work alongside the other GL series:

  • Green Lantern Compendium One: Rebirth [2025]
    Collects Green Lantern #1-17, Green Lantern: Rebirth #1-6, Green Lantern Secret Files 2005 #1, Rann/Thanagar War #1-6, Green Lantern Corps #1-6, Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1-5, Guy Gardner: Collateral Damage #1-2, Ion #1-12, and Rann/Thanagar War: Infinite Crisis Special #1. More than 1500 pages!

    • Green Lantern #7-8 are tie-ins to Infinite Crisis.
  • More Compendium to come, we hope! 
  • Green Lantern Simon Baz made his first full appearance in Green Lantern Vol 5 #0, at the start of the New 52 era. 

This period has been collected in various collections, including several omnibuses. We invite you to check out our Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Reading Guide, which predates this article, where we cover everything in detail and more. 

The Essential!

Yes, you should read Green Lantern, the Green Lantern Corps and other spin-offs for the full experience. For those who just want the essential, you can read only Geoff Johns’run: 

Green Lantern: Rebirth | Secret Origin | Green Lantern: No Fear |  Infinite Crisis | Revenge of the Green Lanterns | Wanted – Hal Jordan | The Sinestro War Corps | Rage of the Red Lanterns | Agent Orange | Blackest Night| Blackest Night: Green Lantern | Brightest Day Vol. 1  and Vol. 2 | Brightest Day: Green Lantern | War of the Green Lanterns | War of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath

Geoff Johns in New 52: 

Sinestro | Revenge of the Black Hand | Rise of the Third Army | Wrath of the First Lantern

Green Lantern New 52: The End of an Era, The Start of a New One (2011-2016)

25 years after Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC relaunched their entire Universe with the New 52 Initiative. While some heroes were given new origin stories and their history was rewritten, the Green Lantern franchise wasn’t affected. Geoff Johns’s run wasn’t finished yet! Johns brought his run on Green Lantern to an end in 2013 with Wrath of the First Lantern (see above!). The writer also introduced new Green Lantern Simon.

Starting with issue #21, writer Robert Venditti and artist Billy Tan took over the main title, and Venditti also co-wrote the Green Lantern Corps for a time with Van Jensen before the latter became the sole writer. Charles Soule’s run on the Red Lanterns gained good critics and was a must-read for Guy Gardner fans, while Kyle Rayner headlined Green Lantern: New Guardians by Justin Jordan, and Sinestro has his own title written by Cullen Bunn.

The series crossover and generally take place at the same time. For those who read everything and want a chronological order, check out our Green Lantern New 52 guide, which includes an issue-by-issue order.

Interlude (Optional). For two months in 2015, DC Comics’ regular line of comics was put on hold while the publisher relocated from New York City to Burbank, California. Instead was published Convergence, a massive crossover event revisiting characters from past eras and realities. Two stories were published during this event featuring Green Lanterns, one starring Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner set in the Pre-Zero Hour timeline, and another with Guy Gardner, John Stewart and also Hal Jordan set on Pre-Crisis Earth One. As for Alan Scott, he is part of the main event as a survivor of Earth-2.

  • Convergence
    Collects Convergence #0-8
  • Convergence: Zero Hour Book Two
    Collects Superman: Man Of Steel #1-2, Batman: Shadow Of The Bat #1-2, Supergirl: Matrix #1-2, Aquaman #1-2 And Green Lantern/Parallax #1-2.
  • Convergence: Crisis Book One
    Collects Convergence: Batman And The Outsiders #1-2, Convergence: Adventures Of Superman #1-2, Convergence: Green Lantern Corps #1-2, Convergence: Superboy And The Legion Of Super-Heroes #1-2 And Convergence: Hawkman #1-2.

After Convergence, Alan Scott’s story continues in the Earth 2 title, created by James Robinson and Nicola Scott.

Convergence was also used to put an end to the New 52 branding in favor of the DC You Initiative, which we consider now an extension of the New 52 era. I

Green Lantern Rebirth: Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps

In 2016, DC Comics soft-relaunched their Universe with the DC Rebirth Initiative. Once again, they did not completely distance themselves from the previous era of Green Lantern. The main title was canceled and replaced by two new series: Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, also called Hal and Pals by fans, continued the storyline from the previous Green Lantern title. Meanwhile, Green Lanterns, featuring Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz, served as an entry point for new readers. Both titles concluded in 2018, with the creative team of Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp taking over for a short self-contained run filled with Silver Age concepts (typical of Morrison’s style).

Two new Green Lanterns were also introduced in the last years, before this era came to an end with the Death Metal event. For more details, check out our Green Lantern Rebirth Reading Guide.

Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz in the Justice League! 

Earth-based Lanterns Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz joins the Justice League to live more adventures. They are supporting characters in those stories.  You can read the first 31 issues concurrently to Green Lanterns, or just together. We invite you to stop after issue 31, as the event Dark Knights: Metal takes place at this stage (see below). – Follow our Justice League Rebirth reading order to know more.

  • Dark Nights: Metal
    Collects Dark Nights: Metal #1-6, and Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1 and Batman Lost #1.
  • Batman The Dawnbreaker (tie-in connected to Green Lantern)
    Collected in Dark Nights: Metal: Dark Knights Rising
  • Dark Nights: Metal: The Resistance
    Collects “Gotham Resistance” (Teen Titans #12, Nightwing #29, Suicide Squad #26, Green Arrow #32) and “Bats Out Of Hell” (The Flash #33, Justice League #32-33, Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps #32), plus Batman Lost #1 and Hawkman Found #1.

More Justice League! 

Following Metal, Justice League: No Justice, and the conclusion of Green Lanterns, several JL teams are created. Simon Baz stayed on the main Justice League, and the first arc introduced the Ultraviolet Corps (it hasn’t been used in GL since then). On her side, Jessica joined the Justice League Odyssey team. It would lead to Death Metal. – Once again, check out our Justice League Rebirth reading order to know more.

Teen Lantern

Created by Brian M. Bendis and Patrick Gleason, Keli Quintela is an eleven-year-old girl who reprogrammed a gauntlet to use the powers of a Green Lantern Power Battery without the knowledge of the Green Lantern Corps. She made her debut in the 2019 Young Justice series (3 volumes) before joining the Green Lanterns at the start of Infinite Frontier.

The Rebirth era comes to an end with Dark Nights: Death Metal, the follow-up to Dark Nights: Metal! While Batman is using a Black Lantern ring in it, and Alan Scott is fighting the good fight with the JSA, the Green Lanterns are not heavily represented in the main event, on the contrary. For more Green Lantern-focused stories during this event, check out the following issues: 

Before entering a new era, celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Emerald Knight with this collection of stories highlighting the many ring bearers, from Alan Scott to the recent recruits, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz!

Green Lantern Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC 

At the end of Dark Nights: Death Metal, the DC Universe has expanded into a large Omniverse or a multiverse of multiverses and a new DC era called Infinite Frontier was launched. Geoffrey Thorne took on writing duties for a short run.

The series concluded after 12 issues, but the Green Lanterns play their part during Dark Crisis (optional reading)!

  • Alan Scott: The Green Lantern
    Collects Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1-6 and the short story from DC Pride: Through The Years #1!

    •  This story revisits and recontextualizes the origins of the first Green Lantern to fit with the man we know he is today.

Following the tragic events of Dark Crisis, the Guardians of Oa at the heart of the Green Lantern Corps have quarantined Sector 2814, home of the planet Earth—and its champion along with it! The main Green Lantern title is handled by the creative duo of Jeremy Adams and artist Xermánico, while John Stewart is headlining the Green Lantern: War Journal comics by writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Osvaldo Montos.

The DC Universe was put in shambles by Amanda Waller, who created the perfect situation to steal the metahuman abilities of every hero and villain on planet Earth. Coming from Mark Waid and artist Dan Mora, Absolute Power sees our superheroes take a last stand against Waller to help relaunch the DC Universe!

Green Lantern All In!

The Infinite Frontier/Dawn of DC came to an end with Absolute Power. Following this event, the DC All-In Special #1 establishes the new status quo for our superheroes, as well as introducing the new “Absolute Universe”! This new era begins with Green Lantern #16 from writer Jeremy Adams and artist Oclair Albert and a new Green Lantern Corps is launched, also from Adams and Albert with writers Morgan Hampton and Fernando Pasarin.

Note: An earlier version of this guide appeared on our site in 2022. It has been completely refreshed and updated with more information, the latest releases, and new pictures.

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6 thoughts on “Green Lantern Reading Order”

      1. DarkLord95
        Reply

        Sweet! I’ve been using this as a reading order for me and my friend. Glad to know it’s still being kept up. Keep up the good work.

  3. DarkLord95
    Reply

    Sorry to bug you again. I’d just like to ask if stuff like one shots and other things not canon to the main comics are included here? And if not, if you might be able to direct me to lists for those?

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