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Sinestro Reading Order, Your Essential Guide to the Master of Fear

When Sinestro was ranked the “15th-greatest comic book villain of all time” by IGN in 2009, it was certainly a place that the character had earned. However, Sinestro wasn’t always deserving of such a rank! While he was still the main Green Lantern villain, Thaal Sinestro was a classic Silver Age villain who liked to twirl his mustache and not much else.

Things started to change with Emerald Twilight and took a turn for the better in the 2000s when Geoff Johns updated the character and fleshed him out to give him more depth and a deeper and more complex relationship with Green Lantern Hal Jordan.

Since then, Sinestro has classically walked the line between good and evil, has shifted between Corps depending on his motivation and has been made an anti-hero. He even headlined his own comic at some point!

Once you meet Sinestro, chances are you will want to know about him! Below, you’ll find the most essential and classic Sinestro comics, from his debut in the Silver Age to the creation of the Sinestro Corps and beyond!

Sinestro, The Classic Stories (1961-1999)

Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Sinestro made his first appearance in Green Lantern (vol. 2) #7 (August 1961). Modeled after British actor David Niven, Sinestro acted more often like Dick Dastardly than an evil gentleman! He was, after all, a villain from the Silver Age and was doing a decent job at it!

While the DC Universe was rebooted following the Crisis, Sinestro’s history was left mostly untouched at the time. A few years later down the line, his history with Hal Jordan was being rewritten in Emerald Dawn II, becoming the most emblematic tale for the character before Geoff Johns took over as the main writer in the 2000s.

  • Green Lantern #7 (1961) – The First appearance of Thaal Sinestro.
  • Secret Society of Super-Villains (1976) – Sinestro is a key member of this group that try to eradicate the Justice League! [Secret Society of Super-Villains #1-1]
  • Green Lantern Vol. 2 #123–127 (1980) – Hal Jordan is fighting Sinestro on those classic tales from Dennis O’Neil.
  • Green Lantern Corps #222-224 (1989) – Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths Sinestro is put on trial for his life by the Green Lantern Corps.
  • Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II (1991) – Emerald Dawn is the reimagined origin of Hal Jordan in a Post-Crisis Continuity and Emerald Dawn II the tale that retcon his relationship with Sinestro and made him his mentor. [Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II #1-6]
  • Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight (1994) – This important tale in the Green Lantern lore sees Hal Jordan losing it and fighting Sinestro in the last issue. [Green Lantern (vol. 3) #48–50]
  • Green Lantern vol.3 #100 – The unexpected team-up between Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner facing up Sinestro.
  • Secret Origins of Super-Villains 80 Page Giant (1999) – The short story “Random Choice” is exploring the Origin story of Sinestro.

The Reinvention of Sinestro by Geoff Johns (2005-2013)

Your Starting Point! Geoff Johns’ 7-years saga on Green Lantern has become the de facto run to read for every Poozer out there, and for a good reason! He completely redefined and revamped the Green Lanterns, including Sinestro.

From the outset, Geoff Johns chose to make readers aware of how dangerous Sinestro was. Kyle Rayner mentions that Guy Gardner used to mock all of the old villains that Hal faced, except for Sinestro.

Originally hailing from the planet Korugar, Thaal Sinestro was the greatest Green Lantern where his need for control and order in a chaotic world transformed him into a dictator of his homeworld! Ejected from the Corps when the Guardians learned of his methods, Sinestro was still convinced of his superiority and methods and would go on to form the Sinestro Corps, harnessing the yellow energy of fear, and becoming the Corps’ greatest enemy!

You can naturally learn all of this and much more about Sinestro and his capacity to do anything to achieve control in Geoff Johns’ run! DC Comics is collecting this whole period of Green Lantern in Compendiums that reprints all the Green Lantern stories in chronological order. We recommend going for this collection if you’re a new reader interested in the Green Lantern lore, not just Sinestro. For a focus on Sinestro’s history during this period, check out:

Before starting the New 52 era, we invite you to take a little journey through time with Booster Gold who has to team up with Sinestro to prevent an evil force from unraveling the origins of Hal Jordan in Booster Gold #2, written by Geoff Johns.

Following a change in the past and Barry Allen’s fix on Flashpoint, the world of the DC Universe was changed! It was the launch of The New 52 publishing initiative. A new DC Universe was born. However, Geoff Johns wasn’t finished yet with the Green Lanterns and their new member: Sinestro! Yes, Thaal Sinestro has rejoined the Green Lantern Corps, remembering everyone is still one of the most qualified Lanterns and teaming up with his pal Hal Jordan:

  • Green Lantern Vol 1: Sinestro – Now with a Green Ring, Sinestro has set a course for Korugar with one purpose: To free his homeworld from the scourge of his own Sinestro Corps, with the not-so-willing help of Hal Jordan! [Collects Green Lantern vol. 5 #1–6]
  • Green Lantern Vol 2: Revenge of the Black Hand – Hal Jordan and Sinestro team-up continue. [Collects Green Lantern vol. 5 #7–12]
  • Green Lantern: Wrath of the First Lantern – Geoff Johns’s run concludes here with more changes for Sinestro! [Green Lantern #17-20, Green Lantern Corps #17-20, Red Lanterns #17-20, Green Lantern: New Guardians #17-20]

Sinestro by Cullen Bunn (2013-2015)

More than 50 years after his debut, Thaal Sinestro became the star of his own comic! Coming from writer Cullen Bunn, Sinestro puts the famous Villain under the spotlight to show how intelligent, cunning and manipulative he is, never losing sight of his motivations while fleshing out the Sinestro Corps and the complex politics in play.

  • Forever Evil – Joining Lex Luthor’s team late in the game, Sinestro acts as the lethal wild card and has some cool moments [Forever Evil #4-7, Justice League vol. 2 #25-30]
  • Sinestro Vol. 1: The Demon Within – The start of Cullen Bunn’s acclaimed run, featuring key moments between Sinestro and Hal Jordan. [Sinestro #1-5, Sinestro Futures End #1 and Green Lantern #23.4: Sinestro]
  • Sinestro Vol. 2: Sacrifice – In the wake of the Godhead conflict, Sinestro works to secure his Corps’ future. [Sinestro #6-11 and Sinestro Annual #1]
  • Sinestro Vol. 3: Rising – Sinestro crosses paths with “The Main Man,” Lobo. [Collects Sinestro #12-15, Lobo #10-11 and Lobo Annual #1.]
  • Sinestro Vol. 4: The Fall of Sinestro – The fate of the universe rests on the shoulders of Sinestro and his Corps. [Sinestro #16-23 and Lobo #12-13]

Sinestro Rebirth and Beyond! (2016-Present)

While Sinestro started the Rebirth era with a bang, and one of his most celebrated stories, the iconic villain has since been reduced to a more basic role, a villain with less depth and complexity as before. Like a Pokémon trainer trying to catch them all, Thaal Sinestro is exploring the Emotional Spectrum, going from the Yellow Corps to the Ultra Violet Corps, before being consumed by rage and joining the Red Lantern Corps for a time.

Where is Sinestro Right now? Sinestro was temporarily back as a member of the Green Lantern Corps at the start of Jeremy Adams’ run on Green Lantern Corps, before becoming Yellow Again!

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