As the creator of Green Lantern, that man had a huge influence on my childhood. I grew up with the Silver Age GL of course, but the basic ideas, ring and lantern, 24-hour charge, will power, were all his (with story input from the great Bill Finger); such brilliant concepts for a super-character, and completely original.
When I read the news item you posted, I pulled out one of my few and far between Archive Editions, "The Golden Age Green Lantern" Volume 1 (1999). For those who don't own a reprint of All-American Comics No. 16 (1940), here is the first appearance of the ring, the new Green Lantern himself, and the first use of the ring utilising that all-important will power. (Writer: Bill Finger. Artist: Martin Nodell.)
The following is from the preface of the book.
Mr. Nodell writes:There was one publisher, though, that seemed to produce comics regularly, every month, with exciting titles such as ACTION COMICS and DETECTIVE COMICS. In the winter of 1940, I gathered up my courage and brought my samples to the editor of ALL-AMERICAN COMICS, Sheldon Mayer. Mr. Mayer said that he was looking for a new super-hero to add to their lineup of monthly books, and that he would be willing to consider any good ideas I had. My feeling was that if he mentioned this to me, he surely was telling anyone who opened his door! I had to get cracking.
The possibilities seemed exciting. On the way home, as I trudged down the subway stairs, I realized that what was most interesting to me were things I knew about. Yet to spin them into something fantastic...
The subway platform was crowded. There was some kind of delay; the train was not coming into the station. On the tracks, I could see a trainman holding a red lantern as he checked the rails. Then he hid behind a pole, waving a green lantern, indicating that all was now safe. At last, the train pulled in, and I had a title: Green Lantern. It still sounded good by the time I reached home - and to me, that meant it was safe to go ahead. Already, I had hit upon some elements of an origin story: a mysterious meteor falling in ancient China; Wagnerian opera - the Ring cycle - from which I borrowed the ring; and a bit of an ancient Greek look for the costume. Soon I developed another idea - that this hero's greatest asset would be his will power. A power ring would give shape to his will. But every 24 hours, he would have to recharge the ring at an actual green lantern while reciting an incantation.