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Title: Martin Nodell... Green Lantern Creator Passes Post by: davidelliott on December 13, 2006, 01:54:55 PM http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=244746>1=7701
Martin Nodell, creator of the Golden Age Green Lantern died, according to the above link... Title: Re: Martin Nodell... Green Lantern Creator Passes Post by: Sword of Superman on December 13, 2006, 02:54:06 PM A sad news,we lost another giant...I like it to think that is now is some kind of Valhalla with all the others creators and togheter they still givin us matter to enrich ours dream...Rest in Peace.
Title: Re: Martin Nodell... Green Lantern Creator Passes Post by: Aldous on December 13, 2006, 06:04:01 PM http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=244746>1=7701 Martin Nodell, creator of the Golden Age Green Lantern died, according to the above link... 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.) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v203/Aldous1/All-AmericanComics16.jpg) The following is from the preface of the book. Mr. Nodell writes: Quote 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. Title: Re: Martin Nodell... Green Lantern Creator Passes Post by: MatterEaterLad on December 13, 2006, 06:26:55 PM I really like the myth behind the Golden Age Green Lantern, aside from the Spectre, maybe my tops in terms of mysticism...the weakness to wood always seemed odd to me, but I even liked Dickles and "Goitrude"...
A power ring is a great idea, something I think kids can identify with. Title: Re: Martin Nodell... Green Lantern Creator Passes Post by: Aldous on December 13, 2006, 06:37:16 PM the weakness to wood always seemed odd to me It actually makes perfect sense if you read those early stories. In the first Green Lantern comic, a gang tries to shoot him and stab him, but the ring protects him. Then one member of the gang hits him with a club made of wood, and he is hurt, so he discovers he only has "immunity" to metals. So it wasn't "wood" alone that could get through the ring's defences, although that of course was the most common threat. Title: Re: Martin Nodell... Green Lantern Creator Passes Post by: MatterEaterLad on December 13, 2006, 06:54:31 PM Interesting, was it written as wood later on in the 40s?
Frankly, the "yellow" was always a bit odd to me too, was it a very specific wavelength of reflected light? And if it was yellow objects that absorb all wavelengths aside from yellow, why was transmitted yellow light the same? What about orange with a lot of yellow in it? Title: Re: Martin Nodell... Green Lantern Creator Passes Post by: davidelliott on December 13, 2006, 07:04:07 PM You know, I just realized that as a kid, I made a crude wooden marionette of the Alan Scott Lantern... oh, and a power ring made of scrap metal and a lantern out of a coffee can.
So Matter Eater Lad touched a memory with his comment! Title: Re: Martin Nodell... Green Lantern Creator Passes Post by: Super Monkey on December 13, 2006, 07:43:10 PM RIP
What a great creation! There wouldn't have been any other Green lanterns if it wasn't for the 1st. Title: Re: Martin Nodell... Green Lantern Creator Passes Post by: Aldous on December 14, 2006, 01:06:13 AM Frankly, the "yellow" was always a bit odd to me too, was it a very specific wavelength of reflected light? And if it was yellow objects that absorb all wavelengths aside from yellow, why was transmitted yellow light the same? What about orange with a lot of yellow in it? Well, to me it was always the yellow part of the spectrum, which means it is not a specific wavelength, but a range of wavelengths. I suppose the "impurity" in Hal's ring is perilously close to his own green on the spectrum, but yellow is yellow, orange is orange, and green is green. The ring is a scientific device, and as far as I am aware the yellow impurity has been put there by design (whether the Guardians admit it or not), so it will cover specific wavelengths. But all this is making the issue too complicated for comics. The ring has a yellow impurity in its design, and therefore will not affect anything coloured yellow. I accepted that explanation when I first read it, and it still makes sense now. The only ones who know exactly how it all works are the Guardians, and, even if they explained it, would we understand it? Wasn't there an explanation made along the way that the yellow impurity was introduced to prevent the Green Lantern from being too powerful, or even omnipotent? I quite like that explanation, because it makes sense. As Morgan Edge once implied, everyone is potentially corruptible. A built in weakness for the power ring makes sense. |