Just when fans think they are getting a little too “fanatical” about their favorite television show or comic book hero, something like the new book “Green Lantern and Philosophy” brings them back down to earth.
“Green Lantern and Philosophy,” released May 3 and just in time for the new movie’s June 17 release, proves to any fan of the comic book series that there are people out there thinking more critically about it.
From its title, do not assume this is a run-of-the-mill pop culture essay book, full of just random musings of fans. This book is packed with legitimate articles, authored by professors, Ph.D candidates and graduate students. Each article has a sometimes-extensive bibliography at the end, and nearly every article involves some long-winded philosophical definitions and breezy introductions to the thoughts of Immanuel Kant, Plato, Aristotle and the like.
In fact, where the book most suffers is when it delves too deeply in explanations of philosophy and too lightly on the philosophical analysis of Green Lantern. GL fans are going to buy the book to read interesting, scholarly takes on their favorite characters, not to learn about philosophical underpinnings. Some knowledge is necessary, but the book has to keep it at the absolute basics. Some chapters attempt to go too far in philosophy education, trying to make more of 10 pages than is possible.
The book excels at analyzing wide varieties of takes on the Green Lantern character. Most, of course, center on Green Lantern Hal Jordan and the current series of comic books, but the book looks at Jordan from the perspective of comics from his 1959 introduction all the way to today.
One article looks at a story line from the early 2000s when Kyle Rayner was the only ringslinger. Another analyzes Green Lantern John Stewart from the animated series, “Justice League.”
Not to sound too geeky, but some of the ideas presented in the book are fascinating. In particular, one chapter entitled “Another Boxing Glove?: Green Lantern and the Limits of Imagination,” looks at why Jordan constantly creates, with his ring, ordinary boxing gloves and giant fists, when he has seen so much of the universe and could come up with anything his mind could imagine.
The chapter essentially concludes that, because imagination is based on experience and repetition, it would be the Earth-y ordinary objects, which Jordan has had the most experience and repetition with, that he would create the most often. Hey, that actually makes a lot of sense.
Another chapter, “I Despise Messiness: The Plato-Aristotle Debate in the Troubled Friendship of Green Lantern and Green Arrow,” actually compares Plato to Green Lantern and Aristotle to Green Arrow by looking at Plato’s advocacy of censorship and Aristotle’s upholding of the worth of art. The chapter analyzes the legendary 1970s run of “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams.
Other chapters look at the contradicting oaths that doctor/Green Lantern Soranik Natu has pledged herself to, as well as the question of how planets, insects and mathematical equations can serve as Green Lanterns.
While the book is probably best read slowly, maybe a chapter a day, “Green Lantern and Philosophy” is an interesting and creative read, a must-have for hardcore fans of the characters.
Other books in the “And Philosophy” series focus on comics like “Watchmen,” “Batman” and “Iron Man,” and television shows like “The Simpsons,” “House,” “The Office,” “30 Rock” and “Mad Men.”
According to the “about the author” section of this book, a “Dr. Seuss and Philosophy” book is forthcoming, and everything about that sounds awesome.
