Green Lantern #182 (November 1984)

This is Green Lantern #182!

The cover is a Dave Gibbons piece. 

"It's a Dirty Job, But..."
Writer: Len Wein
Penciler: Dave Gibbons
Inker: Mark Farmer
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Anthony Tollin

Editor: Len Wein

Executive Editor: Dick Giordano 

The story begins with Hal Jordan driving in a jeep through the forest. the man isn't here to enjoy the sights of the beautiful Sierra Madre mountains of California. He's actually here to see a friend of his.

“Oh, good. No graffiti.”

We get a recap here of how Hal Jordan became Earth-One's Green Lantern (remember, this is pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths, so his predecessor Alan Scott is on Earth-Two). Summoned by the dying Abin Sur, being given his ring, you know the rest. After Sur died, Hal buried the spaceship and Sur's remains in the mountains. He wants to talk to Sur, in a way. 

He talks about how Sur entrusted him and put so much faith in him as a Green Lantern. Hal feels he failed Abin. He did his best with the ring he was entrusted with. Before he became a GL, Hal had dreams of his own. A woman he loved. A life of his own. And now that he's resigned from the Corps (He resigned in the previous issue, fed up with the Guardians demanding he prioritize his Lantern duties over his personal life), he can get on with his own life. Be with Carol Ferris. Achieve his dreams. Get on with his own life. He hopes that wherever he is, Abin Sur understands. And can forgive him. 

Back on Oa, the Guardians of the Universe witness Hal's talk with Abin's grave, and realize that he is not coming back to the Corps. But Sector 2814 still needs protecting, it still needs a Green Lantern. 

In Los Angeles, Carol Ferris and April O'Rourke are heading out from lunch during a hard rain. 

Nothing better than the sounds of these at night. 😊

Carol took April out to help get her mind off of her troubles regarding her fiancé Clay Kendall and his injuries. Kendall ended up crippled in issues #179-180. April accidentally bumps into a man in a hat and trenchcoat, and he ignores her attempts to apologize. Carol waves it off, and the two drive away. The man walks into an alley, thinking about how he refined his powers in prison. A lightning bolt strikes him, revealing his true self.

“Quick change with lightning! I should patent this!.”

Yup, Major Disaster is back. Over at Ferris Aircraft, John Stewart is hard at work, overseeing the building of a new runway to launch a solar jet for a client. Carl Ferris enters the scene, and much to his chagrin, he is accompanied by a man named Smith.

John naturally thinks this "Smith" fellow is not good news. 

We next go to the Baldwin Hills Dam. Major Disaster appears and blows away the guards. Carol arrives at Ferris Aircraft after dropping off April at the hospital. She gets visited by another friend of hers: Dr. Bruce Gordon. And he has something for her.

Carol wonders if it's another threat from Congressman Jason Bloch. Bloch's father Conrad had co-founded Ferris Aircraft with Carl Ferris, Carol's father. Thing was, Conrad was a lazy drunkard, and he got fired. The elder Bloch started a new company and tried to get some government contracts for a solar jet. However, Ferris Air got the contracts instead, bankrupting the elder Bloch. His hatred for Ferris was shared by Jason, who used his power in Congress to prevent Ferris from getting contracts. However, it can't be either of the Blochs. Conrad died in Green Lantern #140 (May 1981), and Jason was murdered by the Predator (no, not the alien hunter) in Green Lantern #181 (October 1984) that's impossible. You see, Bloch was murdered earlier in the week. He's hoping that it's some morbid joke, because he dares not consider the alternative...

On the news, reporter Tawny Young is announcing that Major Disaster is attacking the dam. Hal arrives at Ferris Air, looking for Carol. He only finds Tom Kalmaku fixing a plane. Hal asks where Carol is, but Tom's like "I'm not your friggin' secretary, go look for her yourself!" 

Yeah, Hal is confused, too. John tells him not to worry about it, and the two go for some drinks. At the bar, the two see Tawny's news report. Picked a heck of a time to retire, Hal. Hal goes to a payphone (Yeah remember, this was the 1980s), but it's occupied at the moment. 

Hal goes to find another phone when he sees something shocking.

Yeah, Stewart is the new Green Lantern. John flies up to the dam. Major Disaster is enraged, as John may be Green Lantern, but he's not Hal. Major Disaster is unaware Hal retired, and I doubt he'd care if he did know. Major Disaster demands that Hal appear...or he'll bring down the dam.

I actually enjoyed this comic. It's mainly a character story, where we look into Hal's mind a bit. It's easy to dismiss him as a rather bland character, mainly because he came about in the 1950s, and an entire generation of comic readers came up with him being Kyle Rayner's insane/dead predecessor. But here, it shows that Hal is more than just the cocky test pilot. He's shown to have struggled with his time as a Green Lantern, how he feels he failed to live up to Abin Sur's legacy. It's understandable why he'd put the man so high on a perch. He didn't know Sur too well, only meeting the alien in the last moments of his life. And considering how much Sur changed Hal's life, his mentality does make sense. 

I do admit, I did feel a bit lost when it came to the comic, some text boxes would have been nice. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2013 trade paperback Green Lantern: Sector 2814 Vol. 2. Thanks for reading this blog entry!