The Top 10 Green Lantern Artists

Starting with the debut of Hal Jordan as the new Green Lantern in 1959, DC Comics ushered in the Silver Age of comics. It was an era of great innovation for the industry and saw updated versions of classic characters such as the Flash, Hawkman, and the Atom debut. Still, no one captured the imagination of fans more than GL, armed with nothing but a power ring and witty remarks. Jordan has been part of one of the most critically acclaimed and important comics of the past few generations.

With his domino mask and form fitting Spandex, Green Lantern may look like any other superhero, but his dynamic use of his power ring separates himself from DC's other do-gooders. That ring, which can construct solid-light versions of whatever its wearer imagines, has allowed artists to create some of DC's most jaw-dropping imagery. Dozens of artists have tried their hand at crafting his world in a unique way, but only a talented few have truly made a lasting impact. With the Green Lantern’s effects-laden film debut, which tries to capture some of that visual magic, hitting theaters this week, we’re counting down The 10 Best Green Lantern Artists.

Fisher has only drawn for one Green Lantern story (2001’s Green Lantern: Willworld) but his art was so different from anything else in mainstream comics that he lands on this list anyway. His meticulous detail, coupled with his surreal layouts and imagery, helped create the bizarre world that Hal Jordan visits in the story. Like something out of a Dr. Seuss book seen after dropping a lot of acid, Willworld sheds the overly realistic comic art of modern times and brings a sense of wonder and imagination back to the books.

Unfortunately, Fisher only completed a handful of titles before his untimely death in 2006, when he fell off the roof of a club in Osaka, Japan. There is no telling just how impactful his art could have been on the comic book medium if he had lived longer. Curious fans should not only pick up Willworld but also try and find Batman: Snow and Fantastic Four: Big In Japan to explore Fisher’s art even further.

When Geoff Johns relaunched Green Lantern back in 2005, DC Comics needed to team him up with an outstanding artist in order to sell the book to the public. Even though Carlos Pacheco had had high-profile gigs in the past, including as Avengers Forever, Fantastic Four, and X-Men, he had never been a part of such an important title launch. When he came aboard Green Lantern, it was immediately clear that he was the perfect artist for the job.

His clean lines and cinematic composition were the perfect fit for a character that was ready to be introduced to a new generation of fans. With action scenes explosively crafted like a blockbuster movie and the ability to perfectly capture emotions, Pacheco proved to be a Green Lantern visionary. It’s a testament to an artist’s ability when they can add something new to a well-worn character, and with Pacheco, every issue provided something never before seen.

Doug Mahnke has seemingly been around comics forever, but after stints on Justice League and the mega-popular one-shot Batman: The Man Who Laughs, Mahnke went from an average rank-and-file penciler to a superstar. And one of the most high-profile gigs that Mahnke ever got was an ongoing art job on Green Lantern.

His impeccably clean lines and kinetic use of Hal Jordan’s power ring have made his art stand out amongst the dozens of previous Lantern artists. His career highlight has been his near perfect penciling of Green Lantern during 2009’s Blackest Night storyline. Mahnke perfectly captured the panicked mood of the characters, lending a horror movie atmosphere to the whole book. Every panel was violent, grotesque, and beautifully realized.

Here’s a fun game: Simply mention '90s comic book art to any self-respecting fanboy and instantly watch the color drain from their face. Overexaggerated muscles, skewed anatomy, and horrific faces littered comics during that dark decade. Thankfully Darryl Banks’ Green Lantern work actually reminded fans of what good comic art should be. It was appropriately cartoony with a copious amount of energy to make every panel enthralling.

During his tenure on the book, Banks created Kyle Rayner, the replacement Green Lantern after Hal Jordan’s apparent death. With the help of Banks’ art, fans actually embraced Rayner, which is rare for fanboys to do. And with Banks signed up for some new Green Lantern work in the near future, an entirely new generation will soon discover the beautiful images that he can create with just a little green Spandex.

When Hal Jordan was brought back from the dead in Green Lantern: Rebirth, Ethan Van Sciver served as the book's artist and brought a hyper-detailed look to the Emerald Guardian. Even though his art was pretty stylized, Van Sciver still managed to capture the classic look and feel of the Green Lantern. But he also innovated with the introduction of some new elements to the Green Lantern uniform. He made the chest logo on every Lantern constantly give off a healthy amount of green energy in order to further the notion of a living suit. And his terrifying rendition of Parallax simply puts the floating excrement that they used in the movie to shame.

Since Rebirth, Van Sciver has produced even more Green Lantern art, including some pencils for the blockbuster Sinestro Corps War storyline. He even penciled the spiritual successor to Green Lantern: Rebirth, 2009’s Flash: Rebirth.

As the artist for such seminal works as Superman: For The Man Who Has Everything and Watchmen, Dave Gibbons has been one of the cornerstones of the comic industry for nearly three decades. And because he has had such a brilliant career, sometimes people forget just how important he was to the Green Lantern in the early '80s.

Working with legendary writer Len Wein and occasionally teaming with Alan Moore, Gibbons worked on the main Green Lantern series as well as the Tales of the Green Lantern Corps backup tales. In every issue he touched, Gibbons added a European sensibility to the book while keeping the over-the-top and imaginative world of the Green Lantern intact. He was responsible for multiple designs on classic Green Lantern Corps members like Mogo. Along with Moore, Gibbons' unique vision helped make the short story Mogo Doesn't Socialize one of the most famous Green Lantern stories ever.

As the torchbearer of the recent Green Lantern renaissance, Ivan Reis has redefined the character for a new generation. Having worked on prominent stories such as Blackest Night and Secret Origin, Reis is the artist responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed Lantern stories of the past two decades.

From his carefully detailed splash pages to his creative depiction of the Green Lantern’s powers, Reis has also brought a level of believability to the character with his flawless storytelling and use of emotion. His stellar work has solidified the fact that an entire generation of Green Lantern fans will grow up on his art and see his vision of the character whenever they close their eyes and imagine Hal Jordan.

New Frontier is one of the best comics of the past couple of decades. It is a love letter to the Golden and Silver Ages of comics and presents the characters of the DC Universe in a nostalgic light that brings us right back to our childhood. And not only is Cooke’s writing on it superb, his art harkens back to the '50s and '60s setting of the story as well. Square-jawed, barrel-chested with a fantastic display of power, Cooke’s art is reminiscent of comic greats such as Jack Kirby and Dick Sprang.

But despite the dozens of characters featured in the book, no one fared better than the Green Lantern. Cooke’s retro depiction of Hal Jordan was one part romantic and two parts sublime with a heaping helping of sci-fi thrown in the mix.

Not shackled to the modern comic book sensibility towards realism, all of Cooke’s art is a joy to explore. Even though he never really worked on the main Green Lantern book, Cooke’s work on New Frontier is so beautifully crafted and imaginative that it is essential reading for any fan of the character.

As the co-creator of the Silver Age Green Lantern, Gil Kane’s contribution to the character spanned decades of books and generations of fans. Perfectly capturing the sense of adventure and fun that DC strived for in the late '50s, Kane almost singlehandedly created the Silver Age comic art that lasted well into the '70s. Every panel that Kane drew exploded off the page with energy and creativity that is rare in modern comics.

Designing classic villains like Sinestro and Hector Hammond, Kane was a vital part of the Green Lantern mythology and turned a character that no one had any faith in into a full-fledged comic book icon. Kane went on to be the artist behind other great Silver Age tales such as The Night Gwen Stacy Died and the famous Amazing Spider-Man drug awareness story in issues #96-98.

Even though dozens of artists have tackled the Green Lantern over the years, no one has really come close to surpassing Neal Adams’ extraordinary work in the early '70s. Ushering in an age of socially relevant comics, Green Lantern/Green Arrow was a revelation for comic book fans. And while Denny O’Neil provided the politically charged stories, Neal Adams supplied some of the best art the comic book industry has ever seen.

Adams has always been known for his hyper-detailed and photorealistic work, but when drawing the Green Lantern he never forgot the fantasy elements that made the character so popular in the first place. Nearly every artist to take on the character since Adams’ departure has tried to mimic his style in some way, but it’s astounding to think that over 40 years later, no artist has had the impact that Adams had.