Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Comics, dc, green arrow, green lantern, neal adams, racism

Did Warners Really Pull A Green Lantern Poster Over A Black Man's Face?

Published Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:00:45 -0600

Last updated Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:03:53 -0600

According to Neal Adams, they did, yes.

On Facebook, Adams posted his cover to Back Issue Magazine #45, celebrating the famous Green Arrow/Green Lantern #76 comic that he drew. He writes;

"I'll tell you why it's so nice to see this Green Lantern piece printed as a cover. You might have seen the Batman print I did for the Warner store that represented the story "The Secret of the Waiting Graves." The Green Lantern image on this cover was done to be the next print for the Warner Store. It was to represent issue #76. Sadly, they did not print it. The decided they didn't want the image of the black man on it, who of course is the man who made Green Lantern aware of his own flaws and failures as a hero. Because this was supposed to represent this very important story, I refused to change the art. Sadly, that's where it all ended. They just never printed it. So it's about time we got to see it in print. Back Issue #45. A very well put together magazine."

It does seem to be a rather decent image. The figure in question does make an impact, but it's not as if Green Lantern and Green Arrow are diluted by it. Did the decision makers at Warner actually read the comic in question or know its importance in American comic book history? And if not… why choose that issue to turn into a poster at all?

DC did not choose to comment over the issue.

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