The Green Lantern books, mainly GREEN LANTERN and GREEN LANTERN CORPS, have gone through a lot of changes recent and been thrusted into complete and total chaos. Writer Van Jensen is putting himself together one heck of a run and he answered a few of our questions about the series and about some of the villains fans have been seeing in the past few months.
COMIC VINE: For those who have been missing out, what's currently going on in GREEN LANTERN CORPS?
VAN JENSEN: The Corps has had a rough go of it of late. The Guardians' betrayal left the Corps weakened, and to make matters worse, the attacks of the First Lantern and Third Army have convinced much of the universe that Lanterns are villains, not heroes. Then Relic showed up and destroyed Oa.
John Stewart has struggled to redeem the Corps, but his mission has been complicated by the Durlans, who have finally begun a long-planned war against the Lanterns. The shape-shifters have infiltrated the Corps itself, even gaining the ability to take the place of Green Lanterns. The Corps is going into Uprising unable to trust anyone or anything.
CV: We saw a reveal page, a few issues back, featuring Arkillo. How does he tie in to what's going on with the Durlans?
VJ: Arkillo might be the only one NOT teaming up with the Durlans…at least so far. Arkillo has a lot up his sleeve, and none of it is good. For now, the best place to catch up with that nasty dude is in Sinestro (by the awesome team of Cullen Bunn and Dale Eaglesham).
CV: The Durlan threat is so much larger than previously thought, with Durlans hiding all across the galaxy, even on Mogo. How did you and Robert Venditti come up with this concept?
VJ: The Durlans have had a presence far into DC's past, as well as far into DC's future. But precious little has been known about them. That mystery was the most enticing aspect about them as characters. Their culture and physiology is based entirely on deception, so they're the perfect covert agents. While the Corps has faced very big threats before, this is a more insidious one. The Durlans aim to hit the Corps where it hurts most.
CV: Can the Green Lanterns ever get their "good name" back?
VJ: The Lanterns are trying. But what they've seen is that every time they defeat one enemy, more spring up. I don't want to spoil anything, but the universe is going to change in some very, very big ways over the coming months. And that will forever alter the perception and mission of the Corps.
CV: How can John Stewart and the other Lanterns trust Daggle?
VJ: In short, they can't. Durlans live on deception. That's the essence of their nature. But John has decided that he doesn't have a choice. He needs intel on the Durlans, and Daggle is his best option. But Von Daggle is going to face some very, very tough decisions going forward. And the choices he makes will have huge impacts on both him and the Corps.
CV: What have you enjoyed the most about working on this story line so far?
VJ: It's hard to choose. My job is writing about aliens and monsters and heroes and sentient planets and all kinds of amazing things. But probably the best part has been the opportunity to shine the spotlight squarely on John Stewart.
CV: Artist Bernard Chang and colorist Marcelo Maiolo have been doing some incredibly cool things in this series. What's been like and what's your process with working with these two extremely talented artists?
VJ: Bernard and Marcelo are the best. It's been really special working with both of them. Bernard has taught me a lot over the past year. We've had a couple of opportunities to sit down together and thumbnail out some pages, and it was both a lot of fun and incredibly helpful in thinking about constructing comics. Marcelo is just the best. He does so many new, innovative things every issue. Colorists don't usually get enough credit, but it seems like fans are recognizing and appreciating the hard work Marcelo is putting in.
CV: Both you and Robert Venditti, in previous interviews, have mentioned your love for B'ox. Why haven't we seen too much of him yet and when will B'ox get its own on-going series?
VJ: He's had more of a presence in Green Lantern. I tried to get him in Corps, but I haven't managed it yet. Soon, I promise! Maybe one day we'll follow B'ox on a journey to his home world, T'etris, to defend his people against an invading army of Tryangles.
Thanks a ton to Van Jensen for answering our questions and make sure to check out GREEN LANTERN CORPS. Issue #30 is currently available at your LCS and on Comixology!