10 Best Green Lantern Comic Writers, According To Reddit

Fans of Green Lantern may love a good debate over who is the best writer in the Corps’ history, and Reddit is the perfect place to look. The Lanterns and their histories span decades, and each writer has their spin on the stories. Some are known only to comic fans, while others have become famous enough to enter pop culture discussions.

Using dozens of Reddit posts on Green Lantern, the ten writers were chosen by how many mentions they get. If a Redditor says a writer was one of the best, or that they loved the writer’s run on the character, it counts as a mention. The writers are ranked by the number of mentions across these numerous Reddit posts.

10 Judd Winick

Judd Winick is the writer of Green Lantern, vol. 3 #129-164 (2000-2003). This was during Kyle Rayner’s time as the main Green Lantern. Winick’s popular storylines include “Circle of Fire,” “The Power of Ion,” “Brother’s Keeper,” and “Passing the Torch.”

Redditors highlighted Winick’s writing of Kyle, particularly when he became Ion. User DementiaPrime says in the Subreddit “DC Comics,” “The whole Ion story was really cool to see Kyle turn into such [an over-powered] character after years of seeing him as a rookie superhero.”

9 Sam Humphries

Sam Humphries wrote Green Lanterns #1-32 (2016-2017). The book was part of “DC Rebirth,” and it starred Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz. Simon is a Lantern who was falsely accused of a crime. Jessica has severe anxiety and mental health issues. Together, the two of them overcome their struggles and show incredible bravery.

Fans highlighted Humphries’ development of the two starring Lanterns. Moriedew46 says in “DC Comics,” “His style of writing really brought out the best in both Simon and Jess.” Simon was often shown interacting with his family in many situations and remaining close with them. Jessica had many storylines surrounding her anxiety, but Humphries showed her fighting back against it. Jessica says in issue #31, “Courage is a part of who we are, even when we can’t feel it… You are not your fears.”

8 Denny O’Neill

Denny O’Neill wrote 55 issues of the classic Green Lantern, vol. 2, #63-129 (1968-1980). His run featured the team-up of Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen, from issue #76-122. In “Comic Books,” an anonymous user says of O’Neill, “One the comic book [industry’s] greats. Between his Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and his JLA runs; I would venture to call him one of the top 5 greatest comic writers.”

Famously, #85-86 (1971) revealed Roy Harper’s addiction to heroin. The Comics Code Authority had previously prohibited depictions of drug use, and Marvel went without the Comics Code seal to depict Harry Osborn dealing with drugs earlier that year. The Code was rewritten, and O’Neill’s storyline received Code approval.

7 Charles Soule

Charles Soule is known for writing Red Lanterns #21-37 (2013-2015). The run prominently features villainous Red Lanterns Atrocitus and Bleez, and it also follows Guy Gardener’s time as a Red Lantern. Soule wrote the storylines “Blood Brothers,” “Atrocities,” and “Forged in Blood.” The book was also part of the crossovers “Lights Out” and “God Head.”

A few Redditors noted not liking the book’s first 20 issues. But as OdoWanKenobi says in “Comic Books,” “Once Charles Soule takes over, and it gets a much-needed shot of Guy Gardner to the arm, it becomes pretty fantastic. It was actually my favorite Lantern book at that time.” Fans describe Soule’s run as fun and filled with good characters.

6 Grant Morrison

Grant Morrison is known for their complex and philosophical writing. Their runs of Batman, All-Star Superman, and New X-Men are among their most popular work. Morrison took on Hal Jordan for The Green Lantern, split into seasons one and two (12 issues each), with a Blackstars mini-series in between. Their run went from 2019-2021.

Some fans classify Morrison’s writing as “confusing,” but others enjoy it immensely. In “DC Comics,” Hiltzy85 says, “I like that it’s a little out there (like almost everything Morrison does), the art is cool and definitely different than anything that we’ve had on a Green Lantern book in a very long time/ever.” For some people, Morrison’s work being “out there” is what makes them a fan.

5 Robert Venditti

Robert Venditti joined writer Van Jensen on Green Lantern Corps, vol. 3 #21-27 (2013-2014). The same month he started that run, he took over on Green Lantern, vol. 5, becoming the first person to write the main Lantern book besides Geoff Johns in almost 9 years. Venditti stayed on the book from issues #21-52 (2013-2016) and went on to write all 50 issues of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (2016-2018).

Many fans point out Venditti’s writing for Hal Jordan as a highlight. While some Redditors feel his main Green Lantern run suffered from too many crossovers, they applauded his Hal Jordan run. In “DC Comics,” CoolHandLuke1977 says, “I loved it… the Hal Jordan & the GLC run he wrote for Rebirth is one of [my] favorite Hal runs.” That’s pretty impressive for a character with 60 years of history.

4 Dave Gibbons

Dave Gibbons wrote Green Lantern Corps, vol. 2 #1-17 (2006-2007). That particular book ran concurrently with Geoff Johns’s Green Lantern, vol. 4. Gibbons left a massive impact in just 17 issues, starting with the aftermath of Johns’ “Rebirth” storyline for characters like Guy Gardener, Isamot, Kilowog, Salaak, and Soranik. Gibbons finished his run partway into the acclaimed crossover “Sinestro Corps War.”

Gibbons had previously done the art for the main Green Lantern, vol. 2 #161-188 (1983-1985). Many Redditors expressed confusion as to why he left writing Corps after 17 beloved issues, with some fans suggesting that he’d done all he wanted to do with the characters by that point. Court-of-rygars says in “DC Comics,” “He seemed so proud of his work with Johns… [Maybe] he said all he wanted to say. [He] wrote and drew tons of Green Lantern…”

3 Peter J. Tomasi

Peter J. Tomasi is known for runs like the Super Sons books, Batman and Robin vol. 2, and Detective Comics #994-1033. He also took over Green Lantern Corps, vol. 2 after Dave Gibbons’ departure. Tomasi wrote issues #18-47 of vol. 2, all 13 issues of Emerald Warriors, and Corps, vol. 3 #1-20. Tomasi’s runs ran from 2008-2013, and they complimented the rest of Geoff Johns’ time on Green Lantern after Gibbons.

While Johns’ run is widely known, the story as a whole is complete because of Tomasi. Many Redditors jump at the chance to highlight what Tomasi did, contributing to storylines like “Sinestro Corps War,” “Blackest Night,” and “War of the Green Lanterns.” TensaSageMode says of Tomasi’s run in “DC Comics,” “It’s the perfect companion series to read alongside Johns’ GL. They feel like one large story when you put it all together.”

2 Ron Marz

The top two writers more than doubled the number of mentions of any others. One is Ron Marz, who wrote Green Lantern, vol. 2 #48-107, 109-114, 117-125, and 176-181 (1994-2004). Marz co-created Kyle Rayner, and his run covered much of Kyle’s time as the sole Green Lantern. Marz began with the famous events of “Emerald Twilight,” which showed Hal Jordan attacking the Corps and becoming Parallax after Coast City was destroyed.

Marz held a Q&A on the Subreddit “Comic Books” in 2018, taking many questions about Kyle Rayner and his run. Many fans told him what the run and character meant to them. HistoryNerdi21 probably sums it up best by saying, “I grew up with Kyle as my GL, so thank you for co-creating him.”

1 Geoff Johns

While Ron Marz had numerous mentions all over Reddit, the clear frontrunner remained Geoff Johns. Johns’s run on Green Lantern began with the famous “Rebirth” storyline in 2004, which re-established Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern. Johns then wrote the main GL book until 2013, encompassing vol. 4 #1-67 and vol. 5 #1-20. John reinvented much of the lore, and he told some of the biggest storylines in modern comics history with “Sinestro Corps War” and “Blackest Night.” During this time, Johns also co-created the Sinestro Corps, the Red Lanterns, the Blue Lanterns, the Orange Lantern, and the Indigo Tribe.

Geoff Johns dominates many posts on Green Lantern. Fans recommend reading Johns’ work from the beginning and not skipping a thing. Fans also note that it can be a large task to read Johns’ entire 9-year run, but that it’s completely worth it. Hiltzy85 returns in “DC Comics” with the perfect summary, saying, “Geoff Johns’ GL: Rebirth and the rest of his run is unquestionably an all-time character-defining run.”

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