What do you think?
Rate this book
Green Lantern
Green Lantern: Fear Itself
The Green Lanterns of three generations, Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, and Kyle Raynereach face a foe that brings their greatest fears to life. The story begins in the 1940s, moving through the 1960s, and concludes in the 1990s, bringing three heroes to life through incredible, computer manipulated-photography.
80 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1999
About the author
Ron Marz
1,603 books127 followersMarz is well known for his work on Silver Surfer and Green Lantern, as well as the Marvel vs DC crossover and Batman/Aliens. He also worked on the CrossGen Comics series Scion, Mystic, Sojourn, and The Path. At Dark Horse Comics he created Samurai: Heaven and Earth and various Star Wars comics. He has also done work for Devil’s Due Publishing’s Aftermath line, namely Blade of Kumori. In 1995, he had a brief run on XO-Manowar, for Valiant Comics.
Marz’s more recent works includes a number of Top Cow books including Witchblade and a Cyberforce relaunch. For DC Comics, he has written Ion, a 12 part comic book miniseries that followed the Kyle Rayner character after the One Year Later event, and Tales of the Sinistro Corps Presents: Parallax and Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Ion, two one-shot tie-ins to the Green Lantern crossover, The Sinestro Corps War.
His current creator owned projects include “Dragon Prince” (Top Cow) and “Samurai : Heaven and Earth” (Dark Horse).
Photo by Luigi Novi.
Marz’s more recent works includes a number of Top Cow books including Witchblade and a Cyberforce relaunch. For DC Comics, he has written Ion, a 12 part comic book miniseries that followed the Kyle Rayner character after the One Year Later event, and Tales of the Sinistro Corps Presents: Parallax and Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Ion, two one-shot tie-ins to the Green Lantern crossover, The Sinestro Corps War.
His current creator owned projects include “Dragon Prince” (Top Cow) and “Samurai : Heaven and Earth” (Dark Horse).
Photo by Luigi Novi.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 21, 2020
"We need heroes . . . Because what you can do, and what you represent, keeps the fear at bay." -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt
A very straightforward and ultra-streamlined historical fiction adventure, with the hook being the involvement of three of the famed Emerald Knights - Alan Scott amidst the dark days of WWII, the appropriately Kennedy-esque in appearance Hal Jordan during the sunny 'New Frontier' era, and modern day (the late 90's, when this was originally published) rookie Kyle Rayner. Each battles the same problematic creature - descriptively referred to as 'Lovecraftian' by Rayner, with little loss of accuracy - which appears to feed on a person's internal fear. The cameo appearances by a number of 'super' friends in each segment, lending a hand when things are going awry, were also very nice.
A very straightforward and ultra-streamlined historical fiction adventure, with the hook being the involvement of three of the famed Emerald Knights - Alan Scott amidst the dark days of WWII, the appropriately Kennedy-esque in appearance Hal Jordan during the sunny 'New Frontier' era, and modern day (the late 90's, when this was originally published) rookie Kyle Rayner. Each battles the same problematic creature - descriptively referred to as 'Lovecraftian' by Rayner, with little loss of accuracy - which appears to feed on a person's internal fear. The cameo appearances by a number of 'super' friends in each segment, lending a hand when things are going awry, were also very nice.
September 20, 2022
This was so fun omg!
So we have three stories like one during Alan's day in JSA when he is fighting a being whose shown him terrible visions and then with Hal and JLA in his days and how he kinda defeats it and the visions he has but its the story in the present right after Kyle is done with Hal's funeral and getting along with the former GLs and then how he and along with Alan and JLA kinda defeats the threat in a fun manner and living up to the legacy of Hal! Its really well done and I love it, its a fast read and also there is like photo-realistic art so that might throw some people off but still a fun read I will say for once!
So we have three stories like one during Alan's day in JSA when he is fighting a being whose shown him terrible visions and then with Hal and JLA in his days and how he kinda defeats it and the visions he has but its the story in the present right after Kyle is done with Hal's funeral and getting along with the former GLs and then how he and along with Alan and JLA kinda defeats the threat in a fun manner and living up to the legacy of Hal! Its really well done and I love it, its a fast read and also there is like photo-realistic art so that might throw some people off but still a fun read I will say for once!
May 14, 2024
Re-Read from 1999
A truly by-the-numbers plot by Ron Marz, who has written a lot of stories deeper and more entertaining than this one.
An alien menace from beyond the stars arrives and feeds on energy and fear. During World War II, the Nazis tried to harness the creature only to be stopped by Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott. Decades later, the Soviets try the same thing, only this time Silver Age Green Lantern Hal Jordan comes to the rescue. Finally, it is Dark Age/Heroic Age Green Lantern Kyle Rayner who understands the alien and frees the creature.
Marz succeeds in having the respective GLs interacting with their various teams: the JSA, the Justice League of America, and the JLA respectively. If there was more emphasis on this teamwork, Fear Itself might have a more lasting impression.
Similarly, computer artist Brad Parker's work is both incredibly innovative and, at times, truly dated. His backgrounds, colors, and f/x are all gorgeous. And his alien is wholly unique. Yet many of his heroic characters, especially the JSA, look like rendered models with PhotoShopped tights making them appear like a poor man's cosplay troupe.
Fear Itself is a decent enough read but, I'm afraid, is probably something only graphic novel completists or diehard fans would have any interest in.
A truly by-the-numbers plot by Ron Marz, who has written a lot of stories deeper and more entertaining than this one.
An alien menace from beyond the stars arrives and feeds on energy and fear. During World War II, the Nazis tried to harness the creature only to be stopped by Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott. Decades later, the Soviets try the same thing, only this time Silver Age Green Lantern Hal Jordan comes to the rescue. Finally, it is Dark Age/Heroic Age Green Lantern Kyle Rayner who understands the alien and frees the creature.
Marz succeeds in having the respective GLs interacting with their various teams: the JSA, the Justice League of America, and the JLA respectively. If there was more emphasis on this teamwork, Fear Itself might have a more lasting impression.
Similarly, computer artist Brad Parker's work is both incredibly innovative and, at times, truly dated. His backgrounds, colors, and f/x are all gorgeous. And his alien is wholly unique. Yet many of his heroic characters, especially the JSA, look like rendered models with PhotoShopped tights making them appear like a poor man's cosplay troupe.
Fear Itself is a decent enough read but, I'm afraid, is probably something only graphic novel completists or diehard fans would have any interest in.
December 1, 2012
The ORIGINAL Fear Itself!
Hey, True Believers! Marvel Comics' Fear Itself may not have been the first one to use the title, but it sure had the superior material. This particular book, however, suffers by comparison on a number of levels. Marvel's book is Colourful, Epic, Engaging, and Fun; whereas DC's book is Dark, Blah, Blah, and Blah.
Focusing on Kyle Rayner (but with sequences featuring Alan Scott and Hal Jordan - this story takes place in 3 time periods), Green Lantern must face his fears & doubts and overcome them.
The plot is so-so, the climax at the end is pretty 'Meh', and the painted artwork is 'okay', nothing more. You may never read this book and you'll be missing nothing! Perhaps the fear you'll face as you read this book is 'The Fear You Can't Finish Reading It'.
Yes, it's true I used to own this book, but in my defense I'd received it as a birthday present, I swear!
Hey, True Believers! Marvel Comics' Fear Itself may not have been the first one to use the title, but it sure had the superior material. This particular book, however, suffers by comparison on a number of levels. Marvel's book is Colourful, Epic, Engaging, and Fun; whereas DC's book is Dark, Blah, Blah, and Blah.
Focusing on Kyle Rayner (but with sequences featuring Alan Scott and Hal Jordan - this story takes place in 3 time periods), Green Lantern must face his fears & doubts and overcome them.
The plot is so-so, the climax at the end is pretty 'Meh', and the painted artwork is 'okay', nothing more. You may never read this book and you'll be missing nothing! Perhaps the fear you'll face as you read this book is 'The Fear You Can't Finish Reading It'.
Yes, it's true I used to own this book, but in my defense I'd received it as a birthday present, I swear!
May 24, 2020
Minus one star for the art. The only thing that DC photocomics succeed in for me, is cementing my opinion that superheroes look like cheap cosplayers in TV and movies. Sure, they have expensive postprocessing filters in blockbuster productions but in TV series it's mostly cringeworthy. This story is set up in three parts, with multiple Green Lanterns dealing with the same recurring threat that pops up first during the Nazi years, and twice later. The JSA part is the worst visually. These simplistic spandex outfits look amazingly second-rate (and they do not in post 90s comics, when coloring and stylization progressed enough). The story itself is okay. There's a mystical artifact, that when activated, summons a Lovecraftian creature that brings to life the worst fears its victims can imagine and each time, a new Green Lantern has to put it down, with a surprise twist in the end.
July 4, 2019
Decent read. Fun to see different generations of GL’s fighting. Jordan is not featured as prominently as one would guess, I believe owing to its placement after Parallax and the loss of Coast City go Mongol.
February 14, 2022
This book Green Lantern Fear itself is a SOLID 4/5 stars. I give this book a 4/5 because of all the pictures making sense in the book lining up with the words and the word choice is just terrific in this book. They are very easy to understand with what is going on in the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2026
kyle rayner once again being the most interesting character
art was difficult to get through tbh
not ron marz's best work
art was difficult to get through tbh
not ron marz's best work
April 16, 2016
I've read some things by writer Ron Marz before that I enjoyed, but this story isn't that good. In fact this story reminds me of why I quit reading DC Comics in the mid to late 90's. Green Lantern was the last series of DC I still read after they made so many bad changes to characters in the late 80's and 90's. I quit reading Green Lantern after they made Hal Jordan into a villain and brought Kyle Rayner into being the newest Green Lantern. After Hal became Parallax, I didn't read another new DC comic until years after Geoff Johns had brought the character of Hal Jordan back to glory. My sister bought this book at a used book store a while back and I wanted to read it because it was something I missed during the time I gave up on DC comics. She said it wasn't very good and was gonna trade it in so I jumped on it and read it the day she was trading it. As I previously stated, this reminds me of why I gave up DC. This book isn't very good.
The story in the beginning has Alan Scott and the rest of the Justice Society posing for a picture with FDR and some Nazis at a museum in DC have awakened a demonic type being that causes people to experience their worst fears. All of the JSA fall to the beast except for Alan Scott who seemingly defeats the creature. Jump ahead in to the Justice League having just been formed and Hal Jordan encounters a submarine while flying a test plane for Ferris air. The sub shoots the plane down and Hal flies down as Green Lantern and finds this weird cargo that the soviets aboard think is a super weapon. It is the creature Alan Scott fought years earlier. The JLA end up getting taken out by the creature just like the JSA previously had. Also, just like before, the Green Lantern on the team is the last one standing and seemingly defeats the monster. This time the creature sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Years go by and the creature ends up in another museum that the newest GL, Kyle Rayner, just happens to visit at the same time some cultist tries to revive the monster again. Kyle ends up saving the day and the treat is gone forever. The lamest GL finds a way to win even though the 2 best GLs couldn't. The story was repetitive and seemingly uninspired. I give the writing 2 stars.
Brad Parker is the artist for this book. I've never been a fan of the painted art style in comics. Alex Ross is one of the only guys I know that can really pull off that style and make it look good. Parker does a decent job. Some of the stuff looks pretty good, but some looks terrible. There are a few panels were the teeth of the characters make them look goofy. I like the look of the costumes in the first part of the story. They look the way those costumes would really look on people that tried to dress in those materials would look. It kind of reminds me of the flashback scenes in Watchmen when you see the costumes of the original Watchmen. The JSA portion of the book at the very beginning is the best art in the 80 pages. Unfortunately, it falters in the latter stages. Art gets 2.5 stars.
The book gets a 2.25 star averaged score that I rounded down to 2 stars for this site. I wanted to like this book since Alan Scott is in my top 5 favorite DC heroes and Hal Jordan is my all-time favorite DC hero, but even having 2 of my favorites in the book could not keep this one from being a dud. Thankfully, DC comics are much better currently. Most of the New 52 stuff has been good, some has been great, and almost all of it has been way better than this. Don't waste your time with this one.
The story in the beginning has Alan Scott and the rest of the Justice Society posing for a picture with FDR and some Nazis at a museum in DC have awakened a demonic type being that causes people to experience their worst fears. All of the JSA fall to the beast except for Alan Scott who seemingly defeats the creature. Jump ahead in to the Justice League having just been formed and Hal Jordan encounters a submarine while flying a test plane for Ferris air. The sub shoots the plane down and Hal flies down as Green Lantern and finds this weird cargo that the soviets aboard think is a super weapon. It is the creature Alan Scott fought years earlier. The JLA end up getting taken out by the creature just like the JSA previously had. Also, just like before, the Green Lantern on the team is the last one standing and seemingly defeats the monster. This time the creature sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Years go by and the creature ends up in another museum that the newest GL, Kyle Rayner, just happens to visit at the same time some cultist tries to revive the monster again. Kyle ends up saving the day and the treat is gone forever. The lamest GL finds a way to win even though the 2 best GLs couldn't. The story was repetitive and seemingly uninspired. I give the writing 2 stars.
Brad Parker is the artist for this book. I've never been a fan of the painted art style in comics. Alex Ross is one of the only guys I know that can really pull off that style and make it look good. Parker does a decent job. Some of the stuff looks pretty good, but some looks terrible. There are a few panels were the teeth of the characters make them look goofy. I like the look of the costumes in the first part of the story. They look the way those costumes would really look on people that tried to dress in those materials would look. It kind of reminds me of the flashback scenes in Watchmen when you see the costumes of the original Watchmen. The JSA portion of the book at the very beginning is the best art in the 80 pages. Unfortunately, it falters in the latter stages. Art gets 2.5 stars.
The book gets a 2.25 star averaged score that I rounded down to 2 stars for this site. I wanted to like this book since Alan Scott is in my top 5 favorite DC heroes and Hal Jordan is my all-time favorite DC hero, but even having 2 of my favorites in the book could not keep this one from being a dud. Thankfully, DC comics are much better currently. Most of the New 52 stuff has been good, some has been great, and almost all of it has been way better than this. Don't waste your time with this one.
March 22, 2016
Let me give you a little background on how this graphic came to be in my possession...
I was at my usual used bookstore with a bag of stuff to trade and a budget. I knew what I could spend cash wise and was hoping for a nice chunk of store credit. Once, I knew how I was getting for my trade-ins, I had some wiggle room. I knew that I needed something $5 or under and I was actually tired of looking through the comic selection by this time. I spotted this with a $4 price sticker.
"Mmmm... Green Lantern. Oh, look, Alan and Hal. That's cool. *flips pages quickly and spots Martian Manhunter (awesome), and Batman (even better). Ok, this will work. *adds to stack of stuff and heads to the check out counter*
Big mistake. I hated the "art" in this book. Brad Parker looks like he painted over still frames from a 70s live action show. Seriously... this looks like terrible cos-play tarted up to hide the felt edges and glue used on homemade costumes. I liked how some faces looked really detailed (check out FDR, for example), but then others just wore stupid expressions. The costumes were tacky and low-rent. The backgrounds were colorless blobs of nothingness and the action looked like you were doing a freeze frame fast forward on John Wesley Ship's TV Flash. Overall, the look of this comic has the appearance of a couple of nerds that were bored one weekend, so they decided to make some costumes and take pictures of themselves fighting the good fight against evil.
The story sounded ok, but the follow-through lacked. This graphic reads as easy as a "See Spot Run" but with a simpler plot. Ron Marz left something to be desired in his dialogue and the story arc. An evil that spanned 3 generations of Lanterns could have been vaguely interesting but Marz's childish scribblings made for a boring read that couldn't end soon enough. I was hoping the big evil, energy sucking eyeball would eat them all by the end.
Not even the appearances of the Justice Society and two versions of the Justice League could save this graphic. This is actually going into my box of stuff to trade, and not back on my bookshelf.
I was at my usual used bookstore with a bag of stuff to trade and a budget. I knew what I could spend cash wise and was hoping for a nice chunk of store credit. Once, I knew how I was getting for my trade-ins, I had some wiggle room. I knew that I needed something $5 or under and I was actually tired of looking through the comic selection by this time. I spotted this with a $4 price sticker.
"Mmmm... Green Lantern. Oh, look, Alan and Hal. That's cool. *flips pages quickly and spots Martian Manhunter (awesome), and Batman (even better). Ok, this will work. *adds to stack of stuff and heads to the check out counter*
Big mistake. I hated the "art" in this book. Brad Parker looks like he painted over still frames from a 70s live action show. Seriously... this looks like terrible cos-play tarted up to hide the felt edges and glue used on homemade costumes. I liked how some faces looked really detailed (check out FDR, for example), but then others just wore stupid expressions. The costumes were tacky and low-rent. The backgrounds were colorless blobs of nothingness and the action looked like you were doing a freeze frame fast forward on John Wesley Ship's TV Flash. Overall, the look of this comic has the appearance of a couple of nerds that were bored one weekend, so they decided to make some costumes and take pictures of themselves fighting the good fight against evil.
The story sounded ok, but the follow-through lacked. This graphic reads as easy as a "See Spot Run" but with a simpler plot. Ron Marz left something to be desired in his dialogue and the story arc. An evil that spanned 3 generations of Lanterns could have been vaguely interesting but Marz's childish scribblings made for a boring read that couldn't end soon enough. I was hoping the big evil, energy sucking eyeball would eat them all by the end.
Not even the appearances of the Justice Society and two versions of the Justice League could save this graphic. This is actually going into my box of stuff to trade, and not back on my bookshelf.
December 9, 2012
This one went quick and resolved a little too easily, but even with those flaws, I really enjoyed it. It was nice to see the three primary Lanterns tackle a recurring problem together. I thought the painted art was really interesting as well.
December 29, 2012
This reminds me of the Dr. Who specials that featured more than one incarnation of the Doctor, with an eldritch, Lovecraftian horror thrown into the mix. The painted artwork was beautiful, but the story was only mediocre, and the ending was 100% blah.
July 2, 2013
It was interesting 90s slightly digital art, but the story wasn't great. I've never been convinced by attempts to make the lanterns one cohesive story, especially alan scott, and this one doesn't pull it off either.
August 19, 2016
A fantastic book with three GL's and a unique way to overcome a threat. Cameos by the JSA and the JLA. Sometimes fortune favors the bold.
August 29, 2016
The artwork is incredible. The story thread successfully ties in three generations of Earth's Green Lanterns and is quite touching. Well done.
December 3, 2025
I see this now as a fun side adventure even if it doesn't make sense thoroughly. Story 6.5 , art 8.5/10
May 6, 2014
Mediocre.
April 19, 2016
skip this. not that good and very dated.
Read
December 23, 2017DC Comics
+3 GL Fear Itself {GN}; +2 Jack Kirby specials [e) Darkseid, f) Black Racer and Shilo Norman]; +5 GLs 30-34; +4 Green Arrow 30-31, 33-34; +4 HJ&tGLC 28-31; +4 The Flash 30-32, 34; +16 Batman - Dark Nights: Metal*; +3 Aquaman 28-30; +4 Wonder Woman 31-34; Batman: White Knight 1; +2 Wonder Woman - Conan 1-2; Ragman 1; Black Lightning 1
50 issues
* d) DN: Metal 2, e) Teen Titans 12, f) BM The Red Death, g) Nightwing 29, h) BM The Murder Machine, i) Suicide Squad 26, j) BM The Dawnbreaker, k) Green Arrow 32, l) DN: Metal 3, m) BM The Drowned, n) BM The Merciless, o) The Flash 33, p) BM The Devastator, q) Justice League 32, r) BM Lost, s) HJ&tGLC
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews