For the past 9 years, (starting with Green Lantern: Rebirth in 2004) Geoff Johns has been a key writer on Green Lantern titles. If you've noticed a lot of Hal Jordan in DC lately, it's because of Geoff Johns. That whole multi-colored lantern spectrum? That was him, too. And then there's Peter Tomasi, who first worked as an editor alongside Johns, then as a writer, primarily of the Green Lantern Corps books. Between the two of them, Green Lantern's universe has been expanded and changed in ways that will last for decades. And now, these two architects are stepping down from their luminous Lantern legacies. New creative teams are taking over all of the GL books. It's the end of an era.

As we move forward into the next chapter of the Book of Oa, I want to celebrate some of the great moments of the last 9 years of Green Lantern, the state of the franchise now, and the future of the Corps.

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DC’s New 52 initiative has garnered mixed reactions for the main Green Lantern title. Sinestro is wearing green, Hal Jordan has no ring, the Guardians are evil, and Black Hand returned to... death. However, perhaps the most ground shaking change was introducing the new Green Lantern of Earth: Simon Baz. As a person of color, I couldn’t be happier that there’s another minority character at the helm of a Green Lantern book joining African-American John Stewart and half-Mexican Kyle Rayner.

However, there still is something missing from my Green Lantern books that DC should be paying more attention to: female Lanterns.

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Comics have gotten a little gay recently. The comics industry, in true form, has taken notice of an already-explosive topic and made a spectacle out of it, perhaps capitalizing on controversy, or helping to fight for a cause.

On May 15, President Obama publicly declared his support of gay marriage. On May 23, Astonishing X-Men #50 hit shelves and digital storefronts featuring longtime hero Northstar proposing to his boyfriend. On June 1, DC Comics revealed that Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott will be a homosexual man in The New 52. On June 7, Earth-2 #2 featured Alan Scott proposing to his love interest. On June 21, Astonishing X-Men #51 will feature the first gay wedding in superhero comics.

It's very easy to get cynical about all these events taking place soon after Obama announced his support of gay marriage. Whether or not you believe it's a media stunt, exposure of the topic was increased by the media frenzy that occurred. News outlets from The View all the way to TMZ and local radio stations reported on the burgeoning gay stories. This is the start of huge social change.

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