Lanterns and Mister Miracle: The Green Lantern and New Gods Keys to Know

Lanterns and Mister Miracle: The Green Lantern and New Gods Keys to Know

Welcome back to On Screen Soon, our weekly look at the comics behind the movies and shows coming next. We've been a family comic shop since 1988, starting in Northampton, MA and now based in Los Angeles, CA. This week is all DC. HBO's Lanterns just wrapped a big first season, and DC's animated Mister Miracle finally has its leads. Both shows pull from deep longboxes, and some of the best reads behind them are still bookshelf-priced.

Lanterns: The Corps Lands on HBO

The news: Lanterns premiered on HBO and HBO Max on August 16, 2026 and ran eight episodes through its October 4 finale. Kyle Chandler plays veteran Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre plays rookie John Stewart, with Kelly Macdonald, Nathan Fillion and Laura Linney in the cast. Ulrich Thomsen plays Sinestro. The pilot opens with Hal found ringless on the bleachers of a Nebraska football field, and the show gets cosmic from there. Manhunters included.

Audiences showed up. TechRadar, citing Nielsen data reported by Variety, put the average at about 19 million viewers per episode worldwide. Season 2 is not officially renewed yet, but a writers' room has reportedly been assembled under showrunner Chris Mundy, and Christopher Cantwell (Halt and Catch Fire) has confirmed he's on board. Pierre's John Stewart is also set to appear in Man of Tomorrow next summer.

The keys

  • Showcase #22 (Oct. 1959): 1st appearance of Hal Jordan, by John Broome and Gil Kane. This is the Silver Age Green Lantern grail.
  • Green Lantern #7 (July–Aug. 1961): 1st appearance of Sinestro. Now that Thomsen has played him on screen, this is the villain book to own.
  • Green Lantern #87 (Dec. 1971): 1st appearance of John Stewart, by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams. It's the key for Pierre's character, on HBO and in the movies.
  • Green Lantern Corps #201 (June 1986): 1st appearance of Kilowog, by Steve Englehart and Joe Staton. The original series was renamed with this issue but kept its numbering. Kilowog is the drill sergeant every Corps story needs.
  • Green Lantern #185 (Feb. 1985): John Stewart tells how he became the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 after Hal resigned. Len Wein and Dave Gibbons made John the series lead starting with #182.
  • Green Lantern Vol. 3 #48–51 (1994): Emerald Twilight and its aftermath. Kyle Rayner first appears in #48, takes the ring in #50, and debuts his new costume in #51, by Ron Marz and Darryl Banks.
  • Green Lantern Vol. 3 #81 (Dec. 1996): "Funeral for a Hero." The DC Universe gathers in Coast City to mourn Hal after he gave his life in The Final Night.
  • Green Lantern Vol. 4 #25 (2007): The finale of Geoff Johns' Sinestro Corps War. It lays out the Blackest Night prophecy and has the 1st cameos of Atrocitus, the Red Lanterns and Larfleeze.
  • Green Lantern Vol. 4 #28 (Apr. 2008): 1st full appearance of Atrocitus, according to Key Collector Comics. Laira is also stripped of her ring and becomes a Red Lantern.
  • Green Lantern Vol. 4 #39 (Apr. 2009): 1st full appearance of Larfleeze, Agent Orange, in "Agent Orange, Part One" by Johns and Philip Tan.

In stock at RSC

Showcase #22, Green Lantern #7, #87, Vol. 3 #48–50 and Vol. 4 #25 aren't in stock right now. Email us to get on our want list.

Mister Miracle: Tom King Brings the New Gods to HBO Max

The news: Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios greenlit an animated Mister Miracle series in June 2025. It's aimed at adults, and Tom King is adapting his own Eisner-winning comic. King is the showrunner and wrote all eight episodes. On October 14, 2026, TheWrap reported the leads: Josh Hutcherson voices Scott Free and Mackenzie Davis voices Big Barda. The series is headed to HBO Max, and it will introduce Jack Kirby's New Gods to the DCU. No release date has been announced.

The keys

  • Mister Miracle #1 (Apr. 1971): 1st appearance of Scott Free as Mister Miracle, by Jack Kirby. This is a core Fourth World book.
  • Mister Miracle #4 (Oct. 1971): 1st appearance of Big Barda. Now that Davis is cast, this is the one to watch.
  • Mister Miracle (2017) #1: Tom King and Mitch Gerads' 12-issue series, the direct source for the show. It won the 2019 Eisner for Best Limited Series.

In stock at RSC

  • Mister Miracle Vol. 2 #28 (1991): The final issue of the 1989 series, by Doug Moench and Joe Phillips. Scott and Barda are both here, along with the 1st appearance of Barda's mother, Big Breeda. It's a fun, cheap Fourth World oddity.

Mister Miracle #1 and #4 (1971) and Mister Miracle (2017) #1 aren't in stock right now. Email us to get on our want list.

What We're Watching Next

  • Man of Tomorrow: July 9, 2027, with Aaron Pierre's John Stewart along for the ride
  • Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse: June 18, 2027
  • Mister Miracle on HBO Max: date TBA

Browse more DC keys in our Key Issues collection, and check out Superman and Batman while you're at it.

The Fine Print

On Screen Soon is for fun and for collectors. It is not investment advice. Comic values go up and down, release dates and casting change, and a hot book this week can cool off by next month. Buy what you love. Sales figures are as reported by the sources listed and may not reflect current market value.