Alan’s search for the killer framing him continues! But why are the murder victims people from Alan’s past, and how does this connect to his brief stint in Arkham Asylum?! Teased at the end of the debut issue, Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #2 delivers the tragic story of Scott’s time in Arkham!

1973, that was the year that the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality from a list of mental disorders. It wasn’t until 1987 until homosexuality completely fell out by them. But even then, the World Health Organization didn’t remove homosexuality from its international classification of disease until 1992. Aversion therapy, like in the famous scene from A Clockwork Orange, was used through the 1950s and 1960s. We tortured a group of individuals because of who they loved. This torture isn’t from some distant past, it’s within many of our lives.

Writer Tim Sheridan uses that history as Alan Scott finds himself in Arkham Asylum surrounded by other members of the LGBT+ community delivering an issue that’s a reminder of the shame we all share in our past and continuing to tell the origin of a hero’s origin and rise. Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #2 is a tragic tale but also one of love and rising up against the forces of hate and eventually accepting who you are. Sheridan adds to Scott’s story delivering layers that make the character feature more depth, more nuance, and honestly a more heroic origin. Despite that hatred and torture he has faced, he still chooses to do what’s right.

The art by Cian Tormey is fantastic. With Matt Herms on color and Lucas Gattoni on lettering, Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #2 is beautiful and tragic to look at. There’s something about the art that’s both beautiful and hard to look at. It’s a style that the torture that Scott goes through feels emphasized in ways. Something beautiful with a horror underneath. Tormey and the team capture the sadness of it all but deliver a comic that pops in the traditional comic/superhero sense.

Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #2 is a fantastic issue that delivers a tragic origin while adding a dose of real history into it all. It takes Alan’s continued evolution as a character to the next level creating even more motivation to his actions and setting up what should be an intriguing villain to come.

Story: Tim Sheridan Art: Cian Tormey
Color: Matt Herms Letterer: Lucas Gattoni
Story: 8.35 Art: 8.4 Overall: 8.35 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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