The world of Kyle Rayner has been turned upside down, in recent months, in his book GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS. Writer Justin Jordan has put Kyle through a series of trials that includes brand new enemies and new loves. Jordan answered a few of our questions about this series.
COMIC VINE: The Godkillers have a very familiar design in that they look a bit like Roman legionnaires. Where did that idea come from?
JUSTIN JORDAN: In some classic art, when the archangels are depicted, they have a bit of that look about them, and it felt right for them. These are people who rebelled against their god, and while there are not literally fallen angels, we tried to incorporate the imagery a bit. That’s also why when they arrive they sort of crash into the world like a meteor – it’s falling imagery again.
That said, their floaty armor? That was all Brad Walker and it was awesome.
CV: The power from the Godkillers came from their weapons, but after the events of the last arc, they are left weaponless. Are the Godkillers still a threat?
JJ: Oh yes. The First and the rest of Godkillers know how to build that armor and weapons, and they’re on a planet where the shards of the Blue Lantern battery are all around. So they won’t be weaponless forever. And man, they are going to be pissed when they get off Elpis.
They’re not entirely powerless while they’re there – it didn’t come up in the story, but the Godkillers have some inherent superstrength and durability. They’re pretty tough even without the weapons – but they need the weapons to get into space.
CV: The annual issue gives new insight into what's on the other side of the source wall. Aside from the instructions for the universe, are there other elements within there that will come into play?
JJ: There are two thing beyond the source wall. One is that equation we saw. The other is the actual Source, although arguably the Source also includes the equation. But both of them are going to be extremely relevant very shortly.
CV: Oblivion is essentially the anti - Kyle Rayner. How did you come up for the idea of this character and will we see a return?
JJ: Oblivion had a pre New 52 incarnation which, in terms of origin, was similar – he was a product of Kyle having vast power, and he was a physical manifestation of his fear and guilt. So I wanted to do something that would demonstrate the peril of having the amount of power Kyle does and Oblivion seemed like something cool to reintroduce into the DCU.
And yeah, given that Oblivion is essentially part of Kyle, I would say there’s a very good chance we’ll see him again.
CV: Where did Kyle go at the end of the annual?
JJ: Raga.
Which is indeed a very vague answer, but fear not! The question is answered in full in 31, which came out this week.
CV: Kyle is now back on Earth, kinda. How can he be there without certain other characters, like Hal, being alerted to his presence and will he let those close to him know he's still alive?
JJ: Well, he was on Earth very briefly, with Oblivion doing his thing for longer. But the only reason that nobody aside from Carol figured this out is that they were mostly preoccupied with other things. And by other things, I mean Durlans.
But they’re going to know pretty soon Kyle is alive.
CV: This book has really been building on the growing relationship between Kyle and Carol. What's it like writing a love story between two very different but very strong characters?
JJ: Fairly difficult. It’s been a fairly slow build towards them actually acknowledging they have feelings for each other, for one thing, because there’s a lot of history and problems. Carol has the whole Hal issue, and Kyle has known Carol platonically for a while, which has its own perils.
But yeah, trying to find a good Kyle/Carol balance is actually pretty tricky. Kyle is the protagonist of the book and the real powerhouse of the cast, but, at the same time, Carol is much more of a leader by disposition and experience. So getting the balance right is tricky.
CV: Since Kyle is thought to be dead, and he's out in space, you get your own little pocket of the DCU to work with. Do you feel you're free to do a lot more than the other DC books you worked on?
JJ: Oh definitely. That’s not to knock the previous books I’ve been on, but I was working on Earth and with characters that crossed over heavily with other characters, and that limited what I could do.
With New Guardians, post Lights Out, I’ve been able to pretty much create whatever I want and tell whatever kind of stories I want, which is terrific. And for the most part, people seem to be enjoying it, which is good.
CV: There's been a lot of space sharks in this book. Why space sharks?
JJ: Why not space sharks!
There will also be MORE space sharks, with issue 32, which is sort of their secret origin.
The real answer is that I got to thinking – it was established, in the old DCU, that space dolphins existed. They were Lobo’s favorite animal. So I got to think “Why not space sharks?”
CV: Any teasers you can give us on this upcoming arc?
JJ: Well, aside from more space sharks, we’ll get to meet the Psions, who are responsible for the state of the aforemention space sharks, as well as X’Hal. And they are not like the old DCU Psions, so this is very much a horror arc.
Thanks again to Justin Jordan for answering our questions and make sure to check out the fantastic GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS. Issue #31 is available at your LCS now!