Summary

• Green Lantern: Dark is a new Elseworlds miniseries that reimagines the character as a dark fantasy hero in a post-apocalyptic Earth.
• The Elseworlds line, which allows creators to transport DC's icons to different times and places, was once a popular imprint that is now making a comeback.
• Green Lantern: Dark explores the rich history of out of continuity stories at DC Comics and honors the tradition of the original Elseworlds imprint by incorporating fantasy and magic into the story.

Elseworlds miniseries. Today at the New York Comic Con, DC announced the return of the venerable Elseworlds line in 2024, which will include a new Green Lantern book, titled Green Lantern: Dark. This seven-issue miniseries treats readers to a bold, and dark, new vision of the Emerald Gladiator on a post-apocalyptic Earth where magic reigns supreme.

Green Lantern: Dark will be written by Tate Brombal and drawn by Werther Dell’Edera. The synopsis, provided by DC Comics, reads as follows:

Green Lantern Dark by Tate Brombal and Werther Dell’Edera reimagines the DC Universe as a dark fantasy wasteland where monsters overrun a post-apocalyptic earth. The battle between good and evil ended long ago.

Now, darkness prevails as humanity struggles to survive on a corrupted planet. Only one hero remains, the one who wields the green flame that can return light to a dark world—The Green Lantern. But she’s been missing for years, and, on the isolated island of New England, the horrors only get worse by the night.

The advanced art, shared below, shows the new Green Lantern in action, and reinforces the book’s dark fantasy tone.

The First Green Lantern Elseworld is a Grim, Horrific Future

Kicking off in the late 1980s with Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, Elseworlds gave writers and artists the freedom to transport some of DC’s biggest icons to different times and places. For example, stories featured Batman fighting Dracula, or Superman’s rocket landing in Soviet Russia. The concept proved irresistible to creators, and the line persisted well into the 2000s. Now, DC is set to bring it back. Ben Abernathy, DC Executive Editor, had this to say about the appeal of the Elseworlds line:

Out-of-continuity stories have always been a pillar of DC publishing, granting creators the ability to explore all the wild corners of the DC Universe. We’re excited to bring a whole new slate of titles under the ELSEWORLDS banner in 2024, combining some all-new titles from top storytellers, as well as sequels from the current DC line that fit that same out-of-continuity aesthetic.

Other books in the first wave of new Elseworlds titles include a return to the world of Gotham by Gaslight, as well as a new Deathstroke series. No release date has been given for Green Lantern: Dark or the other titles.

Elseworlds Has a Rich History at DC Comics

Abernathy is correct: DC’s out of continuity stories are warp and woof with the publisher’s history, tracing their roots back to the Silver Age Superman’s “imaginary stories.” Elseworlds took the concept further, creating entirely new landscapes for the heroes and villains of the DC Universe. Green Lantern was no exception, and one of the most popular Elseworlds stories showed what happened when Bruce Wayne obtained a Green Lantern ring. Comparable to Marvel’s What If? Elseworlds allows for compelling stories to be told outside the framework of the mainstream DC Universe.

Green Lantern: Dark will honor the tradition of the original Elseworlds imprint by creating a new Lantern, one rooted in fantasy and magic. In many ways, this takes the character back to its roots: while most fans associate Green Lantern with science fiction, the original version’s ring was magical in nature. While details on this new Elseworlds Green Lantern are being kept mum, DC has made it clear magic will play a huge role in their life. Their world has fallen into chaos, making Green Lantern’s light more important than ever.

Green Lantern: Dark will arrive in 2024 from DC Comics.