Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman are taking a Ridley Scott influenced approach to Green Lantern.
Den of Geek: You have been mostly doing work outside the worlds of DC and Marvel.
Gabriel Hardman:This was a story we wanted to tell.
When we come on a project, we ask ourselves, is this a story we want to tell?
I have no sense of careerism about it, I really just do stuff that interests me.
So what aboutGreen Lantern: Earth Oneinterested you?
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Hardman:Its science fiction.
We can go back to the core of the Silver Age Green Lantern.
Its sort of like a story of becoming a hero.
Corinna Bechko:For me, I really enjoy world building.
It involves how things would work a few years in the future.
It appeals to my science background.
Were you informed by that?
Hardman:That was definitely part of it.
Not a judgement against the other stuff, but if youre going to do it.
Bechko:That already exists.
Its already doing the job really well, so we have to do something different.
Hardman:We always look at what is intrinsic for the character.
Otherwise, why use the character?
We cant introduce a million characters.
We have to tell this guys story.
Bechko:That doesnt mean were ignoring the other stuff either.
Hardman:Oh yeah, were getting out into the galaxy and meeting a lot of people.
Were not telling you who they are, but theyre there.
So who is Hal Jordan to you?
And hes a scientist, at least in our iteration.
Hardman:Hes an astronaut, he has to be.
Bechko:I would argue, a test pilot is a scientist.
Is there a return of any of those characters?
The circumstances we start with, we dont meet them.
We start is space so we dont meet them.
If theres future volumes, we can come back.
Was there ever any temptation to make this book about another Green Lantern like John Stewart?
We constructed this story around Hal Jordan and in a way its important that it be him.
But thats not to say those characters wont come in.
We never really talked about it.
Dan Didio told us this can be anything.
We did not have a mandate to use Hal.
The particular story were telling felt like it needed to be him.
Can we assume the villain?
Hardman:Well, the Manhunters are the villains.
Well, thats not who I assumed.
Hardman:Were going to see more of the familiar.
There is a mystery to what exactly is going on.
Hal sees it from a worms eye view.
Bechko:And hes seeing it without context.
Hardman:And hes discovering whats really going on in the universe.
Hardman:I worked on the first film.
The movie showed us that there was a way to not intrinsically make the story about the character.
In our book, we hoped to not do that.
(laughs)
Is DC talking a series of these Earth One Green Lantern books?
Hardman:Were not really talking anything, its a book.
Presumably, if it does well, there can be more.
But its a self-contained book.
Is there anything, any Green Lantern runs or sci-fi in general, that informed your take?
Hardman:Particularly, with the Space Jockey, it suggests a much wider world and mythology.
That tone was something we thought about a lot.
Its hard to write a space book without horror, space is scary.
Hardman:Space is scary.
And there is some horror in the book.
Theres serious perils on this.
Green Lantern: Earth Onewill hit shelves on March 14.
