The various characters to hold the Green Lantern mantle have been the conduits for any number of allegories: black Lantern John Stewart refused to hide his identity, a clear example of pride in his race during still-pretty-racist seventies America; original Lantern Alan Scott recently became the first major DC hero to come out, although the political power of this was dampened somewhat by his boyfriend being immediately killed off; and you could make an argument that the Lanterns in general are a stand-in for the writers and artists creating their stories, which are bound only by the limits of their imaginations, much like the abilities of the magical rings the heroes wear. Recently, though, the Kyle Rayner incarnation took a left turn in his own book, Green Lantern: New Guardians. The whole series, under the stewardship of scribe Justin Jordan, became a metaphor for sustainable living and environmentalism. Kyle and his team of heroes scour the universe, looking for ways to improve the standard of living without putting the galaxy itself in any danger. You know, the way that those hippies go on about with recycling and not leaving lights on all the time, which apparently has something to do with the polar ice caps melting! Crazy talk. Many readers might not have noticed this metaphor baked into the book - for most it was just a fun cosmic jaunt with some Lanterns - but Jordan was pretty forthright when it came to his agenda with the comic. Although he did add that "hopefully, thats all wrapped in a fun adventure story that doesn't feel like me beating people over the head with sociopolitics."
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
