Green Lantern DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest No. 4 Cover by Dick Giordano

When I got serious about collecting comics in 1979, DC was in recovery from the DC Implosion the year before. Still, there were good comics to be found. DC Special Series was always a surprise with special issues of new content and reprints. The tabloid-sized Limited Collectors’ Editions had new and reprinted content at close to original art size. Dollar Comics crossed regular and special series alike. And in 1980, DC embraced the digest format with The Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest and DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest.

DC had always excelled at keeping their back catalogue active through various reprint titles, and the digests were a very inexpensive way to get a bunch of hand-picked stories based around a character or theme.

This particular issue focussed on Green Lantern and was packaged by 1970s/80s DC editor Jack C Harris, who was the Green Lantern editor during this period.

Harris recalls:

This was my favorite of all the digests I edited. I thought it was the perfect volume to learn everything you needed to know about the Silver Age Green Lantern.

New colour and packaging by me.

As published.

Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.

Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.

Art made production ready.

New colour version.

Re-created trade dress added.

Dollar Comic

When you saw one of these on the spinner rack, they stood out. Bold trade dress and you could feel the thickness in your hand.

Limited Collectors’ Edition

It’s a bit of a crime that Green Lantern never got his own tabloid volume. I think it would have sold well.

Below you can download your own copy of the diorama and print it off.

Green Lantern Diorama

2.54 MB

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Print at 100% on 8.5×11 or A4 card stock. For personal use only.