Green Lantern (2021), by Geoffrey Thorne and collaborators.
Existing site character portrait; this is not a cover from the 2021 series.
Which Green Lantern #1?
This is the 2021 series, not the 2005 Johns launch or Jeremy Adams' 2023 series. Begin with #1 and read through #12. Include Green Lantern 2021 Annual #1 alongside #6: both were released September 7, 2021. The annual is a Jessica Cruz story by Ryan Cady and Sami Basri, rather than an extra numbered Thorne chapter. DC lists its creators and publication date.
Prerequisites: basic familiarity with the Corps is enough. Far Sector gives Jo more personal context, and Green Lanterns introduces Jessica and Simon, but neither is required homework. The run belongs to the main DC continuity during Infinite Frontier. Future State: Green Lantern #1–2 is useful related material about a possible future; do not silently insert it as a present-day event between numbered chapters.
What drives the story
The United Planets and the Guardians are debating who should police the cosmos. John arrives on Oa with Keli Quintela, the young Teen Lantern whose gauntlet does not fit the Corps' normal recruitment procedures. Jo brings an investigator's perspective from a very different assignment. The premise turns a familiar question of personal worthiness into an institutional one: what gives the Corps authority, and who gets a say in how it uses that authority? The publisher's Invictus description establishes the summit.
Thorne's main series, with artists including Dexter Soy, Tom Raney, and Marco Santucci, divides attention between leadership, survival, and investigation. John and Jo are complementary leads. Reading their strands together is essential; following only the familiar Hal Jordan name would miss the shape of this run. The ensemble also makes room for Keli, Kilowog, Simon, and Jessica.
Issues and collected editions
Complete numbered sequence: Green Lantern (2021) #1–12, plus the 2021 Annual #1.
Invictus: DC's catalogue lists Future State: Green Lantern #1–2 and Green Lantern #1–4. Official listing.
Horatius: DC lists Green Lantern #7–12 and Green Lantern 2021 Annual #1. Official listing.
Check #5–6 before choosing collections. Those catalogue descriptions leave a gap. Verify your edition's actual contents rather than assuming the two listings cover every issue. DC has individual entries for #5 and #6; both belong in the sequence. This guide does not guess which printing corrects the catalogue discrepancy.
Spoilers: the crisis and Jessica's change of allegiance
The Central Power Battery's destruction leaves Lanterns without their familiar support system. John searches for survivors in the Dark Sectors while Jo investigates what happened on Oa. Jessica's encounter with Yellow Lanterns leads into a Sinestro Corps role explored in the annual and #6. Jo's unusual ring and John's ability to lead under deprivation become consequential differences, not just profile trivia. See DC's linked #5, #6, and annual descriptions for the issue references.
Finish John's strand, then move forward
After #12, read John Stewart: The Emerald Knight #1 (2022), Thorne and Santucci's 48-page follow-up. For John's next major solo focus, continue to War Journal. That is a later creative era, with its own starting point and family concerns.
Scope: the 2021–2022 run and its follow-up. Catalogue details checked November 4, 2026; linked summaries contain spoilers.
Artwork credits (1 image)
Credits refer to the illustrations shown here. Open a record for sources, adaptations and unresolved details. Some artwork and source pages contain story spoilers.
John Stewart — Dark Nights: Death Metal #4 (2020), Stanley “Artgerm” Lau John Stewart variant cover, cropped detail. Stanley “Artgerm” Lau (cover art and colors).
