Some thoughts about Green Lantern/Huckleberry Hound Special #1

Can Green Lantern change the world?

John has returned to Earth and has come to the realization that nothing has really changed, the same problems are still there and while his power might tempt him to force change, Huckleberry Hound will help him realize that there are other ways to do so.

The Hanna Barbera crossovers continue and this time is the turn of one of my favorite writers doing what he does best.

Mark Russell arrives with a story suited in the 70s appropriately focused on John Stewart. As you might know at this point, Russell's work is heavily political so the choice of this particular Green Lantern shouldn't be a surprise, that period of time is also appropriate due that this is around the era when John was created and also when we saw some of the biggest race conflicts in the history of the U.S.A. The writer also touches upon the Vietnam war and how fighting in it doesn't necessarily give you the respect you deserve, especially if you're from a marginalized group. This take is pretty sound because of the realistic events that happened during this time and Russell explored them with the adequate amount of nuance to make them believable.

But you might wonder how the hell does Huckleberry Hound fits into this story? Well, Russell already wrote him in The Snagglepuss Chronicles but I don't think this is really the same exact character. This is a former star whose luck ended once that he started to make fun of the Government which connects him perfectly to the plot itself due that he has been witness of the injustice of their country and has a pretty interesting conversation with John, one that makes them come to the conclusion that abusing your power never helps and that ideas can only contribute to progress. This is exactly the kind of complexity that I want from political stories and I'm glad that we have an author able to do so.

Rick Leonardi's artwork is pretty solid due that he's able to mix the cartoony creatures along with human beings appropriately.

The Secret Squirrel's story continues as well written by J.M. DeMatteis, is pretty short and sadly not worth mentioning in this case. Tom Mandrake's artwork remains great though.

Overall, another winner. Need more Russell projects in the future.