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First Appearance of Kilowog in Green Lantern #201, Up for Auction

Published Fri, 18 Feb 2022 10:22:11 -0600

It's a testiment to the enduring nature of the concept that many characters who have taken on the role of Green Lantern have become memorable and a regular part of the franchise. In the 1940s there was Alan Scott, of course. The 1960s introduced us to Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner. John Stewart made his debut in the 1970s. And by the mid-1980s there was Kilowog. The character Kilowog was created by Steve Englehart and Joe Staton and first appeared in Green Lantern #201 in 1986. He's already appeared in numerous animated series and in the 2011 Green Lantern movie, and now he's set to appear in the eagerly-anticipated upcoming HBO Max series as well. An underrated early Copper Age key, there's a Green Lantern #201 (DC, 1986) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages up for auction in this week's 2022 February 20-21 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122208 at Heritage Auctions.

Green Lantern #201 (DC, 1986) featuring the first appearance of Kilowog and the beginning of the Green Lantern Corps series.

The title of the series changed to Green Lantern Corps here (just on the cover only for the moment, though the title formally changed with issue #206), and a speech by Hal Jordan in this issue sets the stage in this post-Crisis on Infinite Earths era: "Listen, we've all come through a lot in our different ways. Some of us had a comparatively easy time of it — some of us didn't. But we got here seven of us now — to protect this little planet — and not only because it's right and just to protect life anywhere — but because the future of the now-unified universe is evolving here now! We don't know if the Guardians are ever coming back, but we have their promise that beings like them, and the female Zamarons, will arise on Earth. That will probably be long after we're all gone… but like, perhaps, the Knights of our earlier days, I swear to give everything this ring and I have to keep alive in my time — so that life in future days may achieve the grandeur we have been privileged to know in the Guardians of the Universe!"

As for Kilowog himself, he was a brilliant scientist of the planet Bolovax Vik, which had been destroyed during Crisis on Infinite Earths. The beginning of an important new era for the Green Lantern mythos, there's a Green Lantern #201 (DC, 1986) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages up for auction in this week's 2022 February 20-21 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122208 at Heritage Auctions.

Green Lantern #201 (DC, 1986) CGC NM+ 9.6 White pages. Green Lantern Corps series begins. First appearance of Kilowog. Joe Staton cover and art. Overstreet 2021 NM- 9.2 value = $36. CGC census 2/22: 123 in 9.6, 121 higher.

View the certification for CGC Certification ID 3802992013 and purchase grader's notes if available.