Phil LaMarr On Green Lantern Death: Don't Do It For 'Sales Bump'
Actor Phil LaMarr, best-known in the cartoon world as providing the voice for the John Stewart Green Lantern, had mixed feelings about the news (as of yet unconfirmed by DC Comics) that the character might be killed off. As he tells Robot 6:
"This is tricky because it plays on two things in comic books that I feel strongly about. I think that for comic book stories to maintain their vibrancy, the artists and writers cannot be slaves to continuity or fanboy conservatism. On the other hand, black characters have a such history of being treated shabbily that my first thought was, ‘Watch, John will be the one guy who stays dead!’"
LaMarr also expressed concern that kiling off Stewart might be "tossing aside" the work not only of the animated "Justice League" writers Dwayne McDuffie and Bruce Timm -- but that of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, who introduced the character in 1971. He characterized such a possible move as being all for "a one-month sales bump."
John Stewart was voiced by LaMarr from 2001 to 2006, and he has subsequently provided his vocal talents to other DC animated shows such as "Young Justice."
As we've mentioned in an earlier article, there is also a petition going around against the possible character death.
Related Posts:
--
