Creation of Black Green Lantern Character

Everybody knows that, uh, you know, I created, uh, um,

a Black Green Lantern.

The John Stewart-

With Julie Schwartz

... John Stewart, the Black Green Lantern.

No, wait. No, wait.

So Julie Schwartz insisted that I draw the book and blah, blah, blah.

And yes, I agreed to draw the book, and I said, "Look, I don't wanna draw ...

I don't want a Green Lantern that is a gang banger-

Mm

... or an African chief.

I want a college graduate. I want him to have a profession."

Okay? None of this pull him off the street

and suddenly reconstruct him-

Hmm

... and he's, becomes a hero. None of that stuff.

I want a real Black man,

American Black man.So Denny O'Neil wrote the script,

and it was a pretty good script.

Hm.

I mean, he just turns out to be a college

graduate, architect, out of work,

which in the '60s was exactly right, and his name

was Lincoln Washington.

Is that right?

"Well, what would you call him? What would you call him?

You name him." I said, "Just a name, just a name.

Pull a name out of a hat." He says, "You name him. Goddammit, you name him.

You name him." I said, "Fine. John Stewart."