Rise of the Third Army Reading Guide

Overview:

Rise of the Third Army is a DC Comics Green Lantern story that ran from 2012 to 2013 across the Green Lantern family of titles. It was primarily written by Geoff Johns, with contributions from Peter Tomasi, Tony Bedard, and others, and it features artwork by artists like Doug Mahnke and Fernando Pasarin.

The central premise revolves around the Guardians of the Universe deciding that the Green Lantern Corps has outlived its usefulness. They begin creating a new army, the “Third Army,” which lacks free will and is designed to enforce order without question. The Third Army’s rise directly threatens not only the Green Lanterns but also any beings capable of independent thought.

Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner are among the key participants, with the Guardians and their newly-formed army serving as the primary foes. The story also involves the mysterious Black Hand and the new character, Simon Baz, who gets drawn into the larger conflict.

Reception of the arc was mixed, with some fans praising the high stakes and character moments, while others found it too drawn-out and overly reliant on previous continuity. The artwork, particularly Mahnke’s, generally received positive feedback for its detail and dynamic action scenes.

Best Way To Read:

• Rise of the Third Army
  • Collects: Green Lantern Annual vol. 5 #1, Green Lantern vol. 5 #13–16, Green Lantern Corps vol. 3 #13–16, Green Lantern: New Guardians #13–16, Red Lanterns #13–16, Green Lantern Corps Annual vol. 3 #1

For crossover and significant events, I typically only read the main story the first time I encounter it. Trying to read all of the tie-ins with the story tends to make them increasingly convoluted and are not crucial to the main narrative. However, I think they are important to read, as many series-shifting plotlines can happen.

For the tie-in issues, I only read them as they come up in the reading guide that I am working through. This can become problematic because the tie-in issues are not always included in collected editions of the event. So you may need to hunt for them.

Reading Order:

References:

• Wikipedia
• Comic Book Herald
• Comic Book Reading Orders

Feature Image from Green Lantern: New Guardians #13 cover art by Rod Reis, Ivan Reis, and Oclair Albert