Green Lantern #33
Green Lantern #33 is a pivotal Silver Age tie-in to the broader DC villain mythology: it brings Arthur Light — the criminal physicist Doctor Light, who had debuted two years earlier in Justice League of America #12 — into a direct solo confrontation with Hal Jordan, framed explicitly as the first step in Light's scheme to pick off every Justice League member individually. That cross-title villain continuity, rare and deliberate for 1964, gives the issue an outsized role in establishing Doctor Light as a recurring cross-title threat, a reputation that would carry him through five decades of DC storytelling, from his comedic Bronze Age decline to his dark rehabilitation in Identity Crisis. The issue also spotlights Pieface (Tom Kalmaku) as an active participant in both stories, reinforcing his status as one of the most developed supporting characters in the Silver Age GL run.
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The issue was written by Gardner Fox — the same writer who created Doctor Light in JLA #12 — giving GL #33's continuation of that villain a direct authorial through-line. Pencils were by Gil Kane, the series' defining visual architect, with cover inks by Murphy Anderson and interior inks by Sid Greene; editor Julius Schwartz oversaw both stories. The on-sale date recorded in copyright registration is October 8, 1964, with a cover date of December 1964, placing it squarely in the mid-run of Volume 2's original Silver Age stretch.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: December 1964 (on-sale October 8, 1964); published by National Periodical Publications (DC Comics) as Green Lantern Vol. 2 #33.
- Lead story title: 'Wizard of the Light-Wave Weapons!' — script by Gardner Fox, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Sid Greene, letters by Gaspar Saladino; cover penciled by Gil Kane and inked by Murphy Anderson.
- Edited by Julius Schwartz, the architect of the Silver Age Green Lantern series from its 1959 relaunch.
- Doctor Light (Arthur Light) appears as the villain in the lead story, pursuing a stated plan to defeat each Justice League member in solo combat — Green Lantern being his first target; the story itself internally references his earlier appearances in Justice League of America #12 and Atom #8.
- Doctor Light is NOT making his first appearance here; he debuted in Justice League of America #12 (June 1962), created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky.
- The issue contains a second story, 'The Disarming of Green Lantern!', also scripted by Gardner Fox with art by Gil Kane and Sid Greene, in which Pieface (Tom Kalmaku) accidentally tips off criminals to the existence of Green Lantern's power battery, then works with Hal to set a trap; the villain Barks Ownley is drawn as a caricature of actor Edward G. Robinson.
- The lead story has been reprinted in: Wanted: The World's Most Dangerous Villains #5 (DC, January 1973); Green Lantern Archives Vol. 5 (DC, 2005); Showcase Presents: Green Lantern Vol. 2 (DC, 2007, black and white); Green Lantern Omnibus Vol. 2 (DC, 2012); Green Lantern: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (DC, 2017); and DC's Wanted: The World's Most Dangerous Super-Villains (DC, 2020).
- Both stories in the issue feature Pieface (Tom Kalmaku) as a key supporting character, reflecting the Silver Age series' consistent use of Hal Jordan's mechanic friend as a narrative anchor across standalone adventures.
Cast · 5 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
In a hospital room, Barks Ownley overhears Tom Kalmaku talking of Green Lantern's power battery in his sleep and devises a scheme to steal the battery. He is defeated by Green Lantern because Tom warns him and they create a plan to fool the thieves.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).