Alex Ross appears to have entered the Lanterns conversation in the most Alex Ross way possible: by letting the art speak for itself.
Following the release of the first teaser trailer for HBO’s Lanterns, the legendary comic book artist posted classic Green Lantern artwork on social media. He did not mention James Gunn, HBO, or the trailer directly, but fans immediately picked up on the timing.
The post came as the Lanterns teaser was already facing backlash from fans who complained the footage looked too grounded, too muted, and not green enough for a show about Green Lantern.
Fans Notice The Timing
Ross posted the Green Lantern art shortly after the Lanterns teaser was released online.
On its own, the post could simply be Ross sharing one of his iconic takes on the DC hero. But with the trailer backlash already taking off, fans saw the move as a possible response to what HBO and DC Studios had just shown.
The teaser leaned heavily into the show’s grounded crime-drama angle, focusing on Hal Jordan and John Stewart investigating a mystery in the American heartland. What fans did not see much of was the bright green energy, ring constructs, cosmic scale, or superhero spectacle normally associated with Green Lantern.
Ross’ art, by comparison, is everything fans expect from Green Lantern: bold, mythic, powerful, and unmistakably green.
Lanterns Backlash Centers On The Lack Of Green
The biggest complaint about the teaser was right there in the name.
A lot of fans thought Lanterns looked more like True Detective with DC characters than a proper Green Lantern series. The muted color palette, grounded setting, and lack of visible ring powers quickly became the main talking points.
Some fans even joked that the 2011 Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern movie suddenly looked more comic-accurate by comparison, which says a lot considering how much that movie has been mocked over the years.
HBO later leaned into the criticism online by joking about there being “no green,” but the reaction showed how sensitive fans are when it comes to this particular character.
Alex Ross Shows What Fans Wanted
Ross is one of the most recognizable superhero artists of all time, and his version of Green Lantern carries the kind of classic comic book weight fans were hoping to see from the trailer.
His work usually presents DC heroes as larger-than-life icons. Green Lantern is not just a guy in a jacket or a detective with a ring. He is a space cop powered by will, light, and imagination.
That contrast is why fans latched onto the post. Whether Ross meant it as commentary or not, the timing made it easy to read the art as a reminder of what Green Lantern is supposed to look and feel like.
James Gunn’s DCU Still Has To Sell Fans On Lanterns
Lanterns is one of the bigger early swings for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU, and it is supposed to help build out the larger universe beyond Superman.
The series stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, with the two Green Lanterns investigating a dark Earth-based mystery. Nathan Fillion also returns as Guy Gardner after appearing in Superman.
The grounded detective angle may still work, but the first teaser made one thing clear: fans want the Green Lantern part of Lanterns to actually look like Green Lantern.
Ross has not said whether his post was meant as a reaction to the trailer. But after the backlash, fans did not need much help connecting the dots.
