Had anyone suggested a year ago -- heck, a month ago -- that not only "Green Lantern" but also "Alan Scott" would be U.S. trending topics on Twitter, they'd likely have been soundly mocked. But on the day that DC Comics launched its full-on media assault officially announcing that the 72-year-old superhero will be reintroduced in Earth 2 #2 as the gay-billionaire leader of the Justice Society, "Green Lantern" and "Alan Scott" are on Twitter, sandwiched between "National Donut Day" and "CNBC."

Granted, "Hal Jordan" is now trending worldwide, with many commenters trying to sort out just which Green Lantern everyone is talking about. One person tweeted, "I'm imagining Hal Jordan spending all day saying 'No, not me, the other one. Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Although it's clear to most fans of superhero comics that the character in question is the Golden Age Green Lantern -- the only Green Lantern on Earth 2 -- the finer points of continuity and parallel universes seem to be lost on the general public. (Right about now a DC publicity person is probably struggling to give an ABC News correspondent a crash course in DC Comics history, the New 52 and the Green Lantern Corps, frustrating both of them.)

Whether all of the publicity and social-media interest will result in rapid sellouts for Earth 2 #2 obviously won't be known until next week, but it's probably safe to presume DC will start the presses rolling on a second printing any moment now.