All October long I will be exploring the context behind (using reader danjack's term) "meta-messages." A meta-message is where a comic book creator comments on/references the work of another comic book/comic book creator using the characters in their comic. Each time around, I'll give you the context behind one such "meta-message." Here is an archive of the past installments! If you have a suggestion for a future meta-message, e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com.

Reader Ben M. sent in two suggestions involving Gerard Jones and Denny O'Neil's Green Lantern/Green Arrow run. Here is the first one. Today, we look at how Jones came up with an explanation for why Hal Jordan became a Hard Traveling Hero in the first place!

Green Lantern #76, as we all know by now, is based on the notion that Green Arrow wakes Green Lantern up to Lantern's naive take on the world....

They then begin traveling the country discovering America.

In any event, the last issue before Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams revamped Green Lantern, John Broome wrote a story involving Green Lantern going to Qward to rescue his girlfriend of the time, Olivia Reynolds, who, unknown to her at the time, had a powerful psychic ability known as the U-Mind. Hal kept it secret from her. That is why the Qwardians kidnapped her - to power some new mysterious device...

Anyhow, decades later, Olivia and Hal had re-kindled their romance only for her (and her U-Mind) to be taken advantage of again.

Here, in Green Lantern #39, Gerry Jones reveals that the events of Green Lantern #75 had effects no one knew about at the time...

Amusingly enough, in Green Lantern #47, Jones has Green Arrow mock this revelation....

Interesting stuff.