We continue our tour through the alphabet, with a different cool comic book item each day, from A to Z!

Today we look at a fellow who digs glowing jewelry...



Guy Gardner, like Flash Thompson, is one of those characters who works best because he is not just what you see on the very surface.

On the surface, Guy Gardner is an insufferable jerk, but really, his jerkish ways are what make him so unique, because he's just as heroic as any other Green Lantern out there, only he views heroism from a whole different angle than everyone else. The fact that he gets to the same place as, say, Hal Jordan, while taking a widely different path is an interesting facet of his personality.

Of course, Guy has had some pitfalls along the way.

Like when he was no longer a Green Lantern...



Or when he discovered he was half-alien and had morphing powers (Beau Smith really was just working with what they gave him to deal with, but boy...morphing powers?)



Then, even though we saw Guy have his HEART REMOVED and be okay, Jeph Loeb decided that a guy stabbing guy in the chest would be enough to kill him...



Luckily, he's back as a member of the Green Lantern Corps now, sans half-alien powers.



One of the cooler aspects of Guy's personality was his relationship with his Justice League teammate, Ice (Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis might have mostly played Guy for laughs, but they did some good personality work with this couple, as well).





(The above issue is one of my all-time favorite single issues)

Here is an example of the depth they gave Guy when it came to Ice...



Good stuff.

Peter Tomasi brought Guy and Ice back together, but since Guy is sort of indispose due to all the big Green Lantern to-doings right now, I believe they're not together at the moment...



Tomasi also brought in one of the cool ideas Beau Smith had - Guy opening up a bar for superheroes. Now, Tomasi has Guy and Kyle Rayner owning a bar for Green Lanterns.

It's good to see Guy be so prominent as a character once again - he basically co-stars in Green Lantern Corps with Kyle.