CSBG Archive
365 Reasons to Love Comics #79
Green Lantern Week, Day Two: Time for a look at the second-coolest GL in the Corps. This dude is the essence of cool, ya poozers.
3/20/07
79. Kilowog
I love Kilowog. He’s the tough, hulking head trainer of all new Green Lantern recruits. While he seems strong and gruff then, he’s really a big softie with a noble spirit and usually hilarious attitude. He should be getting all the ladies.
Apparently, it’s obligatory for a GL to end up with a tragic life, so all of Kilowog’s race has been wiped out. His people were very big on community, so the Corps and the Justice League were there to take care of the lonely and depressed Kilowog. This characteristic of his race could’ve also been a reason for his joining the Communist Party at one point:
(Best Green Lantern cover ever.)
While in Russia, he created the Rocket Red Brigade. This is because Kilowog, while seeming a bit dim, is actually a technological and mechanical genius. During a downtime from GL duties, he donned overalls and served as the Justice League International’s resident repairman, fixing the communication and teleporter tech, and constantly rebuilding the embassies after they blew up.
As usual in comics, all good things must come to a stupid end, and so the lovable Kilowog was killed by Hal Jordan–one of his old trainees, for cripes’ sake!– in Emerald Twilight. Years later, he’d return as “Dark Lantern” before reverting to his regular ol’ self:
Current artistic stylings from guys like Ethan Van Sciver and Patrick Gleason give Kilowog a more monstrous look, as opposed to the kinder, gentler, softer Kilowog of old, who looked like a cross between a giant, hairless teddy bear and the Vigo-possessed Ray from Ghostbusters II. Now he looks like an old, burnt potato gone horribly wrong. That, or ET really let himself go:
The big lug is really a great character who rarely gets the chance to take over the spotlight but always supports the group just right. He’s a great GL and one of my favorite JLI characters.
You can read his new adventures every month in the pages of Green Lantern Corps.
In the GL movie, he should be played by Brad Garrett. Who’s with me? (Speaking of Brad Garrett, Kilowog should team up with Bibbo one of these days. Their speech patterns are quite similar and I think it’d be pretty damn funny.)
Gesundheit.
For a massively detailed history of Kilowog (well, again, up until the late 90′s or so), check out this link.
24 Comments
Greg Burgas
March 20, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Why does Evil Kilowog have circles leading our eyes down to his crotch?
“Beware the power of my mighty phallus!!!!!”
Ian Astheimer
March 20, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Heh.
Or like a pug and a slug got busy.
Rebis
March 20, 2007 at 6:01 pm
I don’t actually think the Van Sciver Kilowog looks that much different than the Hughes version on that JLI cover. Regardless, I think his gruffer, rougher (“more monstrous”?) appearance only makes him cooler when paired with his personality and talents.
Which of you poozers agrees with me!?!
Brian Cooksey
March 20, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Kilowog’s one of my favorites, too. The latest GLC cover has a nice Kilowog Smash! vibe to it.
Dr. Natu is my current favorite Lantern but Kilowog’s a close second.
stealthwise
March 20, 2007 at 10:12 pm
I’m so glad that you’re doing this feature on GLs AFTER they’re (almost) all back, because it would be far too depressing otherwise.
And yet I found the new GL and GL Corps titles too boring to pick up. Maybe I’ll try them in trade.
The Mad Monkey
March 21, 2007 at 12:58 am
Brad Garrett as Kilowog.
Genius.
Even if it couldn’t be done as live action, Garrett’s voice would be perfect for ‘Wog in an animated GL.
Brian Mac
March 21, 2007 at 5:00 am
According to IMDB, Dennis Haysbert voiced Kiolwog on the animated Justice League, and he did an amazing job, in my opinion. Brad Garrett voiced Lobo. The guest casting on that show was simply phenomenal — Jeffrey Combs as the Question, Michael Dorn as Kalibak…Ed Asner as Granny Goodness?! You can’t beat that.
Joe Rice
March 21, 2007 at 5:22 am
I blame Kilowog for every hack writer that thinks putting “poozer” in his script makes it . . .whatever they think it makes it.
Rob Schamberger
March 21, 2007 at 5:57 am
Dark Lantern? WTF?
SallyP
March 21, 2007 at 6:43 am
Poozer. Poozer, Poozer, Poozer…one of the greatest words ever created. God I love Kilowog. One of the best stories ever, has to be the one from JLI, when Guy Gardner gets bored, flies off to the old GL headquarters, and he and Kilowog have this knockout, drag-out battle that completely destroys the place…and then slap hands and basically yell “YEAH”! Kilowog borrows Guy’s ring and repairs the place…just in time for it to all fall on top of Arisia later on.
That’s good writin’.
Ben Herman
March 21, 2007 at 7:22 am
I love Kilowog.
Me too… in a totally platonic manner, of course
Kilowog is such a cool character, one of my favorite of the alien GLs. It really was depressing when he was killed by Hal Jordan in “Emerald Twilight,” so I’m happy that the big guy is back.
One thing I have noticed: at comic book conventions, so many fans ask artists to sketch Kilowog. And artists seem to enjoy getting request to sketch him. Seems like a lot of people out there like Kilowog.
Adam Jones
March 21, 2007 at 8:09 am
“Vigo possesed Ray from Ghosbusters II”
Best. Reference. Ever.
(underrated flick too)
Neil
March 21, 2007 at 8:47 am
My favourite GL is Mogo, despite the fact he doesn’t socialise.
Evan Waters
March 21, 2007 at 10:09 am
Personally I’m a fan of Salaak. Very glad to see him ruling the roost in GLC.
Ben Herman
March 21, 2007 at 10:18 am
My favourite GL is Mogo, despite the fact he doesn’t socialise.
Yeah, that Mogo guy is in a world of his own
Levantine
March 21, 2007 at 10:48 am
Wasn’t Daffy Duck a Green Lantern for a little bit?
Ooh, how about Alfred E. Neuman: http://dccomics.com/dcdirect/?dcd=3221&lst=all&cat=ACTION+FIGURES
Anthony Strand
March 21, 2007 at 11:11 am
Yeah, man. You can’t beat Kilowog. I always thought Ron Perlman would be great in the role. I *always* thought that, going back years before Hellboy.
Michael
March 21, 2007 at 12:11 pm
“According to IMDB, Dennis Haysbert voiced Kiolwog on the animated Justice League, and he did an amazing job, in my opinion. Brad Garrett voiced Lobo. The guest casting on that show was simply phenomenal — Jeffrey Combs as the Question, Michael Dorn as Kalibak…Ed Asner as Granny Goodness?! You can’t beat that.”
Dorn, Asner, and Garrett all reprised their roles from the Superman Animated series.
I recall watching “Little Girl Lost” with my older brother. When Granny came in, he asked me, point-blank, “Okay, what fucking gender is that person?”
Chris G.
March 21, 2007 at 12:58 pm
I always liked Mogo BECAUSE he doesn’t socialize. Must be a Midwestern thing.
Vincent P Bartilucci
March 21, 2007 at 5:20 pm
Kilowog, “The trainer of Green Lanterns” that NO ONE ever mentioned prior to his creation, pissed me off no end. Oh, he’s a big ‘dumb’ monster who’s also a techno-wiz! And he says “Poozer” a lot. Oh, joy!
I would have been very happy to have never seen the big pink dope again.
Now, Salaak … That’s a Green Lantern!
Dave Ziegler
March 21, 2007 at 5:37 pm
That JLAmerica cover (if I’m remembering correctly) is the issue with one of my all-time favorite story titles, so much so that I still remember it all these many moons later:
“Knuckleheads, Nitwits, and Poozers!”
They just don’t write ‘em like that anymore…
DanCJ
March 22, 2007 at 2:19 am
I like Kilowog, but really his name sounds a bit too much like “kill a wog” for comfort
St. Michael
March 25, 2007 at 2:05 pm
“…that NO ONE ever mentioned prior to his creation…”
I don’t know that it’s really fair to hold that against him…
Melissa
July 25, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Can you correctly define poozer for me?