Baz is the first Muslim-American character to debut in the series’ zero issue, which hit shelves on Wednesday (September 5).
The character wears a mask and hails from Michigan, which is home to a large Arab-American community.
Baz is an out-of-work automotive engineer turned car thief who becomes part of the intergalactic police force.
Gerry Gladston, co-owner of Midtown Comics, said featuring diverse characters is “no longer a rare occurrence.”
“Comic books certainly are more diverse today than they ever have been. For instance Marvel Comics introduced a young black man who is Spider Man in its ultimate comics universe, so today's revelation that The Green Lantern is Arabic is cool and is not as uncommon as it used to be,” Gladston said.
Shoppers at the store agree and are pleased by Baz’s introduction.
Will Quintana, said “I think it's good. I think they’re reflecting the diversity. That way you can relate, not everybody is white and American.”
“They are expanding their universe in a way,” added Andreas Karpasitis.
Louis Ramos said he felt that, “Everyone should have a chance to be a hero. You know any race, Asian, Islamic, Spanish.”
The new hero is slated to be featured again in an October issue of Green Lantern.
Baz is the first Green Lantern character to be born on earth since Kyle Rayner. He joins the series other characters such as Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Guy Gardner.
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