That's what CBR is reporting as confirmed (they likely spoke to the writer directly). Here's what Fialkov originally said he wanted to write about:
"For me, the attraction was that I wanted to tell a crime story on a galactic level. That was my pitch to DC. Geoff [Johns] and all of the other guys have done such an amazing job, prior to us, of telling those big, giant space operas. Now it's time to narrow it down. Let's do stories that almost fall into a different genre while still being in the Green Lantern universe."
Now imagine pitching that to DC, getting the gig and then being told that the series needs to go in a direction very different from what you had envisioned, namely you need to weave in killing John Stewart. I imagine there are a few comic book writers out there who would say that such things are simply the nature of writing for 'The Big Two' which is an entirely different animal from creator-owned work. However, I'm sure there's an equal number (maybe slightly more) of writers who would side with Fialkov. I'll put the question to you guys, would you keep quiet and crank out a new story for the exposure and compensation or would you follow Fialkov's example and walk off the title?
This also makes me wonder if another character is on the chopping block as well over in Action Comics.
UPDATE: Bleeding Cool is reporting that because this plot point was leaked fairly early and because of the outcry from fans and in forums, John Stewart has been taken off the chopping block. Chalk this up as a victory for the little guys!
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