Green Arrow #27 - A Review

With Green Arrow #27, Jeff Lemire continues to expand the mythos of the New 52 in unexpected and enjoyable directions.  Perhaps the biggest surprise in this issue is a brief interlude where the mysterious Magus who has been manipulating things around Oliver Queen pays a visit to the hero Katana.  It spoils little to guess that she too has connections to Lemire's Outsiders - a mysterious cabal of warriors with connections to Oliver's family - but what this has to do with the ongoing story is still a mystery.


Fans of the show Arrow will find themselves on familiar territory, as this issue makes use of a number of flashbacks to depict Oliver's time shipwrecked on the island.  And yet things are completely different, for it seems that the accident that left Oliver Queen stranded in this reality was no accident.  Everyone - be they long-time Arrowhead or Green-horn - will be kept guessing by the issue's ending.


As uusal, Andrea Sorrentino's artwork astounds.  This issue features a number of two-page spreads reminiscent of Osamu Tesuka's early action manga in how the action is depicted through a number of framed close-ups.  The effect is rather like looking at still shots on a roll of movie film, yet much more dynamic.