Green Arrow #37 - A Review

The mysterious Mia Dearden has been rescued and the reasons for her endangerment have been brought to light.  It seems she's the illegitimate daughter of billionaire philanthropist John King and she's gotten a hold of a list of thousands of "Kings Men" - bought officials ready to do whatever Mr. King wants. And what Mr. King wants right now is Seattle under his thumb and Green Arrow dead!


By all rights, I shouldn't like this new run on Green Arrow as much as I do.  Virtually all of the supporting cast has been jettisoned, with Felicity Smoak quickly sliding into the trusted techie role after only a single issue.  That sort of thing is normally a big no-no for me when it comes to established titles.

And yet, here it works to the book's benefit.  The honest truth is that for all the good Jeff Lemire did during his run on Green Arrow, he didn't do much to develop the supporting cast.  Most of the characters he introduced were unmemorable at best or outright annoying in the case of Ollie's half-sister Emiko.

For lack of a better way to say it, this comic just feels more like what a Green Arrow comic should feel like. Not only in terms of bringing in characters like Mia and Merlyn (he isn't identified by name in this issue but - c'mon, we all know who that archer in black is!) but in terms of setting Oliver up against an enemy who is a symbol of everything Oliver Queen should fight against - corruption and corporate power.  The final page of this issue is also a nod to the classic DC Comics of yesteryear and a relationship that has been sorely missed in The New 52 universe.

While some may quibble about the continuity of aesthetics between creative teams, I do not believe anyone can complain about the artwork on this issue.  Granted, my opinion may be biased as I'm a fan of Sampere and Glapion's previous work together on Batgirl but I do love the artwork on this book. The characters are all uniquely designed and the fights are well laid-out.  My one complaint is that colorist Gabe Eltaeb could try and offer a little more variety in the shades of yellow used to depict the many blond cast members.