Monday, June 22, 2015

Arrow: Season 2.5 #22 - A Review

Arrow: Season 2.5 #22 is an uncharacteristically bad issue for what has usually been a serviceable series.  Set in a flaming Queen Manor and centered around the final battle between Oliver Queen and Caleb Green (a Mirakuru-enhanced madman with a grudge against The Queen Family), Oliver must save himself and Laurel Lance, who has been taken hostage by Green.

Joe Bennett's artwork largely adheres to its usual high standard and generally looks good. Where it falters, however, is in visual continuity and panel flow. In the span of three pages, Oliver goes from being pinned under Green, to flying through the air to tackle Laurel, to crouching over her as he unties her bonds.  It seems as if there were steps missing between these moments and the middle page of this sequence looks goofy.





There's also some minor conflicts between the artwork and the story.  For instance, Marc Guggenheim writes Laurel as being willing and able to fight back against Green, ignoring Oliver's warnings to let him fight alone. Read the dialogue by itself and Laurel sounds like the woman who might one day become The Black Canary.  Pair it with Bennet's depiction of Laurel, however, and there's a massive disconnect between the panicky damsel-in-distress we see and the action girl we hear.


If you're a completist, you might get this issue to keep your collection whole.  All others would do well to stay away. Nothing will be missed if you skip this one.

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