Green Arrow #17 - A Review

Seattle's new mayor is under the control of the criminal syndicate known as The Ninth Circle. Green Arrow's one ally among the police of Seattle lies dead and The Emerald Outlaw has been framed for the murder! Thankfully he is not without allies but even as he recruits an idealistic reporter in his war on the forces that stole his company and his life as Oliver Queen, Green Arrow's greatest enemy - the assassin Merlyn - approaches him with a sadistic choice...


Otto Schmidt is back on the art duties this time around and in fine form for the most part. The action sequences are well-paced and even the few sedate scenes of people just talking have an inherent intensity. The only glitch is some oddities in the faces of Seattle's new mayor and the Ninth Circle member who is handling him.


I've noted before how well writer Benjamin Percy has been drawing upon the classic Green Arrow mythos - particularly the stories of Mike Grell. This issue sees him trying to introduce some elements of the Malcolm Merlyn/Oliver Queen relationship from the TV Series Arrow into the narrative. The actual execution, however, seems closer to Norman Osborn and Peter Parker in the first Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man movie, with Merlyn attempting to turn Oliver into the heir he wanted.

How well this change will play out remains to be seen. Personally, I find it an odd development given Percy's stated desires in the past to keep Green Arrow as a series separate from Arrow. It's particularly strange given the deus ex machina at the end of the issue involving a supporting character whose presence in the series I've questioned.

Regardless, this is still the best Green Arrow series in years... even if it does leave me frustrated at times as a reader and fan.

Green Arrow #16 - A Review

Green Arrow has convinced the Police Chief of Seattle of his innocence but The Vice Squad is still at large, along with Merlyn - The Dark Archer! Thankfully, Oliver Queen's half-sister Emiko - now calling herself Red Arrow - has returned to lend a hand. Can one good cop and all of Team Arrow save the city?


There's a lot going on in Green Arrow #16 and most of it is good. Benjamin Percy balances the various subplots like a master plate-spinner. Of particular note is the development of the relationship between Oliver Queen and his sister, Emiko. When she was first introduced by Jeff Lemire, Emiko seemed like little more than a bargain-basement Damian Wayne. Percy has developed her into her own character, while still retaining the base idea of a snarky teenage girl who gives Ollie hell in a loving fashion.

The kinetic script is well-matched by Otto Schmidt's artwork. There is a sense of motion to every panel of this comic - even the scenes that just involve two characters talking! The colors are all well chosen and I'll be stunned if Schmidt doesn't get nominated for an Eisner this year.


The fast pace does prove detrimental in one respect. Some of the subplots - such as the one involving The Vice Squad - are settled with far more finality than seems appropriate. Another problem is that Black Canary has little to do in this issue and thus far John Diggle only seems to be in the book as a hook for Arrow fans. While Percy has already shot down my dreams of Felicity Smoak stepping in to replace the cliche hacker character of Fyff (also brought over from Lemire's run), I would still like to see more of the ensemble in action.

Green Arrow #13 - A Review

Let us start this review by appreciating the irony of Black Canary telling someone that yelling at people is no way to convince them you're a hero.


Thank you.

Emerald Outlaw continues with an unseen enemy killing Green Arrow's harshest critics and framing Seattle's favorite hero for the crimes. Things heat up further as a new gang called The Vice Squad - which is made up of least one corrupt cop - begin playing judge, jury and executioner in the streets of Seattle.


As I've noted before, no writer has ever truly explored the idea of Green Arrow as an honest outlaw. J.T. Krul's brief run during the Brightest Day story-line played with the concept a bit but it lacked an honest punch as Oliver Queen still had his fortune and most of his superhero friends to fall back on in a tight spot.

In the reality of Rebirth, however, the concept has weight. Here, Green Arrow is barely acknowledged by the established superhero community and can't call up Batman to get brave and bold. In this Benjamin Percy has truly turned Oliver Queen into a modern-day Robin Hood.

Forget the tree-house in the woods and his band of Merry Men! Green Arrow is as dependent on his lady fair as Robin was and he puts just as much store in disguises. This adds a mythic element of fun to the proceedings, though one wonders how a world-famous rock-star like Black Canary can possibly go undercover as a cop! Then again, it's not like most men look at her face.


While both of the artists working upon this bi-monthly series are talented, I must confess a preference for the work of Otto Schmidt. There is a gritty wildness to Schmidt's style that seems a perfect fit for the world of Green Arrow and Percy's scripts. It proves equally well-suited to depicting the shadowy urban jungle of Seattle and the deep forests around Mount Rainier.

Green Arrow #8 - A Review

Stranded on a deserted island (again!) following his battle with The Ninth Circle, Oliver Queen is in dire straits and low spirits. Thankfully he's not alone, as it turns out Dinah Lance survived the destruction of The Ninth Circle's base as well. Unbeknownst to them, so did John Diggle, though his time on the island is proving far less enjoyable.


One of my few complaints about the post-Rebirth Green Arrow has been how rushed the romance between Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance seemed in the opening issues. Benjamin Percy takes steps to address that here, taking the better part of this issue to better develop the relationship between both heroes. Percy perfectly captures the playful nature of both characters while not ignoring the harsh reality of their situation. And unlike many portrayals of the couple, theirs is a true partnership of equals.


Otto Schmidt returns to handle all of the art duties on this issue and it is good to see him return. This title has benefited from a variety of skilled artists but Schmidt's style seems the best fit for Percy's writing, possessing a streamlined simplicity reminiscent of a more detail-driven Bruce Timm. He proves capable of depicting both the comedy and intimacy of Ollie and Dinah's romance as well as the more horrific moments involving Diggle's battles elsewhere on the island.

Green Arrow #2 - A Review

Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead. His boat was found abandoned off the Washington state coast, filled to the brim with booze and illegal drugs. His secretary's corpse was found washed ashore close-by. And then the allegations of bullying his employees and misappropriating company funds came out...

But Oliver Queen is innocent and, more importantly, not dead! And while he may feel all alone in the world, he still has some friends left. One of them is a certain fishnet-clad singer who is ready to do what she does best to avenge his memory. And what Black Canary does best is hurt bad people.


At this point I am ready to write off most of the fears I had regarding this series when I came into it. Benjamin Percy has proven a firm grasp on the characters of Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance. Black Canary is portrayed in all her complexity as both a broken-bird and as a Fury in fishnets - a competent warrior who is in no danger of being portrayed as a damsel in distress or a manic pixie. Green Arrow, in turn, is shown as to be a man with a cynic's mind and a romantic's heart.



This is expressed eloquently in one page by Otto Schmidt's artwork. If pressed for a single image to express how Oliver Queen looks at Dinah Lance, you couldn't ask for a better one than Ollie's dream vision of an golden-winged angel lifting him up and out of the pitfall of his own making. The damnable thing is Schmidt proves just as skilled at depicting straight-forward action as he does this metaphorical imagery. Green Arrow has not looked this good in quite some time.


I am hooked through the end of this story arc, at least.  My hope and trust is not easily won in regarding these characters. Yet I am prepared to hope, if not quite believe, that Green Arrow and Black Canary may finally have a worthy creative team for the first time in two decades.

Green Arrow #1 - A Review

Things seem to be improving for Oliver Queen. His half-sister Emiko finally seems to be settling down into the normal life he's tried to build for her. And his new partnership with Black Canary - both on the streets and in the sheets - seems to be moving along swimmingly.

Unfortunately, his tendency to rely on his wealth as a means of getting the job done as both a vigilante and an activist does little to endear himself to "The Pretty Bird". And, even more unfortunately, their latest encounter with the gang of human traffickers known as The Underground Men revealed they were using Queen Industries shipping containers to transport their victims.

Now Oliver Queen has been forced to ask some uncomfortable questions. And those questions will shortly lead to some uncomfortable answers... and an even more uncomfortable battle.


My greatest fear with this new Green Arrow series was that Dinah Lance would be reduced to a supporting figure, more plot-device than a fully rounded character in her own right. While the Rebirth #1 special (which I reviewed for Kabooooom.com) did calm my fears somewhat, this issue brought those worries back.

Dinah serves little function in this issue beyond putting Ollie in his place and teaching him "What Really Matters". While I'm not quite comfortable throwing the Manic Pixie Dream Girl label at her just yet, I do find it worrying that this version of Dinah (who, it should be noted, is a former covert-ops agent who did a lot of questionable things in the most recent incarnation of The Birds of Prey) will raise objections to Green Arrow's bribing a corrupt cop into doing the right thing but then go ahead and sleep with him before shooting down his earnest attempts at friendship. And the idea that Oliver is somehow less of a hero because of his privileged upbringing just doesn't ring true.

The strange irony of this issue is that - as before - the best bits of this issue involving Green Arrow and Black Canary interacting together are the action sequences. Give them a common menace to fight together and the chemistry between the two characters as written by Benjamin Percy is perfect. Return to the narrative that Oliver "cannot fight The Man because he is The Man" and the whole thing becomes as forced and tedious as the most cliched romantic comedy.

At least the artwork by Otto Schmidt continues to impress. Schmidt's gritty style is perfectly suited to the dark world of Green Arrow's Seattle and the color art is largely wonderful. My only quibble is the occasional odd page where Oliver and Dinah are suddenly platinum blonde and look more like Travis and Jennifer Morgan from Warlord.

Despite my quibbles, I do intend to keep reading this series for the moment. If nothing else, the final page is enough to hold my interest for another issue. I think, if this plays out the way I think it will, I may well forgive Percy any temporary mismanagement of Black Canary if this ends with him removing one of the more problematic aspects of Green Arrow in the New 52 reality.