Review Shooter: Green Arrow #1
Green Arrow has had a rough few years in the DC Universe recently, but with the relaunch, its out with the old, in with the new, right?
Green Arrow #1 marks a new start for the character, and not just in the sense that its a relaunch. He is a younger Green Arrow. Perhaps younger than we have ever seen him before. He seems to be a combination of Green Arrow from the Smallville series and Bruce Wayne from the Nolan Bat-films. Part businessman, part superhero, this is a better Green Arrow in my opinion.
But we’re jumping ahead just a bit. The story starts with a business meeting at Q-Core, a branch of Queens Industries, and our beloved hero, Green Arrow, seems to be on assignment in France. This cause some troubles with the CEO, Emerson, and we’ve already got our corporate/street attire conflict established within the first few pages. The only questions left are, when and how does he turn on Oliver Queen? Because let’s face facts, they always do.
In his more colorful attire, Green Arrow is tracking down three mega criminals in a club in Paris. Of course, things go a bit awry, and we get a fun little fight on-board a moving boat . Of course, the good guy wins the day and we return to Queens Industry to wrap up the story.
As I mentioned earlier, I really did dig this issue. I felt it was perhaps the most realistic portrayal of Ollie I’ve seen in some time. Making him younger, also helps to make him a bit more carefree, which works because he does walk that line between someone we should take seriously, but who doesn’t always have the right priorities in line.
He is a bit of a talker, which is kind of refreshing for DC because a lot of their heroes don’t really talk smack, and yes there will be obvious comparisons to Spider-man, but hey he is an awesome character as well. The dialog for the most part hits home, though there were some groan inducing lines. Especially the bit about him having a bunch of toys, but not playing any games. *Shudders*
Like any good superhero book, Green Arrow also has a set of secondary characters. I can’t say I’m very familiar with the Green Arrow-verse but his main sidekick really gives off an Oracle vibe. His know-everything, techno-sophisticated, female voice in his ear, Naomi. Then there is his, I only wanted to do good, not create weapons, weapons designer, Jax. I’m sure these two will cause for some fun banter down the line and of course conflict.
The art in this book was fantastic. Truly was a shocker for me. I really didn’t expect much from this book coming in, but it is a hell of a looker. I would recommend at least checking it out in your local comic shop to see some of the pages. And like all #1s, this week, seems to end on a major cliffhanger, which probably would have meant more if I knew any of the people on the page!
Survival Rating: LIVE This book has a ton of potential, and it is written well and drawn beautifully. I see a long life in store for this series.
Recommendation: Buy It– If just to see the art, but it really was a fun superhero book. Its light and breezy and could be read by any age really.
