Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Review: Green Arrow #6

By Philip Schweier
September 7, 2016 - 11:58

Green Arrow #6 launches the next story arc, entitled “Sins of the Mother.” It mostly explores the backstory of Emiko Queen, Ollie’s younger half-sister. It includes flashbacks to her early days with Ollie, when it seemed their crime-fighting alter egos had a better relationship than their respective civilian identities. This portion includes a seminal investigation into the activities of a newly-minted Clock King. During present-day activities, Emiko is following her own investigation as she dodges her mother, an assassin known as Shado, and the Japanese Yakuza.

Being only a few months into Rebirth, it is no doubt helpful to readers to see some foundations being laid regarding supporting characters and their relationships to Green Arrow. Shado is a familiar face, but has been somewhat ret-conned into the new era of the DC Universe. Adding a new character, that of Emi Queen, can be a challenge. Some readers may feel it would be easier to add Thea Queen from CW’s Arrow, but that would involve creator’s rights regarding characters, and could unnecessarily complicate matters. With Emi, there is a blank slate to be explored, allowing writers to contribute various pieces to her particular mythology.

I welcome the artwork, which is a departure from the more illustrative work of previous issues. It’s comic book-y, and I mean that in the best way possible. The fact that Stephen Byrne is handling the art, soup-to-nuts, helps, in my opinion. This allows for a single vision for each page in regards to layout, color etc. I would like to see more books created with such a cohesive strategy in the artwork.

If I have one complaint, it would be in the lettering. There seemed to be some awkward phrasing, which may be sloppiness on the part of the letterer, or in attention on the part of the editor. I’ll be the first to say it’s a very fine nit to pick, which will easily be fixed for the eventual TPB. Perhaps if I didn’t work in the publishing business, the errors I noticed may have slipped past me. At the same time, because of my day job, I recognize the demands of meeting a deadline, and the minor miracle of getting these books out on time.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12