Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Review: Green Arrow #1

By Philip Schweier
June 15, 2016 - 10:55

 

Green Arrow is one of my favorite success stories. In his early years, he was “Batman-with-a-bow.” In 1969, artist Neal Adams gave the character a makeover, while writer Denny O’Neil bestowed a social conscience. His wealthy alter ego, Oliver Queen, lost his fortune, and became an advocate for the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. The landmark “Hard-Traveling Heroes” stories with Green Lantern established Green Arrow as a liberal-minded mouthpiece for DC – both its fictional characters and the company itself.

Following the end of the counter-culture movement in the early 1970s, he was relegated to back-up features and occasional co-starring roles in such titles as Justice League and Brave & the Bold. But the advent of the Reagan administration reminded us of the need for a dissenting voice.

As the 1980s progressed, he gained some traction, and with help from writer/artist Mike Grell, he evolved into a well-rounded character capable of sustaining his own ongoing series. Leaving the fictional Star City behind, he relocated to Seattle, and became more of an “urban hunter,” rather than battling super-powered villains bent on world domination.

Since then, it has been rare that he hasn’t had his own title. He even survived his own death and resurrection, thanks to such creators as Kevin Smith, Judd Winick, and many  more.

With the constant re-positioning of the DC Universe in recent years, I was concerned that Green Arrow would once more become a wallflower among the more bankable stars. Sure, he had his own TV show, but how long before parent company Warner Brothers pulled the plug on that, to focus on big screen projects? Besides, Green Arrow is one of the very few non-super-powered heroes of the DC Universe. This helps keep the need for costly special effects under control.

So many variations can be difficult to distill into a cohesive, viable property. Thankfully, the Rebirth version of Green Arrow is a welcome amalgamation of many of the versions that have come before. Simultaneously, Ollie is a presented as a corporate leader with a social conscience, as well as an idle playboy playing at super-hero.

Green Arrow #1 harkens back to GA’s early days, when he was a wealthy playboy. When he isn’t beating up Seattle’s bad guys, Oliver Queen is head of Queen Industries, though it becomes clear he’s more of a figurehead for the company. He’s left the day-to-day operations in more interested hands, while he uses the company to fund a variety of social causes.

However, that policy is about to cost him. It appears QI is directly involved in matters he is investigating as a crime fighter. Meanwhile, he has a growing relationship with Black Canary, both as a partner-in-crimefighting and as a partner at home.

And it appears he has a long lost baby sister, Emi, who also joins his crusade against evil. Kind of reminiscent of the Arrow TV show, no? Reinforcing that connection is a computer whiz providing the team with tech support (though his name is not Felicity Smoak).

As Green Arrow #1 progresses, we find corruption, corporate intrigue, romance, and family drama – everything that makes life in these modern times worthwhile. No doubt more will be revealed as writer Benjamin Percy’s story unfolds and conflict escalates.

Joining Percy is artist Otto Schmidt, who handles pencils, inks AND colors. I like it. Too often, great art is diminished by lackluster coloring. Schmidt’s expertise shines through, merging a traditional comic book art style with that of Playboy cartoons. It not only works, it works very well.

I have been skeptical of DC’s Rebirth strategy. It disappoints me to see a comic book publisher constantly discard a series – or an entire line of titles – and start over from scratch. I would love nothing more than to see the DC Universe once more become fun and hopeful. It encourages me that Green Arrow seems aimed in that direction.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12