Review: Green Arrow #12
By Philip Schweier
December 7, 2016 - 13:43
DC Comics
Writer(s): Benjamin Percy
Penciller(s): Otto Schmidt
Inker(s): Otto Schmidt
Colourist(s): Otto Schmidt
Letterer(s): Nate Piekos of Blambot
Cover Artist(s): W. Scott Forbes; variant cover by Neal Adams with Jeremy Cox
Oliver Queen
is dead, but Green Arrow lives on, making this the perfect jumping-on point for
new readers. Knowing what has come before isn’t necessary; a few details are
offered, but it’s enough to know the city of Seattle is in a love/hate
relationship with Green Arrow. Is he an outlaw? A saviour? A vigilante? Public
opinion blows in all directions, even as Ollie and Dinah establish a new base
of operations, one that suits his role as the Emerald Archer.
But as Ollie is about to learn, it doesn’t take much to tip the scales in one direction or another. He’s one of the rare non-super-powered super-heroes. Perhaps because of this, maintaining his role as a good guy can be difficult – and he’s about to learn how difficult.
Otto Schmidt returns to the drawing board for this issue. I love his work on Green Arrow, and while I might be curious to see it on some other titles, my concern is it would work as well as it does, and would only take valuable time away from GA. More Otto Schmidt? Yes, please.
As I said, this is a good jumping-on point for new readers. Such moments should come every few issues, rather than (sometimes) years apart. Sure, it’s great when stories intertwine, but it helps to have enough threads to knit together in the first place. As the title progresses, I anticipate elements of Green Arrow’s past – and Black Canary’s, as well – come back and provide new challenges.