Category Green Arrow

Aug 13 2014

Green Arrow 34

green arrow 34

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Green Arrow 34, originally released August 6th, 2014.

Spencer: Eighteen months ago, Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino began their run on Green Arrow, which had been a meandering, mediocre title ever since the New 52 relaunch. Lemire and Sorrentino arrived with a distinct style and a strong, specific vision, quickly transforming the title into one worth paying attention to. Now — with the exception of next month’s Futures End tie-in — their run has drawn to a close, and more than ever it’s apparent how much effort the creative team has put into rehabilitating Green Arrow. Issue 34 gives the conflict between Ollie and Richard Dragon a happy ending, but it also lays bare Lemire and Sorrentino’s strategy for creating a compelling superhero comic. Continue reading →

Jul 8 2014

Green Arrow 33

green arrow 33Today, Spencer and Shelby are discussing Green Arrow 33, originally released July 2nd, 2014.

Spencer: Despite being the title character, throughout Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino’s run on Green Arrow Oliver Queen has largely been a pawn, pushed back and forth by businessmen, various factions of the mysterious Outsiders, and even members of his own family (or sometimes all three!), all trying to use him for their own means. After declaring his independence from the Outsiders, though, Oliver Queen has moved to the front-and-center of his book — as Richard Dragon says, they’re both kings now. There’s still a massive focus on the supporting cast, of course, but now Lemire is using the supporting cast to teach us more about Ollie. I don’t necessarily understand every revelation, but it’s still a refreshing change of pace. Continue reading →

May 14 2014

Green Arrow 31

green arrow 31Today, Shelby and Spencer are discussing Green Arrow 31, originally released May 7th, 2014.

All of this is for nothing!

Ollie Queen, Green Arrow 31

Shelby: What is the point of reading stories where our favorite characters suffer through difficult situations? Hopefully, by the end of the story, they will have learned something through their ordeal and grown as a character. But when an arc concludes, the ordeal is all wrapped up, and still we’re left asking, “what was the point?” you know the arrow missed its mark (ha!). Green Arrow 31 finally concludes its Outsiders arc, and I find myself agreeing with Ollie as quoted above on the way things turned out.

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Apr 8 2014

Green Arrow 30

 

green arrow 30Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Green Arrow 30, originally released April 2nd, 2014.

Shelby: Because I like to stay on top of pop culture trends, I recently discovered the TV series Legend of the Seeker. It’s a pretty straight-forward magic-based fantasy, based on Terry Goodkind’s series The Sword of Truth. You know, right up my alley. Anyway, there are two groups of magical women in this universe: Confessors and Mord-Sith. The Confessors’ power is based on love and truth; they can see when someone is lying, and as a last resort force them to tell the truth by causing people to fall desperately in love with them. The Mord-Sith, however, get their power from hate; all love, kindness, and compassion is burned out of them from youth until all they know is how to cause pain and hatred. While neither situation is ideal, it’s made clear that the love for a Confessor can elicit positive change in a person, whereas “training” from a Mord-Sith can only breed more hate. So, what do you get when someone is motivated by both love AND hate? By quiet dignity and unbelievable cruelty? Maybe we should ask Green Arrow.

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Feb 11 2014

Green Arrow 28

green arrow 28

Today, Mike and Shelby are discussing Green Arrow 28, originally released February 5th, 2014.

Mike: I took the opportunity to reread Jeff Lemire’s run so far on Green Arrow from #17 on and man is this a well-executed series. I remember reading it for the first time and being as uncertain as to what was really going on as Oliver himself was. When The Magus popped up and told Oliver that “you were never supposed to leave the island!” I immediately thought of Lost, for the obvious “island” premise as well as the intriguingly vague cliffhangers the show was known for. An early episode of Lost was called “All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues” – absent fathers being a recurring theme on the show. It’s also a title which is very appropriate for Green Arrow, a character with his own daddy issues that have now been taken to a different level entirely with the revelation of Robert Queen being alive. Continue reading →

Jan 14 2014

Green Arrow 27

green arrow 27

Today, Patrick and Shelby are discussing Green Arrow 27, originally released January 8th, 2014.

Patrick: The mystery is an amazingly compelling form of storytelling. It’s also pretty straightforward: there’s a piece of information we don’t have and the author assures us that the reward of experiencing the story will be having the mystery solved before our very eyes. But there’s one big drawback, principally that the subject of a mystery takes places in the past. Sure, a detective might stop a killer from killing a second time, but they’re working to figure out a thing that already happened. The mysteries of the Green Arrow universe are vast, but even the most stunning revelations play out in the past. That might leave us with an interesting present, but it’s hard not to feel like we’re a little late to the party. Continue reading →

Nov 8 2013

Green Arrow 25

green arrow 25Today, Spencer and Shelby are discussing Green Arrow 25, originally released November 6th, 2013.

Spencer: Much like Wonder Woman or Batwoman, Jeff Lemire’s run on Green Arrow has been steadily building its own mythology that feels completely removed from anything else going on in the DC Universe. Despite that, Lemire’s still managed to make Ollie’s connections to the Justice League of America and Roy Harper work within the context of his larger saga, but he isn’t so fortunate with this month’s Zero Year story. The tie-in feels pointless, and it’s only the new character of John Diggle that anchors things to the book’s ongoing plot at all. Continue reading →

Oct 7 2013

Green Arrow 24

green arrow 24Today, Spencer and Drew are discussing Green Arrow 24, originally released October 2nd, 2013.

Spencer: Perspective is an amazing thing. Things that look small or large from far away end up being the exact opposite. Some items, when viewed from another angle, reveal surprising secrets. Even as a more metaphorical idea, perspective is pretty great; when I have trouble writing these reviews, sometimes I need to take a step back from the issue at hand, look at it from an entirely new perspective, and then I’ll find the angle I need. In Green Arrow 24, Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino play with both forms of perspective as Shado takes on Richard Dragon and Ollie faces down Count Vertigo. Continue reading →

Sep 6 2013

Green Arrow 23.1: Count Vertigo

green arrow 23.1 vertigo

Today, Shelby and guest writer Zach are discussing Green Arrow 23.1: Count Vertigo, originally released September 4th, 2013. This issue is part of the Villain’s Month event. Click here for our Villains Month coverage.

villain div

Shelby: Just what makes a villain? Are villains people (super-powered or otherwise) who tried to do right but realized doing wrong was faster and easier? Were they denied something in their life, and have decided to get it back no matter what it takes? Are they just huge assholes? As DC rolls out Villains Month, I suspect we’ll be asking ourselves these questions over and over. This month, I’m hoping to get some deeper insight into the role of the villain, as well as the origins of the villains our heroes encounter every month. Also, I want some depredation and cruelty, because what’s the point of a month of villains only without depredation and cruelty? Happily, Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, and Marcelo Maiolo give me exactly what I want, kicking of Viillains Month with a dizzying bang. Continue reading →

Aug 29 2013

Villain Month Guide: Part 4 – Everyone Else

villains month everyone else

In September, DC’s entire line is going to be highjacked by the villains of the universe. The creative teams frankenstiened together from DC’s regular stable of writers and artists, but — with a few exceptions — none of titles look like logical continuations of any of the current series. How’s a body supposed to know what they’re supposed to read? That’s where our four-part guide comes in.

“Everyone Else” is an unfairly dismissive designation. Look at the heavy-hitters on this list! There’s quite a bit more creative consistency in these titles, so we’re expecting a slightly higher hit to miss ratio. In part four of our guide, we’ll be going over the issues from Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, and Swamp Thing. Don’t forget to check out Part 1 – Batman, Part 2 – Superman and Earth-2 and Part 3 – Justice Leagues and Teen Titans. Continue reading →