Green Arrow #31 – Review

By: Jeff Lemire (story), Andrea Sorrentino (art), Marcelo Maiolo (colors)

The Story: Ollie attends the least heartwarming family reunion ever.

The Review: So Lemire was serious about killing off Robert Queen after all. A pity, though not much of one, in all honesty. Having revealed he was still alive only four issues ago and showing little character to be admired since then, it’s not as if you’re particularly attached to his existence. Even Ollie, after giving himself a moment to mourn for all that was wasted between them, refuses to get maudlin about it, and allows the Outsiders to bury Robert on the island, away from the rest of his family, significantly enough.

There’s a poetic, even karmic, justice to all this. Robert, whose pointless obsession with the Totem Arrow led him to abandon his wife and nearly kill his son, dies for the sake of his family, even if it’s not the one he left behind in Star City. Komodo gets his comeuppance, too. After raising his child to be an Outsider on a foundation of lies, his child lives up to her upbringing by taking out the man who betrayed her all her life. A deserving end for Komodo, but at a monstrous cost to Emiko.

Green Arrow #31 – Review

By J.T. Krul (writer), Federico Dallocchio (artist), Michael Atiyeh (colorist)

The Story: Green Arrow finished business with Prometheus in the conclusion of Justice League: Cry for Justice, but now he’s on the trail of Electrocutioner, Prometheus’ accomplice. Problem is, Green Arrow’s Justice League colleagues are on his trail.

What’s Good: I had trashed Green Arrow and Black Canary last year for what I’d considered shoddy writing and scratchy art. The cover art on this book and J.T. Krul’s name enticed me back. An added incentive for me was Dan Didio’s cryptic announcement in Toronto in 2009 that his choice of character to watch for the year 2010 was Green Arrow. If you’ve been following Cry For Justice, you can see that Didio was as good as his word (no further comment on how well Cry For Justice itself worked as a story). Am I glad DC pulled me back? Qualified yes.

The cover art alone was worth the DC price of admission ($2.99), but the real draw here is Krul’s character work (demonstrated so ably in a string of great Titans character pieces). Krul takes us through Oliver Queen’s gritty monologue and shows why he is the Green Arrow and why he is Star City’s protector. When he faces off against Green Lantern (his best friend), Black Canary (his wife) and the Flash (someone who doesn’t like him very much), the character and the conflict come out. Different sides of an argument, hardened against each other, brother against brother. Tough stuff. I thought for a second that Krul was going to let me down and have Green Arrow beat two of the three toughest superheroes in the DCU in some dumb way reminiscent of Cry for Justice. Instead, the way Oliver took down Green Lantern and the Flash was actually pretty smart. Good work, Krul!

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Picks Of The Week

Ray’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: Batman and Robin #10 -Batman’s finally coming back, and Morrison’s writing not only good stories, but entertaining ones as well. This should definitely be in everyone’s pull list. If you haven’t been reading this, hunt down all 10 issues, you won’t regret it.

Most Anticipated: Green Lantern Corps #46 – With this Blackest Night arc coming to an end, we can expect nothing short of pages of epic emerald warriors taking on Nekron. It’s Blackest Night, and it’s a fat issue. A must pick for its story and its value.

Other Top Picks: American Vampire #1, Superman 80-Page Giant #1, Batman #697, Amazing Spider-Man #625, Nation X #4

DS’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: Just got back from overseas work, so I have to pass on this question while I catch up.

Most Anticipated: Guardians of the Galaxy #24 – some of my favorite moments in the Marvel Universe have revolved around Adam Warlock and his struggles against the Magus. I can’t wait to see how Abnett and Lanning play this one out.

Other Top Picks: Batman #697, Avengers Vs. Atlas #3, Marvel Boy: The Uranian #3, Green Arrow #31.