Green Arrow #34 – Review

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

The Story: How to slay a Dragon with a single arrow.

The Review: Not that I don’t appreciate a bit of moralizing in my comics, but I also prefer that it not be overt. As any of us who have ever encountered a born-again evangelist screaming at joggers and bicyclists in a park know, preachiness can be a real drag. Once we reach a certain age, that After School Special (A.S.S.) tendency to say outright the moral of the episode is boring and tiresome. We know what the lesson is; we just choose not to use it sometimes.

Lemire’s a family man and a bit of an innocent in his writing, so maybe he can’t help himself, but it’s nonetheless disappointing when he resorts to a final cliché between Dragon and Ollie. As Dragon has Ollie in dire straits, he crows, “[Y]ou’re not good enough anymore, Arrow.”

“Maybe, Dragon,” Ollie admits. “But you know the difference between you and me? I don’t’ have to do it alone.” And like clockwork, Ollie’s supporting players fly into action and Dragon is defeated by that most wonderful of things, teamwork. It’s the kind of thing you’d find endearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but embarrassingly corny here.

Green Arrow #32 – Review

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

The Story: Don’t look so down, Ollie; it’s always a shock going back to the grind after an overseas trip.

The Review: Sometimes, I really feel sorry for ol’ Green Arrow. Although technically a contemporary of Batman and a predecessor to Hawkeye, in recent years, they’ve overshadowed him to the point where he feels like a craven copycat. As a billionaire vigilante fighting the good fight in a crime-riddled metropolis, Ollie’s got nothing on Batman’s legendary war in Gotham. As a human among near-gods in a premier superhero team, both Batman and Hawkeye outclass Ollie in reputation, skill, and personality.

The mythic Outsiders had the potential to change all that; at the very least, they might’ve sent Ollie in a radically different direction from his counterparts. Imagine if Lemire had committed to a long-term, globe-hopping adventure, allowing Ollie to take his time and discover all the ancient secrets each band of Outsiders held. Imagine epic battles of weaponry that’d give you new appreciation for mortal combat. Imagine him gaining knowledge and skills that could finally let him rival the Dark Knight himself. Too bad the Outsiders turned out to be little more than a squabbling band of cosplay nerds with ambitions of terrorism and white-collar crime. Too bad the most Ollie got out of the experience was some unwanted family members and a broken arrow.

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 #28 – Review

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

The Story: It’s not a great feeling when your dad chooses a pointed stick over you.

The Review: To be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my head around last month’s revelation that Ollie’s dad is still alive.  Talk about your quintessential “What the what?” moment.  More than just the sheer soapiness of it all, however, the existence of Robert Queen means that a rather predictable family conflict is in store: Ollie’s initial rage and disgust at what is obviously a painful betrayal, and a later, probably forced reconciliation amidst tragic circumstances.

This issue features the first half of that developing relationship.  I must admit, Lemire’s pretty committed to milking all the drama out of this plotline, stacking one destabilizing accusation after another.  In some ways, Ollie’s incredulousness at what his dad has done helps us deal with just how insane Robert’s whole plan to turn his son into “a weapon” is.  Insane and selfish, as almost all of Robert’s actions revolved around his own lust for the Arrow.  Ollie’s reaction is nonplussed, to say the least: “It’s just an arrow.  You left me—you left Mom—for this?”

Green Arrow #24 – Review

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

The Story: Green Arrow wonders how many more shirtless villains he’ll have to deal with.

The Review: And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.  Lemire was one of the few writers who managed to use his Villains Month offering as simply another chapter of his ongoing series, which is all well and good.  It’s just kind of unfortunate that the story had to center on Count Vertigo, who has turned out to be a less than impressive figure, even just within the Green Arrow canon.  Even Komodo, a newcomer on the scene, has had more impact.

So I’m not sure we really needed to have another encounter with Vertigo so soon after the last one, in which the villain all but whimpered and curled into a fetal position once his disorienting powers were removed.  For his second act, Vertigo basically uses the exact same strategy as before, only on a wider—specifically, a “half-mile”—scale.  A blunt sort of strategy, but as a blanket response to archers, an effective one.