Ollie returns to the island where he first became Green Arrow and learns some hard truths about his father and the mysterious Outsiders!
SUMMARY
Pros
Lemire is adding to Ollie’s universe much as Johns did to GL’s.
Sorrentino’s art makes use of very creative means to tell the story.
Cons
Readers need to be current to understand what’s going on.
READER RATING!
[ratings]GREEN ARROW #21
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
Cover: Andrea Sorrentino
Colors: Marcelo Maiolo
Editor: Wil Moss
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $2.99
Previously in Green Arrow: Komodo and The Outsiders have destroyed Green Arrow’s life, but how far will Ollie Queen fall before he’s forced to take desperate measures? That includes working with Magus, who apparently has many of the answers Oliver seeks.
HATS OFF TO WRITER JEFF LEMIRE!
I didn’t know much about Jeff Lemire before I started reading his take on Animal Man back at the start of DC’s New 52. But I’ve worked hard on catching up and staying current! For someone who doesn’t rely on much punching and kicking in his stories, Lemire can keep my attention with the very best of them!
I enjoyed the first New 52 revamped Green Arrow title as well as Animal Man, but others never seemed to sink their teeth into it as much as I did. I do have to say that when I heard Lemire was adding this title to his monthly roster, I was more than a little intrigued to see just how he’d handle the character, who’s enjoying quite an uptick in popularity with his new CW Arrow television series. I have been more than delighted with the focus Lemire has taken on redefining GA’s origin.
Many people have criticized Green Arrow as a Batman-alike, with everything but an Arrow Cave (as he used to have in the early comics). After all, he’s rich, he’s athletic, he’s smart, he’s agile … what made him unique? Not much!
Lemire is taking a very different approach, one that reminds me of how Geoff Johns expanded Green Lantern’s universe. I particularly enjoy how there are now seven houses, seven clans, each formed around a totem weapon. Ollie, of course, is involved with the one focused on the arrow. (By the way, the one I’m sure we’re going to learn more about is the clan based on a long ago forgotten weapon. I’m sure Lemire knows just what is coming, and that fascinates me!)
While Ollie is no longer independently wealthy, he does get a salary as a member of the Justice League of America, and we discover that it is enough to get Team Green Arrow, the Next Generation, off the ground and back into adventures. “Maybe the bottom isn’t such a bad place to find a new way to be Green Arrow … a better way,” Ollie says, setting up future issues. I’m looking forward to that!
SORRENTINO’S ART IS AS UNIQUE AS LEMIRE’S WRITING
Andrea Sorrentino has developed her own following in DC since she began working on I, Vampire, and she’s making the visuals on Green Arrow as exciting as Lemire’s plots.
A good example of this is when Ollie is experiencing flashbacks dealing with his father’s arrival on the island. Sorrentino differentiates between past and present by having the viewers upside down, watching the past sequences, which appear right-side up. It makes keeping track of just who is who very easy.
Also, the grittier, darker illustration style makes GA a more down-to-Earth character. This especially helps when we meet the head of the Axe Clan, so pay attention when that happens!
It’s a terrific marriage of story and art, and I hope we get to enjoy it for a long time to come!
BOTTOM LINE: GREEN ARROW IS ONE OF THE VERY BEST ACTION-ORIENTED COMICS ON THE STANDS TODAY!
DC might have considered restarting this title with a new number one, but they’re letting this comic pick up steam via excellent word of mouth, in my opinion. If you haven’t been reading Green Arrow, you definitely should be! Now that the set-up is complete, expect big things in the months ahead as the stories take off! I know I can’t wait for this book each month!
1 Comment
Just wanted to say that Andrea Sorrentino is a he, not a she. It is common to name a boy Andrea in Italy. Just like the opera singer Andrea Bocelli.