Green Arrow #6 Review
After a six month sabbatical, our coverage of the Emerald Archer returns with this month’s issue of Green Arrow as the second story of the rebooted Ollie Queen comes to a close.
Green Arrow #6
Before I begin, I’d just like to take a moment to explain the absence of Green Arrow’s monthly reviews. As the final issue of the pre-reboot ongoing hit, I was perplexed. My emotions were in flux with the prospect of issue 15 being the finale of not just a storyline, but the established characterization of a character I had grown to love over many years. As such, I found it too difficult to write a proper review of the issue at the time. Similarly, when the first issue of the reboot came out, I was overwhelmed with conflicting feelings that ran interference with my ability to review the issue fairly, and after reading it, I was unsure if I would even continue to read the title at all. Around issue 4, I swallowed my pride and my all encompassing anti-reboot mentality to give the current incarnation of what has been the staple of my comic book collection for so long an honest unbiased chance. Catching up, I found myself no more or less thrilled than I had been at varying times in the history of Green Arrow comics, and thus decided to read it monthly again, and that has lead to this. Thankfully, no one had decided to pick up our site’s reviews for the title, opening the window for me to return.
And so here we are… now, on to the issue!
Our sixth issue is the conclusion to our second storyline with our second writing team on the title, and while it leaves us with a new duo of “pain[s] in the ass,” it doesn’t really do too much else. The only characterization we’re given is an image presenting our femme fatale’s supposed motivations for wanting to kill Oliver Queen, but without exposition this means very little, and given that we will be seeing yet another new writer next issue, I have to wonder how much this will even be played out with in the near future. I suppose the bit at the end with us being shown that Ollie’s utility belt contains cans of beer could be considered characterization, as well, but I honestly just had to scratch my head at that. We get it, he’s the anti-Batman. He does things similar but has a different set of rules, but really? I suppose we’ll just have to chock this up to the “edgy” new character revitalizations the DC reboot has mandated. Ultimately, the writing of the issue was fairly sloppy, as it was with the two issues leading to this conclusion, all of which just played out as a series of fights with very little exposition leading us from one battle to the next. I know action is a central part of the superhero genre, but sometimes we need to take a step back and allow more than two pages here or there to tell the story between the action. I will give credit where it is due, however, and say that the action was well choreographed, and that brings us to the art.
No writer’s choreography matters if the artist can’t pull it off, but Ignacio Calero and Ray Mcarthy do just that. Every frame of this issue, just as the issues before it, looked great. The fighting was superbly drawn, holding your attention through it all. Most importantly, we are presented with what is, in my opinion, our first truly iconic Green Arrow hero shot since the reboot. As Ollie detonates a bomb and jumps away victorious. I honestly just sat there for a moment, staring at the image. It was very impressive, and I was very happy to finally have an in comic image of the new Emerald Archer that truly struck me as my hero.
In the end I was left truly indifferent to the story, though sad that this will be our art team’s final foray into Green Arrow, at least for now. I have hopes that Harvey Tolibao will continue the trend of beautiful artwork for the title, but if nothing else, he’ll at least have a new writer to direct him. Here’s hoping Ann Nocenti can deliver where both Keith Griffen & Dan Jurgens, and even once Arrow authority J.T. Krul have not been able to since our hero’s overhaul.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Excellent artwork throughout, including our first truly iconic shot of our hero. | The issue felt like a throwaway conclusion to end a story without really telling one. Also, heroes don’t drink and patrol, I found the idea of Ollie having a can of beer on his belt fairly moronic. |
| Rating |
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