To say that Green Arrow has had a bumpy road since the post -Flashpoint relaunch would be an understatement. Right out of the gate GA suffered from a severe case of inconsistency, being penned by 3 different writers by just the 7th issue. Ann Nocenti tried valiantly to establish a tone for Ollie but seemed to fell short and it never flowed organically, it felt forced at best. I attribute some of these issues to the handling of the 0 issue. In the middle of trying to establish her voice for Arrow, a one-shot written by Judd Winnick was thrown in the mix. The book was never able to regain its footing, but as a loyal GA reader never gave up hope. The books weren't bad, they just weren't Green Arrow.
Then, out of the shinning light stepped Jeff Lemire!
When Lemire started his run on Green Arrow with "The Kill Machine" there was an excitement that jumped off the page. The status quo was changed. People died, Oliver lost his company, a mysterious blind sage (Magus) was introduced to us along with a rival archer (Komodo) with skill to spare who turned Mr. Queens world upside down! Now this is a Green Arrow book! None of this at all compared to the pay off of the final chapter. Lemire gave a nod to the already established canon of his predecessors and swiftly moved forward with a new book that is now all his own. He in no way disrespected those that came before, but made it known that, that chapter of Arrow's history was just that, history. With the introduction of "The Outsiders", John Butcher and...wait for it...SHADO! Yes the Shado of Long Bow Hunters fame is back in GA next month!
So, if you've been Leary of the new52 Green Arrow but love the character, start with Lemire's "The Kill Machine" (issue #17) and don't look back. You'll thank me later.
No comments:
Post a Comment