Green Arrow #17
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Art: Otto Schmidt
Publisher: DC Comics
“Emerald Outlaw” roared in like a lion, shaking up the already uneasy life of Oliver Queen, also known as Seattle’s protector the Green Arrow. But, as we all know, build up isn’t worth much if there isn’t a solid follow-through. Green Arrow has been a book that I shelved for far too long. His reimagining in The New 52 never sat right with me, though I’ve heard good things about the later issues by Jeff Lemire. I’m happy that a more familiar Ollie is back in control along with Dinah in the supporting cast. It feels right, much more so than the character has felt in years. A great deal of that is owed to Benjamin Percy, who closed out the pre-Rebirth issues and followed through into the present volume of the title. He has spent the past six months methodically breaking down this character and stripping him to his fundamentals.
The ending to this arc played out fairly straightforwardly. There was a fight. There was plot progression. A little more of that Oliver Queen we’ve been missing comes back out into the open. All things you look for in a conclusion to an arc. However, this really just felt like another chapter in the ongoing story. I feel like branding this as an “arc” was a misstep on DC’s part. With a handful of exceptions, Percy’s run on this book has been one story, slowly building to an eventual conclusion that certainly isn’t this issue. I want more of this story, and that isn’t a feeling I should necessarily have when I’m at the end of a defined arc. I don’t want to call this ending weak, but there was little closure, just more questions, which is an observation I wouldn’t be making if this weren’t billed as a finale. I enjoyed every page, but I was expecting a little more. I’m interested to see how Diggle’s betrayal will play out as it came out of left field. I’m not sure if that’s building on a plot thread from the previous volume or not, so it may be perfectly sound.
Otto Schmidt continues to astound. He’s a multi-talented artist who brings a lot of heart to every page. The pacing is clear and dynamic and the panel layouts are great. This was a pretty wordy issue, but he was able to tell a story in his own right through the art which I appreciate as the majority of the writing was inner monologue. The team embraced “show, don’t tell” in a story that had a fairly frantic pace, but Otto kept everything running very smoothly, which can’t be an easy task.
This is consistently one of my favorite Rebirth titles. This is the Ollie and Dinah I know and love. Percy has done a great job inserting the character of Green Arrow into today’s political landscape. The taste of the New 52 Green Arrow is out of my mouth, and we’re getting some insight into the past of the character that up until now has been pretty fuzzy since the reboot in 2012. I’m hoping we’re to the point where the team is going to start rebuilding the character, but I’m afraid Ollie might have some more drama ahead of him before we get there. I’ll be there either way.
Art: Otto Schmidt
Publisher: DC Comics
“Emerald Outlaw” roared in like a lion, shaking up the already uneasy life of Oliver Queen, also known as Seattle’s protector the Green Arrow. But, as we all know, build up isn’t worth much if there isn’t a solid follow-through. Green Arrow has been a book that I shelved for far too long. His reimagining in The New 52 never sat right with me, though I’ve heard good things about the later issues by Jeff Lemire. I’m happy that a more familiar Ollie is back in control along with Dinah in the supporting cast. It feels right, much more so than the character has felt in years. A great deal of that is owed to Benjamin Percy, who closed out the pre-Rebirth issues and followed through into the present volume of the title. He has spent the past six months methodically breaking down this character and stripping him to his fundamentals.
The ending to this arc played out fairly straightforwardly. There was a fight. There was plot progression. A little more of that Oliver Queen we’ve been missing comes back out into the open. All things you look for in a conclusion to an arc. However, this really just felt like another chapter in the ongoing story. I feel like branding this as an “arc” was a misstep on DC’s part. With a handful of exceptions, Percy’s run on this book has been one story, slowly building to an eventual conclusion that certainly isn’t this issue. I want more of this story, and that isn’t a feeling I should necessarily have when I’m at the end of a defined arc. I don’t want to call this ending weak, but there was little closure, just more questions, which is an observation I wouldn’t be making if this weren’t billed as a finale. I enjoyed every page, but I was expecting a little more. I’m interested to see how Diggle’s betrayal will play out as it came out of left field. I’m not sure if that’s building on a plot thread from the previous volume or not, so it may be perfectly sound.
Otto Schmidt continues to astound. He’s a multi-talented artist who brings a lot of heart to every page. The pacing is clear and dynamic and the panel layouts are great. This was a pretty wordy issue, but he was able to tell a story in his own right through the art which I appreciate as the majority of the writing was inner monologue. The team embraced “show, don’t tell” in a story that had a fairly frantic pace, but Otto kept everything running very smoothly, which can’t be an easy task.
This is consistently one of my favorite Rebirth titles. This is the Ollie and Dinah I know and love. Percy has done a great job inserting the character of Green Arrow into today’s political landscape. The taste of the New 52 Green Arrow is out of my mouth, and we’re getting some insight into the past of the character that up until now has been pretty fuzzy since the reboot in 2012. I’m hoping we’re to the point where the team is going to start rebuilding the character, but I’m afraid Ollie might have some more drama ahead of him before we get there. I’ll be there either way.
A Look Inside
