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Review: Green Arrow #20

By | May 3rd, 2013
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino wrap up their inaugural “Green Arrow” arc, the ‘The Kill Machine,’ delivering a story that acts as a sort of rebirth for the maligned Emerald Archer.

Written by Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino

Komodo and The Outsiders have destroyed Green Arrow’s life, but how far will Ollie fall before he’s forced to take desperate measures?

It’s hard to write about “Green Arrow” without comparing the book to its archer cousin across the aisle. Falling in line with the grim and gritty milieu of The New 52, “Green Arrow” takes its violent super heroics very seriously. This is at the cost of, quite simply, fun. “Hawkeye” on the other hand, has wit and humor in spades, balanced with a dark and intricately woven plot that makes the CW inspired melodrama of “Green Arrow” look silly in comparison. However, giving credit where it’s due, Jeff Lemire has managed to do what several others have failed to accomplish over the past two years.

He’s written a pretty good Green Arrow story.

After last issue’s disastrous confrontation with Komodo, Oliver has only a few hours left to clear his name of murder before Steve Trevor sends in the JLA. His discovery that Naomi, his friend and QCorp employee, is still among the living, sets up the final showdown between Ollie and the enigmatic Komodo.

Without an doubt, the best part of this issue is Andrea Sorrentino’s art, which absolutely drips with both style and substance. Over the course of the fight sequence that takes up literally half the issue, Sorrentino utilizes every trick in his artistic bag. Arrows zoom past panel borders, zipping into three dimensional space, their trajectory the reader. Key moments are boxed off in small panels, stripped down to inks and a single color, drawing the reader’s attention. Colorist Marcelo Maiolo shines through in a brilliant splash page, with Oliver descending from above framed in bolts of lightning. Finally, as the issue reaches its climax, all color is drained from the page save for the stark blood red background, creating a visceral moment that burns into your brain. In fact, Sorrentino and Maiolo do such a fantastic job in this issue, this issue would likely fare better stripped of captions and word balloons, allowing the incredible art to tell Lemire’s story.

Actually, this is very nearly the case, as Lemire’s script is less verbose than previous issues. Aside from a dialogue heavy scene between Komodo and new character Golgotha, this issue is primarily an action packed race to the finish line. Along the way Lemire seeds little nuggets of interest for future plots, such as the mysterious New 52 incarnation of the Outsiders or the machinations of Oliver’s past on the island. Though the latter draws this comic incarnation of the character annoyingly close to the television version, the former adds a distinctly DC universe anchor that is extremely welcome.

While there are definitely a few kinks inherent in a lot of DC books these days, Lemire and Sorrentino do a fantastic job of repositioning “Green Arrow” as one of the best books of the New 52. This four issue arc feels very much like an origin story, the moment when Ollie truly becomes Green Arrow, casting the series’ previous sixteen issues as prologue to the main event. Ollie has definitely progressed from the immature playboy seen just a few issues ago, and hopefully Lemire is putting the character on a path towards something more recognizable and desirable.

Final Verdict: 7.2 – Buy. Fantastic art and an action packed finale make this one worth checking out.


Zach Wilkerson

Zach Wilkerson, part of the DC3 trinity, still writes about comics sometimes. He would probably rather be reading manga or thinking about Kingdom Hearts. For more on those things, follow him on Twitter @TheWilkofZ

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