Green Arrow #1 is written by Joshua Williamson and published by DC Comics. Artwork and cover (left) are by Sean Izaakse with interior and cover colours by Romulo Fajardo Jr. Letters are by Troy Peteri.
Green Arrow #1 is available now, in print and on digital, where all good comic books are sold.
Synopsis
The Emerald Archer is lost, and it will take Oliver Queen’s whole family to find him! But dangerous forces are determined to keep them apart at any cost! Spinning out of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, Green Arrow by DC architect Joshua Williamson (Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, Superman) and artist Sean Izaakse (Thunderbolts) is an action-packed adventure across the DCU that sets the stage for major stories in 2023!
Review
Finally Oliver Queen is back in a solo title! After a conspicuous absence, this week DC is launching a brand new Green Arrow title with the superstar Joshua Williamson behind the keyboard. Given him brilliant work on Superman and the Dark Crisis event, can he bring the same magic touch to Oliver and the Arrow-Family?
For the most part the answer is yes. Green Arrow is starting out in a high-concept place which reaches far beyond the grounded vigilantism the character is known for more recently. Despite being a member of the Justice League, Green Arrow has become synonymous with the street level vigilante of the Arrow TV series. That version of the character this most certainly is not.
After the events of Dark Crisis, Oliver is lost somewhere in the DCU and, as the synopsis says, it’s going to be up to the rest of his family to find him. But before we get to that Williamson needs to set the scene. Through a mix of narration and speaking to himself we learn what happened to Oliver and who he was before becoming lost in time and space. If you’re new to the character than what better way to get a crash course in Green Arrow history?
It’s simple yet perfectly affective and has us all caught up by the third page, allowing Oliver to move on to re-introducing his supporting cast. It wouldn’t be a Green Arrow book without Roy Harper and Connor Hawke, both of whom have an incredibly strong presence throughout issue #1. It wouldn’t be an Oliver Queen story without Dinah Lance, aka the Black Canary either. So, of course, she’s a strong part of proceedings in the same way that Lois Lane is synonymous with Superman.
As its brilliant wraparound cover suggests, Green Arrow #1 is pretty busy. There’s a large cast to introduce on top of providing context to Oliver’s whereabouts. For the most part Williamson is able to balance all those elements. But after a longer absence between solo titles there’s a lot riding on Green Arrow to succeed. Though the story is interesting I’m already wishing for Oliver to be back on home turf and cleaning up Star City.
Artist Sean Izaakse brings a very classic look to the book. It feels like a comic from late 90s or early 00s. It’s often dark and moody with a very melodramatic colour palette. At times it feels like the comic book adaption of a classic cartoon series from my childhood and I love that aspect of the visual style. Izaakse easily matches the scale of Williamson’s story which certainly helps to balance out the onslaught of information being pumped out.
Verdict
A strong, but not perfect, return for Oliver Queen. I’m excited to have Green Arrow back in comic book stores and keen to see just how far Williamson and Izaakse are able to push this new high concept story arc before they bring Oliver back down to Earth.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
