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Green Arrow #5 is written by Joshua Williamson and published by DC Comics. Artwork is by Sean Izaakse, Phil Hester and Ande Parks, colours are by Romulo Fajardo Jr. and letters by Troy Peteri. Main cover art (left) is by Hester, Parks and Alex Sinclair.
Green Arrow #5 is available now, in print and on digital, where all good comic books are sold.
Synopsis
PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OLIVER QUEENS COLLIDE! Past, present, and future Oliver Queens fight for who gets to return home! But at what cost?! Arsenal and Black Canary are joined by an unlikely ally in their hunt for Amanda Waller, and they uncover a large piece of the Dawn of DC puzzle!
Review
Even at five issues I’m still bewildered by how quickly I’ve taken to a Green Arrow story which feels much more science fiction than any which has come before it. Joshua Williamson, finally grabbing me with issue #3, has been moving the series at full speed for several months now and this issue is perhaps the best yet.
Oliver Queens’ journey through the galaxy, time and now the multiverse feels like it is coming to a head. The escalation of the scale has been marked each issue and is beginning to feel like it can’t possibly get any bigger. Can it? Only time will tell. For now our Oliver is dealing with the appearance of his older self along with a sinister message about his hoped for return home to Dinah and his family.
Much of Williamson’s story has revolved about the separation between Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow. For months we readers have been indoctrinated to hope for their eventual reunion. In fact Williamson has even teased us as Oliver has had small glimpses of life back on Earth in the present day. So as this older, probably not wiser, version of himself presents him with a difficult choice it’s certainly a gut punch which none of us saw coming. Williams is using Green Arrow as a more experimental narrative than his Superman book. It’s much less straightforward and for that I’m grateful because it certainly keeps it fresh.
Issue #5 is absolutely the culmination of the story so far. There are plenty of sci-fi elements as our Oliver experiences this strange dystopian future alongside the older Oliver. But then as the story moves on the other shoe drops and Williamson reveals (some of) what is really going on. No spoilers here but the moment leads in to an incredible artistic cameo from Phil Hester who has not lost his touch when it comes to drawing Green Arrow. We are, however, left with another head scratcher of a cliffhanger as the status quo of the book is once again upended.
Verdict
Joshua Williamson continues to keep me on my toes and the edge of my seat as poor Oliver Queen traverses the multiverse. where is it leading? I don’t think I know but I’m enjoying the journey to get there…
⭐⭐⭐⭐
