Green Arrow #12 is written by Joshua Williamson and published by DC. Artwork is by Sean Izaakse, Phil Hester and Eric Gapstur. Colours are by Romulo Fajardo Jr. Letters are by Troy Peteri. Main cover art (left) is by Sean Izaakse and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Green Arrow #12 is available from today, in print and on digital, where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
This is it! For the last year, Oliver Queen has been on a mission to reunite his family and friends. Can the Emerald Archer overcome Merlyn’s final master move and get the family reunion we’ve all been dying to see?
Review
I’m not quite sure where the last month has gone. But it’s time to pick up with Green Arrow in the wake of that humongous cliffhanger from last month’s issue #11. As DC’s entire line hurtles towards this summer’s Absolute Power event it’s great to see Williamson still taking the time to tie up loose ends rather than simply servicing the wider story.
We left Oliver in the midst of a fight to the death with old rival Malcolm Merlyn. Merlyn, it transpires, has been working with Amanda Waller in trying to manipulate our hero in to turning over the left over data from Sanctuary. With Merlyn in control of an old Justice League base, Oliver has been forced to fight against hardlight holograms of his former team mates and at the end of the issue his own family. That’s where we pick up in issue #12, celebrating one year since the book began.
I have to applaud Green Arrow for its continued use of mixed artists. Many books would suffer from this sort of approach as it often disrupts any consistency. But after so long away from comics it feels right to have Phil Hester working alongside Sean Izaakse and Eric Gapstur to bring some classic Green Arrow to the mix. With that in mind issue #12 opens with a flashback to Oliver’s time on Lian Yu and which has Hester’s style written all over it. This issue acts as a closing of chapters as DC moves in to Absolute Power. But it doesn’t enter that event space without ensuring a satisfying conclusion to Oliver’s return and to do that you need to acknowledge his time on the island. It bookends this issue perfectly, with Hester in the past and Izaakse in the present as Oliver finally begins to contemplate his future.
After beautifully setting the scene we’re dropped right back in to the final moments of issue #11 and the fight with Merlyn. Of course no super villain is able to just stand by and watch as their creations lay waste to our hero. So Merlyn commits his ultimate mistake by offering brief mercy to Oliver in the hope of making him suffer for longer. The moment is pitched perfectly with Merlyn falling in to the trap of the classic villain monologue giving Oliver the time he needs to catch his breath. The Emerald Archer has a plan up his sleeve and the tables are almost instantly turned. Whilst it’s the classic good triumphing over evil this is a win that Oliver needs and Williamson gives it to him in the best way possible. Finally allowing him to win over against his most famous foe.
With the upcoming event looming large it does light a fire under Williamson to bring this chapter to an end. But there’s no arguing with the wonderful symmetry of it happening as the series reaches its first birthday. The sense of pacing also helps to carry us through the relatively quick but brutal combat before we get to the more emotional beats of the story.
Back on Lian Yu it’s a family reunion. Father’s and their children are reunited for the first time in a long time and all of Team Arrow are finally given a moment to breathe. It’s a cool full circle moment which allows the audience the chance to exhale and comprehend the new status quo. Oliver has been through a lot in the last year and it’s all finally coming to an end… right before he’s thrown in at the deep end again with Waller’s plans to rid our Earth of superpowered people.
Verdict
An action-packed and poignant end to the first year of Williamson’s Green Arrow. Issue #12 neatly ties up Oliver’s return arc before the series becomes entrenched in DC’s upcoming Absolute Power event.
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