Customer Reviews

Green Arrow

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had read the two previous Green Arrow trades, "Quiver" and "Sounds of Violence" written by Kevin Smith, and I enjoyed them both immensely, Kevin Smith left the book after issue number 15.

Which from #16 to #21 Brad Meltzer takes over the writing duties.

I didn't know anything about Brad's storytelling other than his current "Identity Crisis" arc for DC. so I was very skeptical about buying this 3rd in the series Green Arrow trade "Archer's Quest", since I had enjoyed Kevin Smiths prior work on Green Arrow so much.

but....BOY, AM I GLAD I BOUGHT IT !!

It's really good, and keeps you interested throughout the entire book, and the ending revelation ! wow !

And it is in NO way a ripp off of the road trip that Ollie took with Hal (Green Lantern) in the 70's. it's more of an ohmage to those classic stories.

Brad writes a Green Arrow story every bit as good as Kevin Smith's run on the book. plus there is none of the "beavis and butthead" type adolescent humor that Kevin Smith peppered throughout his story. (which was my only beef about Kevin's run)

If you don't know anything about the Green Arrow, you will still enjoy this book, but if you know alot about his history or even an adaquete amount (like me) you will LOVE it !!

This is a compilation of several issues of the Green Arrow comic book series. The thing that makes these particular issues special is the fact that it was written by Brad Meltzer ("The Millionaires", "The Zero Game", etc). This is one incredibly amazing book! Green Arrow has just come back from the dead (don't they all?) and now has some unfinished business to take care of. Along the way, we see the return of a grown-up Speedy (now Arsenal) helping GA collect artifacts from his life. Most are surprising, and a couple are very puzzling as to their meaning--until the end of the book. I don't want to go into details because that's part of what makes the story so great.

We get to see a new side of the Emerald Archer here too, with a return to the things of the past that can bring back some memories for those of us who read the old series and remember his original JLA days. At one point, he even takes on Solomon Grundy with nothing but his bare hands and two arrows (you've got to read it to believe it--it's incredible!). As an added bonus, you get the script to the first issue, as well as Brad's original pitch for the storyline (it's different from the book, and it's good that he improved on it for the actual series).

All in all, I can't recommend this one highly enough. It's got everything you could ever look for in a comic book story, including the most startling plot twist ending I've read in a long time. That one panel changes everything we've known about GA's past. You definitely want to read this one, and I hope Brad comes back again sometime to write a few more!

Kevin Smith brought Oliver Queen back from the dead in "Quiver" and "Sounds of Violence". Brad Meltzer, in his first comic work to date, picks up the book where Smith left off and gives us the best character-driven Green Arrow story ever - a story that brings Ollie back to LIFE!

The premise of the story is simple - Ollie and his long-time ward, Roy Harper (aka "Speedy" aka "Arsenal) goes on the road to find pieces of Ollie's life. Brad Meltzer gives us a story reminiscent of the classic "Hard Travellin' Heroes" on-the-road stories of Ollie and Hal Jordan, but with a twist! While those classic stories showed the duo in search of the true heart of a nation, this story is the search for Ollie's true heart. That makes this story intensely personal and refreshingly sentimental.

It is ultimately an introspective look into who and what is Oliver Queen, a man with ties to almost every important person in the DC Universe, who has more heart than almost anyone and at the same time harbors some of the darkest secrets - and by the end of the book, we see some of those secrets surfacing and the gnawing effect it has on the man. But this book is never pessimistic or bleak. In fact, ever since the beginning of this new series (with Smith's "Quiver"), there is an overwhelming sense of triumphant joy displayed throughout the storytelling. Perhaps this has to do with the very expressive art of Phil Hester and Ande Parks - who are soon turning to be the definitive G.A. artists of our generation. I admit that I wasn't immediately taken to their more "cartoonish" style since most of the great G.A. artists of the past employ a far more realistic art style; e.g. Neal Adams and Mike Grell.

The book also includes the full script to chapter one, a foreword by some senator and afterwords by Brad Meltzer and Greg Rucka along with the reproduced covers and some notes about the creation of those Matt Wagner painted covers.

Lastly, I'd like to say something about the current trends in comics-storytelling. In recent years, there seems to be a general aversion towards stories built over decades of continuity. The clearest representation of this are works of the Nu-Marvel folks - especially those involve in the "Ultimate" books. The reason is simple - books not-mired by continuity make easier "jump-on" points and thus the possibility of hooking new readers. Well, this Green Arrow story, along with those by Kevin Smith, are rooted in DECADES of continuity. And that's why is works! The storytelling acknowledges everything that came before - giving the characters of Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Dinah Lance, Connor Hawke, etc a surprising amount of depth and emotional realism - while reinterpreting these Silver Age characters with the more-informed complexities of our age. In my book, that's the meaning of "Ultimate" - not rootless but the genuine and best version of something. Take my challenge - give this book, "Green Arrow: The Archer's Quest" to anyone, any non-comic reader, and see his/her reaction. The high chance is that he/she may soon become a fan and start digging deeper to understand the history and background of it all. This is the Ultimate Green Arrow.

Reprints Green Arrow (2001 series) #s 16 - 21 (Note- I think having it listed in the description as 'Volume 4' must be an error, because Green Arrow: The Sounds of Violence (Vol. 2) collects #s 11-15, and this picks up direct from there)

Following his return from the dead in issue 1 of the 2001 ongoing GA series, Oliver Queen continues to find that transitioning back into day-to-day life is complex task, and continues to work on rectifying the mistakes of his past. The first issue in this collection, # 16, presents a new mystery to Ollie, as, visiting his own grave and going through photographs of his funeral, he notices an unexpected face at the service - Thomas Blake, better known - when he's in costume - as the villain Catman (keep in mind this all takes place before Catman's rose to prominence in the DC Universe in Villains United (Countdown to Infinite Crisis) and 'Secret Six'), who's been out of the public eye for a while. His prescence would indicate that he knows Ollie's secret identity, as well as, quite possibly, the secret identities of the other mourners at the funeral - Clark Kent was there, Carter Hall was there, and so on. So Green Arrow embarks on a quest to track Blake down and find out what he knows and what possible threats he poses.

This is only one of the quests in the book. A parralell thread has Ollie and Arsenal (Roy Harper, aka Ollie's former sidekick Speedy) tracking down old mementoes from Ollie's life that have special meaning. Along the track of this particular quest, it's secretly unravelling a mystery you don't even know exists until the closing pages of # 21, and which I won't say anything more about here, except that it packs quite the impact. And parralell to these two quests, Ollie continues reconnecting with two of the most important people in his life, Arsenal and Ollie's own son Connor, who took over his father's mantle as the Green Arrow after his death, and continues on as a second Green Arrow.

Shortcomings - the adversary Ollie faces and defeats in # 18 (I'm not going to mention him by name because if you haven't seen the covers to the original issues, his appearance may come as a surprise that I don't want to spoil), the victory is too easy over an enemy of this level, and maybe shouldn't have happened at all. Now, this character's power levels wax and wane depending on the circumstances - not just whatever the script calls for, with this character there are actual, sensible Reasons why he's sometimes much more powerful than other times - but still, I found the battle just didn't ring true. I've actually described as realistic in previous reviews Batman's getting past this guy on other occasions, and Batman is, like Ollie, a character without superpowers, but every time Batman's faced him, the best he can ever manage is to 'temporaily incapacitate' him, not a decisive all-out victory like Ollie gets (and gets without even exploiting the character's known weaknesses). It's not nearly as implausible as some unlikely victories in comics history (ex. when Spider-Man beat the cosmic-powered {as in Silver Surfer-level} Firelord back in the 80s by, um...getting real mad and punching him...) that when you read it you just kind of moan, but it was something that I think could have been handled a bit better. Give Ollie some real hi-tech arrows that are well suited to the enemy's weakness, maybe? Anyway, it actually Was a good battle, I just had a bit of trouble buying into its ending. Other shortcomings - none, really. (Well, unless I count that one moment in # 19. I wonder if anyone else was as ticked off as I was at Kyle Rayner's rather snotty-sounding joke about Zatanna. Maybe I'm just extra sensitive to any potshots anyone takes at Zee, one of my alltime favorite characters. A shame too, because it clouded an otherwise poignant scene between Kyle and Ollie)

So with a couple of hitches overall, I guess I should be rating Archer's Quest at no more than four-and-a-half stars, but no can do. The power of the revelations at the end of # 21, and how brilliantly it was all handled and the way it's affected this one character and how he tries to live his life now, means this has got to get a 5-star. It's an excellent story arc and a true Green Arrow essential.

While I've only recently become a fan of the Emerald Archer's exploits, I can't recommend this collection highly enough. Although it may not be as enthralling as Kevin Smith's first two volumes, Brad Meltzer does his predecessor proud by delivering a solid story and helping Ollie to reconnect with Roy.

On a side note, it would appear that some printings of this trade, being the THIRD in the series, have been printed as volume four.

Oliver asks Roy to come with him on a trip to recover some things, after he finds out Catman was at his funeral. Roy is shocked when he finds out Oliver asked Shade to clean up, as his 'porn buddy', as Meltzer explains. Oliver points out Shade is immortal, and everybody else around him will eventually die.

An interesting look at what a long established superhero's will might include. Brad Meltzer has again handled the transition to comics very well. Don't know how good his novels are, but he has a good thing going here, and being able to do both makes him a rare talent, and worth following.

He even tracks down the truck from Hard Travelin' Heroes.

This was a great read and is part of a great series. Ollie Queen is one of the most interesting characters in the DC universe and his relationships are what make his stories so appealing. I recommend getting volumes 1-3 first.

This is one of the best Green Arrow stories to date. Brad Meltzer really shows that he can write comics with the best of them and creates a great run of Green Arrow, which is collected here. A really fast read, as I read it in one sitting. Very good stuff.