Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters [Paperback]

Mike Grell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Green Arrow (Graphic Novels)

NO wear and absolutely NO publisher overstock or black remainder mark on page edges!! BRAND NEW, NEVER READ soft cover -- NO blemishes -- A+ MINT!! In a removable plastic sleeve to protect the cover. From a dry/smoke free environment --Tight, crisp, and clean - you'll hear the book CRACK when opened! Published by DC Comics, 1987. Book has NO names, highlights, underlines, dog ears, loose pages, or wrinkles. Soft cover is in excellent condition!! GIFT QUALITY!! NOT ex-library book with markings. I ship daily. Carefully packaged with bubble wrap for the journey and I provide email verification at time of shipment. Delivered in 3-6 days (Expedited) or 6 -14 days (Standard) -- additional delivery time required for AK, HI and APO. Expedited shipping recommended for speedy delivery. Book will ship same or next day! Customer service and satisfaction is a priority. Know EXACTLY what you are buying with our detailed description -- Full disclosure on all books all the time! Read our feedback and buy with confidence from an Amazon Pro-Merchant. Double click on our name -RED BICYCLE BOOKS-- and find our STOREFRONT where you can see our complete and current inventory.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (September 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930289382
• ISBN-13: 978-0930289386
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #823,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An overlooked gem, October 17, 2001

By 

Daniel V. Reilly (Upstate New York, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters (Paperback)

With all of the hype surrounding filmmaker Kevin "Clerks" Smith's revamp of Green Arrow, I decided to give Mike Grell's classic a try.

WOW.

Every comic fan should read this. The story concerns itself with the aging Oliver Queen, A.K.A. Green Arrow, a Super-Hero/Vigilante. He and his lover, Dinah Lance, the heroine known as Black Canary, have relocated to Seattle, and soon find themselves getting involved with Serial Killers, Drug Smugglers, and a Japanese assassin known as Shado. To say any more would be to do potential readers a great injustice. There are some truly stunning moments....

Grell's art is fantastic, as is his writing; the only thing keeping this book from perfection is a handful of double page spreads that didn't (at first glance) LOOK like double page spreads; I found myself reading the left-hand page from top to bottom, then realizing I was meant to read both pages across....the art just wasn't drawing my eyes where they were meant to be. But that's a small beef. Let's hope DC Comics collects some more of Grell's Green Arrow stories. I know I'd buy them!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning work that raises the bar on comic books!, September 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters (Paperback)

If you can find this graphic novel, get it! I have no idea why Amazon lists it with "Horror Fiction." It's nothing of the sort. Green Arrow, the modern-day Robin Hood superhero, is confronted by a series of gristly murders in Seattle, and his investigation leads him into a web of intrigue involving the Japanese mafia and illegal CIA money laundering. Grell's writing and artwork are simply amazing, but be warned: This isn't a children's funnybook. It's written for mature, intelligent readers. With Green Arrow's 60th anniversary coming up, DC really needs to reprint this epic book!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Super-Hero Genre Finally Grows Up, December 25, 2004

By 

Brian C. Grindrod "Brindrod's Guano Shovel Co." (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters (Paperback)

Longbow Hunters forever changed the US comic book industry with its graphic novel format. With the series' mature, sophisticated and finite story arc, comic books finally gained a level of much needed credibility and acceptance from the public as well as the media. With landmark projects such as The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, DC Comics drastically altered the landscape of presenting costumed heroes with their simplistic banal stories but it is Mike Grell's masterpiece that set the professional standards. To this day, no project of this magnitude has been able to reach or surpass its artistic level and excellence in storytelling.

Since his first appearance in 1941, Green Arrow was considered nothing more than a second rate Batman with his trick arrows and an alter ego which quite resembled Gotham City's most famous philanthropist. Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams classic Green Lantern/Green Arrow stories brought a certain depth to the character with their alterations that heightened his popularity but it is Mike Grell who was able to launch off the Emerald Archer's first ongoing title. Perhaps Mike Grell's name may sound unfamiliar to new and younger comic book readers but his work on DC's Warlord & Jon Sable, Freelance (published by First Comics) had already garnered him a strong fan base way before Longbow Hunters solidified his reputation as a stellar writer and outstanding artist. Grell also pencilled the third Green Lantern/Green Arrow series back in 1976 with writer Dennis O'Neil. For all the faults that fans may bestow upon Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada, the decision to bring Mike Grell aboard the Iron Man series is nothing short of genial. The return of this prolific creator to mainstream comics will benefit the industry but even more so for Marvel and fans of ol' Shell Head.

I always mock those who consider explicit graphic depiction of violence, implicit sexual scenes and profane language as realism in comics. They obviously have no idea that these themes must be handled with a mature approach and sensibility in presenting such matters. Otherwise, we are left with comic books depicting a World War II veteran who wants to kill his nephew for no viable reason and has an insatiable sexual appetite for Asian prostitutes while a detective just cannot get enough of being analy penetrated by Luke Cage.

Grell sets Oliver Queen and his lover, Dinah Lance (Black Canary), as a newly arrived couple in the city of Seattle. This move was to get these two characters out of a mythical Metropolis and steer away from presenting stories where they would come across bizarre villains with ludicrous powers and motivations that can only work in the super-hero genre. Green Arrow was going to be presented as an urban vigilante who fights a level of crime that can be read about in any newspaper on a daily basis. You know the kind that I mean; Drug related, rape, murder and criminal gang warfare.

Oliver Queen is also portrayed in a manner which added to the realistic dimensions of these stories to make the character plausible besides credible. He is faced with his own sense of mortality as he reaches the age of 43 and is now a grandfather. This causes a friction between him and Dinah Lance as he wants children but considering their life of vigilantism, it is unacceptable to raise a family although their love for one another is indisputable.

On the hunt of a serial killer whose target are prostitutes, Green Arrow encounters another archer who is later revealed to be Shado. She plays a major role in the story as she rescues Black Canary and Green Arrow in his attempt to save the woman he loves. In a scene which is still talked about to this day amongst comic book fans, Dinah has been tied up and tortured by a sadist who is part of a major drug distribution ring in the city in a covert operation to bring them down. This time, no amount of trick arrows or sonic screams was going to save the day as they both came within the grasp of death. Nor will a visit to the Justice League Satellite to bicker with Hawkman have any effect to overcome the emotional, mental and psychological trauma which they both must now overcome together.

Grell has been criticized for the "rape" scene but I assure you that it is not trivialized nor used for shock value a la Brian Bendis or Mark Millar. This is a pivotal point in Green Arrow's career which shows the reader that crime fighting is not a game but rather a deadly choice of life. The true villains are the degenerate drug dealers, murderers, rapists and violent criminals who are allowed to roam freely amidst our society. Not some egomaniacal bozo in an armoured outfit that wants to rule the world and constantly says "Bah & Feh" to four costumed idiots who thwart his doom like plans on a weekly basis. Although Oliver Queen finally hunts down those who would take a life so callously, the repercussions were to be felt for the next six years during the ongoing series and brought a new vision to the costumed hero genre. In the climatic scene on Mount Ranier, Shado points out to Oliver that recent events have made him a changed man. Indeed it did.

Not only does Grell bring the hero genre to the next logical level but does so with incredible art work. Grell skilfully portrays the humanity of the characters with such realism that you cannot help but believe that you are reading about living breathing people. His depiction of Seattle is absolutely breathtaking while no effort is spared to bring about all the necessary background detail in every panel for each scene. Grell effectively uses cinematic views to bring exceptional visual to all the pages. You will also notice how Grell did not ink certain panels which causes a film like atmosphere to the book. A true piece of comic book art.

Color artist Julia Lacquement should also be noted for her exceptional skills. Her rendering fools the eye into believing that you are looking at painted art work. In an era where computer coloring was not a tool for production, one cannot help but be amazed at how much effort there is injected to make the pencil work unique.

What makes Longbow Hunters a unique and important piece of comic book history is that these characters posses no super powers although they wear the spandex. No boxing glove arrow and Canary Cry shtick. The plot, dialogue and characterization is so powerfully and naturally realistic that we can associate ourselves with the heroes and cast members.

Pick up the Longbow Hunters collected edition which features the real authentic Green Arrow. You will never look at the super-hero genre the same way again and demand the same level of quality from all of your comic book purchases.