Customer Reviews

Showcase Presents: Green Arrow, Vol. 1

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Green Arrow is probably one of those characters who is always destined to be a bit of a second banana to more popular heroes. He's been around since making his debut in More Fun Comics in 1941, and unlike some of the other heroes (flash, Green Lantern) the Golden age and Silver Age Green Arrow were both named Oliver Queen. This latest edition of Showcase Presents concentrates on the Silver Age Green Arrow who made his first appearance in the pages of Adventure Comics # 250 as a back-up feature to Superman. This book reprints several dozen Green Arrow stories from the pages of Adventure Comics, Worlds Finest Comics, and The Brave and the Bold. Most of the stories are only 6 - 8 pages in length and involve Green Arrow and his sidekick Speedy tracking down some sort of two-bit criminal with their wide array of trick arrows.

A few things are interesting about the character right off the bat...First, the writers were doing their best to make Green Arrow and Speedy into another Batman and Robin. Both Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne are wealthy, [...]types with young wards who come under their guidance. Green Arrow had his Arrow Car, Arrow Plane, his secret Arrow Cave hideout, and the police even had their own Arrow Signal to contact GA when there was trouble. Unfortunately what Green Arrow didn't have his writers like Bob Kane or classic villains like the Joker or the Riddler. One thing that these early Silver Age stories did have going for them is the art of Jack Kirby. Now Kirby fans might be a bit disappointed as this is not Kirby at his finest. It's not close to what fans are used to from his 1960's period. There could be a couple of reasons for this...First he probably didn't have an inker as strong as Joe Sinnott, second, and more likely, was the fact that in the 50's DC's editors really didn't encourage a lot of artistic style from their artists. They wanted books finished quickly and Kirby could crank out the pages as fast as anyone. Lee Elias took over the art chores after Kirby left and did a commendable jog. He was unspectacular but steady.

Most of these tales were written by Ed Herron or Robert Bernstein, a couple of guys kind of lost in the annals of comic lore although Herron is somewhat famous as the creator of Captain Marvel Jr. in 1941 for Fawcett Comics. As mentioned, Green Arrow and Speedy fight crime with a variety of outlandish trick arrows including: rope arrows, short circuit arrows, aqualung arrows, fire cracker arrows, harpoon arrows, glue arrows, buzz saw arrows, and many, many more. I think my favorite is the dry ice arrow. And then there is his villains which are not exactly the Flash's Rogues Gallery...Mighty Mr. Miniature, Phantom Bandit, Camouflage King, The Pneumatic Man, and the Spectrum Man. There are also a large number of Sci-Fi style elements with the pair battling a giant mechanical Octopus and a robotic archer that fires rapid-fire arrows, as well as numerous alien threats. You had to love the 50's!

While most of these stories are throwaway quickies, there are a few notable stories. "Green Arrow's First Case" from Adventure #256 tells the story of GA's origin. "World's Worst Archer" from Adventure #262 relates how GA first met Roy Harper and took him on as his ward and sidekick. Another important story from a historical sense is from Justice League of America #4 where Green Arrow is elected to membership in the JLA. In a story from Brave & the Bold #85 Green Arrow teams with Batman to track down a man who tried to kill a Senator. This story features a cover and art by Neal Adams and it may be the first time Green Arrow sported his now trademark goatee. At least when Batman sees him he says that he didn't recognize him at first.

This is a welcome edition to the Showcase Presents series which, along with the House of Mystery and Jonah Hex editions is reprinting material that has not been seen in decades. Pure silver age fun and excitement!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

This is a real fun collection. Sure Green Arrow was kind of derivative of Batman. Where Batman had the Batcave, the Batmobile, the Batplane, Robin and even a female counterpart in Batgirl, Green Arrow had the Arrow Cave,the Arrow Car, the Arrow plane, Speedy and even a female counterpart in Miss Arrowette. They were both millianaire playboys with youthful boy wards and there was even a Bat and Arrow signal. What can you say except DC knew a good thing when they saw it in Batman, so they tried to repeat their success with Green Arrow. Unfortunately for Ollie Queen and Roy Harper, the never achieved the iconic level of the Dynamic Duo.

This may be due in part to the fact that the Emerald Archer never faced the villainous A-squad that Batman did. Almost anyone can rattle off a few of Batman's rogue's gallery if given a minute. But how many even serious comics fans are familiar with Green Arrow foes such as: Iron Archer, the Pneumatic Man, The Birdman Gang and Bonzo the Ape Archer?

The stories are often gimmicky, problems are solved by using some kind of convenient trick arrow. This is probably in part because that as back-up stories many of G.A.'s tales are pretty short and require a speedy resolution, such as one provided by a trick arrow. But Green Arrow's skill with a bow and quick wit is cited as often as his crazy arrows as the reason for his triumphs, and later, longer stories often required Green Arrow and Speedy to actually use their gray matter to solve problems. And sometimes the gimmicks were just downright amusing: Boxing Glove or Umbrella arrow anyone? This is a delightful and imaginative and BIG compliation. Because there are almost 70 stories here, you can read several a day for weeks before you finish. Read'em while your cooking,doing the laundry or leave this volume lying around the toilette to class it up. Here are a few highlights:

Adventure Comics # 259-The Green Arrows of the World- Inspired by America's green Arrow, crack archers from around the globe have taken on the mantle of the Green Arrow in their repective countires. "Counterfeit" Carson torpedoes their first ever convention. Featured Trick Arrows: Boxing Glove arrow, Jiu-Jitsu arrow, Lava arrow, Time Bomb arrow, Vine arrow, and Heli-Spotter arrow.

World's Finest Comics # 95-Green Arrow vs. Red Dart- A new hero, the Red Dart, enters the scene. But is he all he seems? Featured Trick Arrows: Flashlight arrow, Umbrella arrow.

World's Finest Comics # 97- Menace of the Mechanical Octopus-Green Arrow and Speedy draw a bead on some dastardly thieves using the Greatest Getaway Vehicle EVER, a giant flying,submersible, metal octopus! Featured Trick Arrows: Rope arrow, Short Circuit arrow, Acetylene arrow, Aqua-Lung arrow, Fire Cracker arrow.

Adventure Comics # 256-Green Arrow's First Case-The pulse pounding Origin of the Green Arrow! Featured Trick Arrows: Rope arrow, Net arrow, Drill arrow(for opening coconuts), Fake Uranium arrow.

Adventure Comics # 258-Superboy meets the Young Green Arrow- Perennial busybody Superboy learns through his time machine that he just tinkered together, that new classmate Ollie Queen will one day don the mantle of Green Arrow. He decides to "help". Featured Trick Arrows: Boomerang arrow, Pitchfork arrow, Boxing Glove arrow, Rope arrow.

World's Finest Comics #113-The Amazing Miss Arrowette-A yucky girl aims to fight crime by imitating her hero, Green Arrow. Featured Trick Arrows: Hairpin arrow, Powder-Puff arrow, Boxing Glove arrow, Hand Lotion arrow(?), Hair Tint arrow, Needle and Thread arrow, Hair-Net arrow.

World's Finest Comics #114-Green Arrow's Alien Ally-The battling bowmen team up with atiny little alien who looks like the alien Fred Flintstone used to hang out with in order to clobber a big alien super-criminal. Featured Trick Arrows" Alien arrow.

World's Finest Comics # 117-The Cartoon Archer-The master bowman is ridiculed by the Press! Por Que!? Featured Trick Arrows: Boomerang arrow, Fire Extinguisher arrow, Battering Ram arrow, Fan arrow, Boxing Glove arrow.

World's Finest Comics # 136-Magician Boss of the Incas-The Emerald Archer disguises himself as an Incan warrior in order to vanish the evil wizard, the Mighty Micro. featured Trick Arrows: Fire Cracker arrow, Rain arrow, Lightning arrow, Rope arrow, Vacuum arrow.

Brave and the Bold #85-The Senator's Been Shot!-This one was written by Bob Haney and drawn by Neal Adams! "Relevent" late 60's Green Arrow joins forces with Batman to puzzle out the murder of a Senator, a senator Bruce Wayne may have to replace! Also, the fellas doubt their effectiveness as heroes. Featured Trick Arrows: Unfortunately none:(

While some complain about the volumes being in black and white, the Showcase Presents series offer a great service to comics fans looking to enjoy the history of favorite characters without having to spend a fortune. The Green Arrow collection is especially interesting because it not only includes the character's solo adventures from the late-50s into the 1960s, it also includes the story where GA become the first post-formation inductee into the JLA and a number of team-up stories from The Brave & the Bold. The last of these, and the last story in the volume, is perhaps the most historically significant.

The Senator's Been Shot teamed Batman with the re-vamped Green Arrow, starting in earnest the process of making GA a character in his own right rather than an occasionally clever knock-off of the Caped Crusader. Obviously, the process really took shape with the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series in the 1970s, but it's interesting to see the seeds of it here.

Of the rest of the stories, they're all good fun and quite well-done. Like Aquaman, Green Arrow was a quintessential back-up feature whose greatness really only came when a particular writer and artist took the basics and turned them into something unique. For that reason, this volume just misses five-stars. What's here is indeed very good, but if five-stars is meant to indicate a classic then these stories just miss the bulls-eye.

Great comics with very-difficult-to-find material, in a phone-book size very useful for those afternoons in which you have a lot of spare time and want to review old material about your favourite character. Includes the Kirby material. I'm still enjoying it. If you are a Green Arrow fan, then you MUST buy it.
Besides, i'm spanish and i live in Spain. I have to say that the package arrived the day they told me and i had no problem with it. If you're foreigner, don't fear to buy here. ;)

For a nostalgic Dane that read his first "Superman" magazine in the hospital isolated with scarlet fewer in 1951 including Batman and Green Arrow, but got it confiscated afterwoods (contamination-risk people thought) it is nice to revisit the childhoods comics again from Archive Edition's, Showcase presents etc., now with a lot of credits, pre- and afterwors, bot especially the nostlgic flavour of the earlier romantic experiences. The selection of the less known comic-heroes gives you a special kick and, about Green Arrow, a little hope of seeing more of the work, because this is an example of an ingenious mixture of storytelling with originality, humour, fantasy and adventure that is part of the gallery of comic heroes among the greatest.
Try it!

Green Arrow made his initial appearance in DCs' More Fun Comics #73, cover dated November 1941 ( Aquaman debuted in the same issue) during what is referred to as the Golden Age of Comics. Green Arrow was a popular back-up feature in the 1940's, not only did he hold his spot in More Fun and, later, Adventure Comics, but he and his kid sidekick, Speedy, were also members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory in Leading Comics. When the super-hero genre died out in the early 1950s, he was one of the handful of super-hero characters who survived and made the transition into the Silver Age of Comics.

Green Arrow pretty much had it all during his Golden Age and Silver Age careers. If fact, just about everything that Batman had, Green Arrow had as well. In his secret identity of Oliver Queen, he was a millionaire. Oliver's young ward, Roy Harper, was his crime-fighting sidekick, Speedy. They travelled in their distinctive crime-fighting vehicles, the Arrowcar and the Arrowplane, and they had a secret crime-fighting headquarters, the Arrowcave. When the Star City police department needed their help, Green Arrow and Speedy could be summoned by means of their unique Arrow Signal. Just about the only thing the Battling Bowmen didn't have in relation to the Caped Crusaders was the readership.

However, Green Arrow and Speedy had one thing that not even the Dyamanic Duo's ulitity belts could match: an amazing arsenal of highly inventive and effective, if not overly areodymanic trick arrows. Seriously, what chance did the denizens of the Underworld have when the Amazing Archers could pull just the right arrow from their quivers to cover just about any situation? Whether it was the tried and true Boxing Glove Arrow, a Grenade Arrow, the Handcuff Arrow, Net Arrow, a Heli-spotter Arrow (you have to see that one to believe it) or a Paint Brush Arrow, Green Arrow and Speedy got the job done each and every month (and for a time, twice a month), much to delight of young fans such as myself.

This volume of DC's Showcase series contains sixty-eight, over 500 pages, of Green Arrow's silver-age adventures from Adventure Comics 250- 269; World's Finest 95-134,136, 138 and 140; Justice League of America 4 and Brave and the Bold 50, 71 and 85! Some modern readers may find some these stories silly, or lacking in-depth charterzations or believable plots. Bear in mind that Green Arrow was a back up feature at this point and most of his stories were ony 6 or 7 pages long. It still amazes me how much story the writers of this era could put into a 6 page short story. Not every story in this book is a gem, but for sheer entertainment value, it scores a bull-eye!. Some of the highlights include:

Adventure Comics #250 (July 1958): The Green Arrows of the World- In G.A.'s first silver-age adventure, crime fighting archers from many countries; France, Great Britan, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland and others, arrive in Star City for a convention sponsered by Green Arrow himself. However, an imposter has infilrated the ranks and he has plans to wipe out the convention with specially crafted trick arrow of his own.

World's Finest Comics #95 (July-August 1958): Green Arrow vs Red Dart- Green Arrow tangles with his first Silver Age costumed villain, the Red Dart, who uses specially crafted trick darts such as a Grenade-Dart or a Smokescreen Dart in his criminal activities.

Adventure Comics #256 (January 1959): The Green Arrow's First Case- Green Arrow gets a origin story! I'm not sure if he ever really had one before this. In his debut appearance in More Fun #73, Green Arrow and Speedy were already crime-fighting partners. In this tale, Green Arrow's origin is told in flashback, of how Oliver Queen was castaway on a deserted island and how he used his ingenuity to develope his archery skills and trick arrows as a means of survival.

Adventure Comics #258 (March 1959): Superboy meets the Young Green Arrow- In a unusual crossover story, Superboy, through the use of his newly developed time-scanner, discovers that the new resident of Smallville, Oliver Queen, will grow up to become the crime-busting super-hero known as Green Arrow. Superboy decides to try and encourage Oliver to develope the archery skill that will one day make him world famous. However, when criminals try to loot Smallville during a parade, Oliver's efforts to help Superboy have less than stellar results.

Adventure Comics #262 (July 1959): The World's Worst Archer- The story of how the young orphan, Roy Harper, becomes Green Arrow's crime-fighting partner, Speedy.

Adventure Comics #266 (Nov 1959): The Case of the Vanishing Arrows- This story contains a baffling mystery and a cameo appearance by Superman. It also features a rare example of continuity for this era; the story begins with Green Arrow and Speedy receiving a letter from Batman, congratulating them on their capture of the Red Dart gang.

Adventure Comics # 267 (Dec 1959): The Underwater Archers- The plot for this story actually begins in the Aquaman story (The Manhunt on Land) in this same issue. Although both stories are inter-related Aquaman and Green Arrow don't actually team up. However, Aquaman does make a cameo appearance in the last panel of the Green Arrow adventure. This marks the first time that the two heroes actually meet each other, despite having shared the pages of the same comic books since 1941.

World's Finest #111 (August 1960): The Crimes of the Clock King- The first appearance of the Clock King. Unlike most opponents introduced in the Green Arrow series, the Clock King actually has some staying power and will make additonal appearances in the DC Universe.

World's Finest #113 (November 1960): The Amazing Miss Arrowette- Batman had a female crime fighting partner at this time named Batwoman and in this tale the writers follow suit and give Green Arrow a female crime fighting ally as well. Enter Miss Arrowette, alias Bonnie King, a national archery champion in her own right. Miss Arrowette utilizes her own unique trick arrows to fight crime. The plucky girl archer uses her Powder Puff Arrow, Hair Pin Arrow, Lotion Arrow, Hair Tint Arrow, Mirror Arrow, Kerchief Arrow in the course of this adventure, while Green Arrow will make use of Miss Arrowettte's Needle and Thread Arrow and Hair Net Arrow.

Justice League of America #4 (April 1961): Doom of the Star Diamond- Green Arrow wins his spurs in his unique fashions and finally gains membership in the JLA.

Brave and the Bold #50 (November 1963): Wanted - The Capsule Master- The Brave and the Bold comic book takes on a new direction with this issue, featuring team ups between members of DC's super-hero community. In this issue, Green Arrow and Speedy join forces with the Martian Manhunter to take on a renegade Martian scientist and his henchmen who are bent on discovering the pieces of a super weapon that is capable of destroying a planet.

Brave and the Bold #71 (April-May 1967):Wrath of the Thunderbird- Green Arrow and Batman team up in this adventure. The Emerald Archer and the Caped Crusader have always had a lot in common with each other and this story pairs DC's two premiere non super-powered crime-fighters outside of the Justice League of America for the first time .

Brave and the Bold #85 (August-September 1969): The Senator's Been Shot!- Green Arrow and Batman together again in a tightly plotted story.Perhaps the most important Green Arrow story ever. This is the story that redefines Green Arrow, separating him from his Golden Age of Comics roots and establishing the look and the personality that readers know today.


The DC Showcase Presents series, just like Marvel's Essential series, are black and white reprints, generally running about 500 pages, and presented at a very affordable retail price of $16.99. This book features great Green Arrow art by the wonderfully talented Lee Elias, George Papp and Mike Sekowsky and the legendary Jack Kirby and Neal Adams! With the exception of The Senator's Been Shot, these stories were written with 8 to 11 year old readers in mind, so it helps if the more "sophisticated" readers of today bear that in mind and judge the stories from that perspective. They're family friendly, fun, cleverly plotted stories with none of the soap opera-ish angst that permeate comic books published today. Enjoy!

This is a collection of very early Green Arrow stories, some of them just a few pages long as GA appeared first as a backup feature in other titles before he got his own book. They definitely reflect the mid-fifties time period and sensibilities. It was a hoot seeing that the "Arrowcar" was an open roadster with an ejection bench seat in the front to "arrow" the heroes into action.

I liked this because this is when I started reading comics, but it won't have much in the way of re-read value for me, after the first time through. It appealed to the collector/completist in me, rather than the comic fan.

Travel back in time and see comics that were written with a younger audience in mind than they have been for the past 25 years or so. Though they may have been entertaining back when first printed this collection of Green Arrow creaks under the weight of it's age and the social mores of it's time.

The length of the stories is very hampering. It is simply not possible to tell a good story with plot development, character development and action sequences in the limited number of pages Green Arrow got as the back-up feature in a comic.

Green Arrow can be a great character in the right hands. Denny O'Neil & Neal Adams, Frank Miller, Kevin Smith. Here though you see why he was a firm low 2nd tier hero. Incredibly derivative of Batman with teenage sidekick, wealth, car and plane all seemingly taken straight from the pages of Detective Comics with a piece of Silly Putty.

As a whole, the stories are short, and gimmicky, being solved on the last page with the magical appearance of an arrow with just the right characteristics to solve the problem. It would have taken incredible talent to produce good stories in the length allowed.

As well, being a sign of the times, the unabashed sexism displayed in the portrayal of the wanna-be female Green Arrow is just not acceptable to a modern reader.

Until the very final stories featured in Brave and Bold this is really not a good collection. The final story featuring Batman and the re-envisioned socially relevant Oliver Queen and Green Arrow elevate this to the three stars I gave it. This gives a hint of what he would become in Green Lantern/Green Arrow and the future.

Similar to the marvel essentials same format big books in black and white.This volume include
ADVENTURE COMICS 250- 269 - 1958 to 1960
THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD 50,71,85- 1963 TO 1969
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 4- 1961
WORLDS FINEST COMICS 95-134,136,138,140-1958 TO 1962

Let's get this out of the way: Yes, the book is in black and white! If this is a problem, go spend a lot of money on back issues! Would I prefer affordable color reprints? Absolutely. Anyways, onto the review.

The Good:
**There are A LOT of stories in this book, with most of them being 6-7 pages long. Green Arrow was a back-up feature for decades, and you really get a good chunk of his Silver Age stories here. If quantity is your thing, pick this book up.

**The art is pretty good! Some Jack Kirby stories start out the book, it's always a treat to see Kirby's pencils in black and white. Lee Elias handles most of the art, he has a simple, cartoonish style that works well.

The Bad:
**Because of the length of each story, not many are memorable. They follow a strict formula, and the only difference in the end is which trick arrow is used to defeat the bad guy.

**At this point, Green Arrow is just a Batman rip-off! He has a young ward, an "Arrow Signal", "Arrow-Car", "Arrow-Cave", etc. Why read the copycat when you can pickup a Batman Showcase?

**To make the above point worse, Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) and Roy Harper (Speedy) have NO personality in this book. With a few exceptions, the stories are just too short to do anything with them but introduce a threat and toss some arrows at it. There is one story where Green Arrow is replaced with a dummy. It should tell you something that the adventures of Speedy and a dummy are more fun. Not the book to buy if you are looking for strong characterization.

Overall, this volume is a disappointment. The stories and villains are forgettable, our heroes are bland and unoriginal. It's a decent read in short doses, but too much at once and it all blends together.