It Will Take Some Time To Tell

Green Arrow 17-18
DC Comics
Jeff Lemire, writer
Andrea Sorrentino, artist

After a great opening story arc, The New 52! version of Green Arrow started to falter. Apparently, DC got the message (eventually) and with this issue, a brand new creative team is debuting its brand new direction for the title and character. This is just the first two parts of a longer story arc so it is hard to tell much with any degree of certainty yet, but I'm willing to give these creators the benefit of the doubt, for now.

Some of the story beats in this issue are familiar territory for Oliver Queen from his pre-New 52 days. But that's not to say that Lemire is rehashing an old story, necessarily. It's more like a theme that is being repeated, one that worked well for the character in the past.

The tone of the book has also changed, but that can only be a good thing, as the previous tone seemed to be Oliver treating life and himself like a joke. How could the readers see him as anything different than the writer obviously saw him?

As for the art, I'm still on the fence. This artist's work seems similar in tone and look to Green Arrow: Year One from 2007 illustrated by Jock. It is a darker, grittier art style and that fits with the darker tone of this story. But there are a few panels that are a little too muddy to follow easily. That detracts from the story.

As today's header says, I'm going to have to give this new team some time to see what I truly think of the changes. But in the plus column for them, I'm willing, and even interested, to see where they are going. Time will tell.

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Addendum: On a related note, I jus finished watching the season finale of the CW's Arrow, which aired last week.

Wow!

The television version of Green Arrow has been a bit uneven on the whole, but they have produced some really good episodes, and they have ended on a very good note. The finale was both gripping and moved the characters along. Well done for all those responsible.

Moving a character like Green Arrow from one medium to another, like television or film, often necessitates changes. This show is quite a bit different from the comic character, but it has often been better in its execution than the current comic title. The show gets my recommendation, for what that's worth.