Will My Green Arrow Please Stand Up

Rather than a specific issue or story line, today I decided to talk about the wandering failure that the New 52 has wrought upon one of my favorite characters, Green Arrow, aka Oliver Queen.

I first became aware of Green Arrow in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he participated in Justice League of America stories or his own solo adventures in World's Finest Comics. I missed out on the new "relevant" Green Lantern/Green Arrow series created by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams in the mid-1970s, but the new costume and personality these two creators gave to the Emerald Archer influenced his characterization for the next decade, at least, and the hero I was reading owed much to their work.

Going back and reading reprints of the O'Neil and Adams stories in 1983 is when I grew to really appreciate the character and come to see him as one of my favorites. That affection grew and was nurtured by the Green Arrow miniseries that same year by Mike W. Barr, Trevor von Eeden and Dick Giordano and was cemented by Mike Grell's fantastic Longbow Hunters series in 1987.

Having said that, I don't know why I didn't immediately pick up the Mike Grell ongoing Green Arrow series that followed Longbow Hunters. I swear, I really did love that series right from the start. At this point, I did have a local comic shop I frequented regularly for my comics, but I was not online much and hadn't even heard of Previews at the time, so maybe I simply wasn't aware of the existence of the ongoing for a while. Whatever the reason, I started in on that series about two years into the run reading forward each month as well as backward when I could find copies of the back issues I'd missed.

I was very sad to see Ollie killed off in No. 100 of that series, then being written by Chuck Dixon, and while he was a very different character, I enjoyed the adventures of Ollie's son, Connor Hawke, as the new Green Arrow. I'm not nearly as big a martial arts fan as Dixon seems to be, so some of the Connor GA stories were less to my liking than others, but I stayed with the series until it ended with issue No. 137.

After a few dark nearly-Green Arrow-less years, it was announced that Kevin Smith was going to bring Oliver Queen back from the dead in a relaunched Green Arrow title in 2001. Smith was joined by artist Phil Hester, and while I was less impressed with Hester's more cartoony art at the time, I was glad to have the character back. Smith left the title after 15 solid issues, and we were treated to one of novelist Brad Meltzer's first comics-writing turns with his excellent "The Archer's Quest"  and then after a few issues, Judd Winick took over the writing chores. Winick is one of those hit-or-miss writers to my tastes. I really like some of his books while others just leave me feeling meh. But he did a good job at the helm of Star City's resident bowman and stayed with the title for the remainder of this run and into the 2007 Green Arrow and Black Canary relaunch. That title had the added plus of fantastic art by first Cliff Chiang and then Mike Norton. The Green Arrow and Black Canary series finished its second half with excellent writer Andrew Kreisberg and then J.T. Krul on the final three Blackest Night and Cry For Justice tie-in issues.

All of that background is to show I have a history with the character, reading Green Arrow's adventures, and for the most part, enjoying most of the tales he is featured in. I don't agree with everything that happened in Justice League: Cry For Justice or the subsequent Fall of Green Arrow, but I liked both titles and could see Oliver acting and reacting the way he was portrayed in those stories. Less to my liking was the 15-issue Green Arrow: Brightest Day series where Oliver is all about his forest, but I think most of that series stemmed from editorial dictates and might not be where series writer Krul would have taken Oliver without the whole Brightest Day framework, which I liked with regards to other characters. I base this, in part, on the fact that another writer finished the final three issues of that series. I also haven't read Green Arrow: Brightest Day again since it was new; maybe my opinion of it would improve with a fresh look.

Then along comes the New 52, and everybody and everything is rebooted back to square one. Except Batman and Green Lantern, which were seeing a great deal of popular story lines already, so the rebooting wasn't quite so evenly distributed. But I was all set to accept a new, younger Oliver Queen as Green Arrow. A fresh start didn't have to mean disaster. And the first three issues of the New 52 Green Arrow were good with story by Krul and art by the incredible Dan Jurgens. Oliver has a bit of a team working behind the scenes to assist him, but subtracting a few years and changing up his costume were pretty cosmetic; I could still see this as the hero I liked, just a slightly different guy from a slightly different dimension or something.

The problem was, those three issues didn't last. Issue No. 4 saw a creative change to writer Keith Giffen, who was replaced by Jurgens by issue No. 6. Then we got Ann Nocenti, who's run on the title lasted until issue No. 16. But her run on the book was all about horn-dog Ollie who thought more with his groin than his brains. This guy wasn't really a hero so much as a screw-up. With each creative change, I liked the character less and less. And there seemed to be a lot of creative changes.

Jeff Lemire's run (issue Nos. 17-34) was very dark for my tastes and centered way too much on the mysticism of the various clans he introduced into Oliver's back story. Then elements from the CW television series "Arrow" started to creep into the book. Now, I've watched "Arrow" since the beginning, and I very much enjoy the show and Stephen Amell's portrayal of Oliver Queen. I'm very happy the show has lasted into a third season, and I'll be happy to see it continue for several more years. But it is the television version of Green Arrow. That guy exists in an equally valid, but alternate dimension from the guy I like to read about in the comics. Television and comics are two different media; they have different strengths and weaknesses, and I believe they are best served by different approaches. I love watching the TV show, but I don't want to read the TV show in my monthly Green Arrow comic.

So, why do I keep buying the monthly comic if I don't like what they're doing with the character and haven't for basically the last 30 issues? I guess that means I have more money than sense, but my wife would be quick to remind that we don't have that much money. So maybe I just don't have any sense. But the creative teams change on this title so often, every time I convince myself to just drop what I'm not enjoying, I think, "But wait, a new team and direction are coming next month; maybe it really will get better." Except so far, it hasn't.

I hope the comic will find its niche now that Andrew Kreisberg is back writing the character as I enjoyed his work on the title pre-New 52. But Kreisberg is also one of the producers of the CW televison series. I'm hopeful, but concerned as well. But I'm still buying the title each month hoping for the best. At least, for now ...

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There's No Denying The Man Can Draw

Batman: Odyssey 1-6/Batman: Odyssey 2 1-7
DC Comics
Neal Adams, writer and artists

I was very eager to get my hands on this series when it was first announced. This was to be the triumphant return of one of the great Batman artists with his vision of the definitive Batman story. Neal Adams and Jim Aparo are probably the two most easily recognizable and iconic Batman artists out there. I already own all three hardcover volumes of Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams, so here was my chance to add a new Bat-tale to my collection by this luminary in the field.

And, of course, the art does NOT disappoint. Adams' Batman is muscled and powerful while retaining a realistic athletic appearance. His layouts allow the eye to easily follow the action across the page, and his graphic storytelling is also spot on. This story is rather complex, so it might be hard to literally follow everything without words, using just the pictures alone, but Adams' panels are not hard to figure out.

As I said, the story is pretty complex, epic even, taking Batman on a true odyssey that stretches the imagination. In fact, this story would almost have to be called an Elseworlds tale because of its scope. The epic moves from Gotham City to a number of underground, hidden societies and incorporates gnomes, trolls, dinosaurs, ancient godlings, henchmen and giant bats -- not your everyday Batman fare! At least not since the late golden age or early silver age!

The main villains of the story are Ra's al-Ghul (naturally, since Adams is the character's co-creator) and Ra's' son, the Sensei, the leader of the League of Assassins. It also involves a handful of other DC characters including Deadman, another character Adams is known for illustrating. Some of the lofty concepts the tale is woven around include Batman's staunch refusal to ever kill his adversaries and his aversion to guns. Another central concept is the theory that Ra's al-Ghul is really the only villain Batman ever faces, that many of the other famous Gotham rogues are merely obstacles occasionally thrown in the Dark Knight's path by Ra's to keep Batman occupied and less likely to uncover other, more sinister plots. This theory helps explain how so many of these rogues are locked in a revolving door of scheming, capture and escape, as well as playing off Batman's refusal to kill his opponents.

Like some of Adams' scientific theories, this story is deep and takes a little effort to unravel completely, but again, it is a very imaginative and highly entertaining journey.

Side note: One more reason this tale would likely be considered an Elseworlds story by most readers is a guest appearance by one of my favorite characters -- Aquaman, or at least, I believe that's Aquaman even though I don't recall anyone else ever drawing him even remotely this way before.

Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle

This little gem was re-released in 2008 as Marvel Premiere Classic Hardcover Vol. 9.

It collects Iron Man Nos. 120-128, written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, illustrated by John Romita Jr. and Carmine Infantino and inked by Bob Layton. And it was previously collected in trade paperback form under the title The Power of Iron Man, which was my first exposure to the stories.

These comics, to my mind at least, are Marvel Comics' version of the socially-relevant comics trend most often attributed as starting with DC Comics' Green Lantern/Green Arrow run by Denny O'Neal and Neal Adams. Those DC books had lefty Green Arrow and right-wing Green Lantern butt heads over social issues such as over-population, race relations, class warfare and drug abuse. They are credited with bringing a social conscience to comic-book stories. In Marvel's Iron Man case, the topic was alcoholism, and the writers used the star of the book to tackle the problem head-on in his own life.

But no simple preaching is found in the pages reprinted in this volume. Rather, this is good, compelling story-telling at its finest. Tony Stark (Iron Man to the uninitiated) had been dealing with a number of conflicts in previous issues leading up to No. 120 beyond the usual superhero slugfests. As these stories begin, those problems continue to get worse and grow in number, prompting Stark to turn increasingly to the bottle rather than his friends or his armored alter ego. As one might expect, rather than helping, the alcohol merely adds to Stark's problems. In that regard, there aren't many surprises in this story.

What is unexpected is how the alcoholism is dealt with by these creators. The problem isn't resolved in a matter of panels or even a few pages. Instead, they take the "hero" of the book lower than might have been expected, then allow several issues' worth of time for even the beginnings of a resolution to take shape. In this way, Michelinie and Layton make Stark's problems seem all the more real, and his eventual victory, never in doubt as this is a monthly superhero title, more powerful for its portrayal.

I had never been much of an Iron Man fan prior to reading The Power of Iron Man, and only picked up the book on a whim. This story gave me an appreciation for the character under these creators' care and has been read and re-read to the point that the original trade has almost been worn out. With that in mind, I recently purchased the new hardcover edition and re-read this story for the first time in maybe 10 years. It was well worth the price, and the writing and artwork are still spectacular! I have no hesitation whatsoever about recommending this book for anyone to whom it might be a new read or a refresher on a true comics classic.

More Quickie Reviews

I still haven’t made it quite all of the way through the December-release comics in my stack, and I’ve already received the January releases. Needless to say, I’m running a little behind where we usually are at this time of the month, so here are some more short and sweet reviews as I try to catch up just a bit.

Checkmate 9 (DC Comics) — Sarge Steel and Sasha Bordeaux verbally spar in this issue over who can best take down the terrorist organization Cobra, and over who most screwed things up last issue. I’ve heard rumors that this book may not have much longer to live, which would be sad, but so far, it hasn’t really lived up to its potential.

Teen Titans 42 (DC Comics) — This issue is a nice recap of the history of Kid Devil. I knew most of Blue Devil’s story, but not Eddie’s, so this was nice.

Civil War Front Line 9 (Marvel Comics) — Sally slaps down Captain America during an exclusive interview as she points out that both sides of the war see themselves as right and will stoop to any low in order to bring down the other side. Morally, I’m on Cap’s side, but as we’ll see in a bit, Cap has a parallel with Iron Man’s side using bad guys.

Civil War: War Crimes (Marvel Comics) — Captain America’s rogue heroes make a deal with the Kingpin in an effort to doublecross Iron Man’s band of zealots. I think I would have liked this better if Captain America himself had not made the decision to work with Kingpin. Other heores can make an occasional mistake: Spidey was on the wrong side of things for a bit, then wised up, for example. But Cap should be above reproach in his actions.

The Lone Ranger 3 (Dynamite Entertainment) — A few more changes to the story I’m familiar with, but nothing that really detracts or lessens the overall origin of the masked man. This is a good comic.

Fables 56 (DC Vertigo) — Very nicely done Christmas tale introducing us to holiday-themed Fables while also providing hints of things yet to come involving not only Snow, Bigby and the cubs, but also Flycatcher.

Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War (Marvel Comics) — The two heroes meet on neutral ground in an effort to talk things through. Captain America states that such a thing would’ve been much easier before the Thor clone killed Goliath, which is true, but no less tragic. These two heroes have fought before, but will this be the last time?

New Avengers: Illuminati 1 (Marvel Comics) — This series is starting off to be a little disappointing for me. This first issue takes us back to the time of the Kree-Skrull war and shows exactly how the six members of this secret cabal tried to persuade the Skrulls to leave earth alone rather than retaliate. The plan is disastrous at first, but the newly formed group manages to succeed in the end. If each issue of this limited series is going to look at a specific event from Marvel history, then this series is nothing more than an expanded version of the Illuminati one-shot from a few months ago.

Athena Voltaire: The Collected Web Comics (Ape Entertainment) — This trade collects the first two story arcs introducing 1930s aviatrix Athena Voltaire as she takes on Nazi plots, mysterious yetis and vampiric descendants of Dracula. The stories in this collection are a little more raw than the current miniseries starring the same heroine, but they depict the origins of the character and her creators.

52 Week 34 (DC Comics) — This was a sad installment of the weekly comic as we see not only the death of the Question, but also the betrayal of the Black Marvel family, some of the best characters in this series. And Luthor decides to literally pull the plug on his Everyman project.

Batman 661 (DC Comics) — I am seriously losing interest in the Grotesk story line. Why couldn’t this tale have been done in two issue instead of four? John Ostrander can be an exceptional writer, but this is a case where writing for the trades truly hurts the medium. As a fill-in story, this arc wouldn’t fit into a trade collection with either the Grant Morrison story before it or the one after, so it has to be long enough to support its own trade collection, but the story feels artificially padded by being four issues.

Detective Comics 827 (DC Comics) — This Batman tale, on the other hand, kept me guessing. Paul Dini brings back Scarface, but who is in control and who is pulling the strings, the dummy or the brand-new Ventriloquist?

Justice League of America 5 (DC Comics) — Finally, this story is starting to make a shred of sense and flow in a somewhat linear fashion. All of the various players have been brought together more by chance than by Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman’s selection process. But they’ve all agreed to work with Solomon Grundy in an effort to stop the latest incarnation of Amazo in Red Tornado’s body. I’m hoping things continue to get better to the point where this all makes sense at some point.

Lastly, here’s another book from that stack of out-of-continuity trades and graphic novels I read from occasionally. This time out, we have Neal Adams’ Monsters (Vanguard Productions) — This beautifully illustrated graphic novel presents an original tale featuring the three most popular movie monsters — Count Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and the werewolf — together in one story. In addition, the book offers notes and sketches from Adams, a truly revolutionary comic artist and story-teller.

That’s it for today, Kiddie Cops. Next time we’ll hopefully finish up the last holdouts from December and move into January. Until then, happy collecting.