Green Arrow is back in a new ongoing series, and it’s already shaping up to be an all-timer for longtime fans of the Emerald Archer. It’s been a few years since DC had a Green Arrow series on newsstands, though Oliver Queen has kept busy while appearing in titles like Justice League and Checkmate. It seems to be an intentional strategy, so that when a new Green Arrow series launched, fans would have nothing to complain about. While there could be moments where new readers don’t know the whole backstory of characters, Green Arrow #1 manages to give enough subtext that any information lost doesn’t diminish the overall story.
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Green Arrow #1 picks up after the events of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, with DC’s heroes believing Oliver Queen died in the final battle. Of course, just as with the Justice League’s alleged death, that isn’t really the case. The tried and true method of dropping Green Arrow in a strange, new environment is played once again, but at least this time it works by taking him off-planet. We already know Green Arrow knows how to adapt, so that provides an opening for Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaakse, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Troy Peteri to perfectly deliver a Green Arrow history lesson. And while this is a Green Arrow book, it’s more of a Green Arrow family series, since Oliver is barely in it. This isn’t a bad thing, as Black Canary, Roy Harper, and Connor Hawke all shine. I loved how each character possessed their own specialized logo, and it’s great to see Roy out of his Outlaws-era trucker hat.
However, the biggest moment that will have readers talking is the long-awaited reunion between Roy Harper and his daughter Lian, who goes by the codename Cheshire Cat after her mother. There re some definite DC Rebirth vibes when you compare their hug to Barry Allen and Wally West’s from the 2016 one-shot. It is a bit odd how Lian didn’t acknowledge who any of the heroes in front of her were until Roy revealed he knew her secret identity. Then she immediately referred to them as “Aunt Dinah” and “Uncle Connor.” Just a slight gripe, but nothing to fixate upon
The team of artist Sean Izaakse and colorist Romulo Fajardo Jr. absolutely nail it on every page of artwork. The quiet moments of people talking and sharing emotions are conveyed organically, and the action-focused panels nearly leap off the page. There are plenty of clues dropped regarding where thisย Green Arrow story could be going, but the mere involvement of a major DC Universe character has me excited to see where this series will take readers.
There’s plenty to like in Green Arrow #1, and hopefully, fans not fully already immersed in DC Comics lore latch onto this opening issue, in a miniseries already been extended to a 12-issue maxiseries. Joshua Williamson and Sean Izaakse are super-Green Arrow fans, and their love of the character and franchise bleeds through these pages. Team Arrow is in capable hands, and now they have the runway to tell one of the best modern Green Arrow stories.
Published byย DC Comics
Onย April 25, 2023
Written byย Joshua Williamson
Art byย Sean Izaakse
Colors byย Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters byย Troy Peteri
Cover byย Sean Izaakse
