Need to Know
This collection is the complete collection of Jeff Lemire’s run of Green Arrow, all 464 pages. It’s collected as an oversized deluxe edition hardcover which comes with a dust jacket cover. The dust jacket is a dark noir style which fit perfect with the tone of the complete edition. The art on the hard cover is a beautiful spread which keeps with the noir style. It expands both front and back covers, using much less black than the jacket while utilizing red, white, and green. As a bonus there are bonus pages of materials, such as unused art, alternate covers, and sketches from the creative process.
Synopsis
This is a collection of Green Arrow #17 – 34, Green Arrow Futures End #1, and Green Arrow Secret Origins.
The Kill Machine #17 - 24, Starts with a new villain sounded in mystery seemly knows Oliver’s secrets and uses them against our hero. Oliver now finds himself in a new position of being poor while also on the run from this new enemy as he is push further than before. This is a new beginning of the Oliver Queen we know as we begin to see the story of the island, Oliver’s father, and how Green Arrow came to be.
The Outsiders War #25 – 31, As Oliver’s world turns upside down, Oliver’s begin to question everything he knows. As the past of the Queen family begins to surface, Oliver learns that there is much more to all the events that have been unfolding. Soon Oliver discovers what he cannot escape… Clans, war, and Outsiders.
Broken #32 – 34, the final issues of Lemire’s series in an mini ark. After everything that’s happened Oliver returns to Seattle and there have bene many changes. A new crime lord has taken out the others and has laid siege to the city. Who is Richard Dragon and The Longbow Hunters?
Green Arrow Futures End & Secret Origins, 2 additional special one shots. These cover the future of Green Arrow 5 years in the future, is Oliver Queen Dean if so who is Green Arrow? Also what are the secret origins of Green Arrow? You will want to read to find out.
Review
Starting with art by Andrea Sorrentino, color by Marcelo Maiolo and a foreword by Mark Millar this book has everything you could want. Green Arrow once a minor character in the DC universe is now here in the forefront of fans minds with the television show Arrow.
From the Mike Grell’s Longbow Hunters, Kevin Smith’s Green Arrow, to Andy Diggle’s Year One, this Green Arrow run I consider one of the greats of this comic age, and will be an essential read in the future to all Green Arrow fans new and old. Mark Millar’s foreword helps illustrate just how great this run of Green Arrow is, with his mention of buying each of the single issues.
After the relaunch of the New 52 the Green Arrow series started off rocky. With issue #17 DC Comics made a change; enter Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, and Marcelo Maiolo to pump life back into this series after the first 16 issues fell flat for many readers. That brought Green Arrow back to the forefront of comics. The team has done an excellent job of doing a soft reboot of the series. Even if you are a first-time reader, there is no reason to go back and read the first three volumes; this is a good jump on point. Lemire's writing is a perfect fit, as you can tell time was taken to understand the mindset of Oliver and support characters to give them life outside of the pages.
Lemire encompasses his origin for Oliver, but he also strives to do the same for each of the supporting characters new and old. Having picked many great characters to highlight both new and old to build a story you become invested in; including the new John Diggle of the television series. Even if you are an older fan of Green Arrow character developments written with some new and subtle changes to characters that you come to love.
Moving on to the art of Italian artist Andrea Sorrentino. With this run of Green Arrow, he’s now an artist which you should keep an eye on. His style is unique and very detailed. With a Noir style using lots of black and fine lines and use of shadowing and hues, and some amazing panels show epic fight scenes. The oversized pages display the superb pairing of Sorrentino's art and Maiolo’s colors.
From a long time Green Arrow fans like myself to new fan who are testing the waters; I strongly recommend this book as a must read, giving it my highest recommendation. You will come to love and recognize some favorite characters from Green Arrows gallery. Those who have crossed over from the television series will recognize some of the new and old characters. Leaving you wishing Lemire had stayed with DC Green Arrow instead of moving on to Marvel’s Hawkeye.
~ Bradley M. Walker Sr.