Green Arrow #1 Review

The Green Arrow we all remember from before the New 52 is back, goatee and all! And he’s brought Black Canary with him.

Green Arrow #1
Written by Benjamin Percy
Art and Colors by Otto Schmidt
Published by DC Comics

Warning! SPOILERS follow for the first issue of Green Arrow. If you haven’t read it yet and don’t want to know what happens, look elsewhere buddy.

It’s tough to put into words how happy I am that the Oliver Queen I know and love is back from wherever it is he went. The character that appeared in the first issue of Green Arrow back in 2011 may have been more like the version from the CW’s Arrow series, but he was nothing like the superhero I enjoyed reading for so long.

My love affair with Green Arrow began in the pages of The Longbow Hunters way back when and didn’t stop until the final issue of his last series before the New 52. Because that new Oliver Queen without the goatee sure as hell wasn’t the one I knew so well.

And now, he’s back.

I have Benjamin Percy to thank for that. In just two issues, he has reestablished what made Green Arrow such a great character and a key part of the DC Universe.

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In Green Arrow #1, Percy continues where he left off with Green Arrow: Rebirth and gives readers an Oliver Queen that is a bit older and more mature than he was in the recent past. But this is also a very flawed Green Arrow, one who has firmly returned to his Social Justice Warrior roots and will use any means, even questionable ones, to do the right thing.

Percy shows us this through the prism of the returned Green Arrow/Black Canary relationship, which has been absent from the title for way to long. One of the greatest parts of having Dinah Lance in the book was that she often acted as a counterbalance to Oliver, a voice of reason and practicality to his very black and white version of right and wrong. It is an element I didn’t realize I was missing until I saw it in Green Arrow #1 and the light bulb went on.

And as for that last page shocker with Emi? Wow, way to start a series with a bang.

I’ll be honest here: when I heard Otto Schmidt was going to be the artist, I almost didn’t even buy the first issue of Green Arrow. I thought his work in the Secret Wars tie-in series The Korvac Saga was laughably bad and didn’t see how that could change.

I will readily admit I was very wrong.

While I can tell the same artist worked on both titles, the skill on display in Green Arrow is remarkable. The storytelling is tight and nuanced with the smaller moments feeling very intimate while the action sequences are dynamic and full of incredible energy. Add in Schmidt’s amazing colors and you have a comic that visually is one of the best I’ve seen in a while.

And on top of all that, Ollie has his goatee back. All is right with the world.

must read: Titans: Rebirth #1 Review

The Bottom Line: Green Arrow #1 is a return to greatness for Oliver Queen and as a longtime fan I could not be happier. This is the Green Arrow I remember enjoying so much and the character I waited eagerly each month to visit with.

Much like every other Rebirth title I have read, Green Arrow is a keeper. Get in on the ground floor before you miss the boat.