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unladylike's review against another edition
3.0
I'm currently reading Green Arrow and watching the fantastic Arrow TV series for a local monthly comics enthusiasts MeetUp group. The first volume in the New 52 was horrible. From page one of Volume 2, writer Ann Nocenti turned things around marvelously and made me start to really enjoy the characters and dialogue.
Unfortunately, the artwork throughout this volume was some of the worst I've seen in recent comics publication, and the script was less than consistently great. Still, I'm glad a talented woman took over writing duties for at least two of the volumes I'm catching up on.
Green Arrow seems to me SOOO similar to Batman in many ways. They're both non-superpowered billionaire playboys, but the playboy part of the character is played up much more blatantly in Green Arrow. This opens up the option of going for juvenile sexism or humourous critique. Thankfully Nocenti goes with the latter for the most part.
I was fascinated by some of the explicit commentary on the Occupy movement in this book, but it was ill-informed and about two years too late.
Unfortunately, the artwork throughout this volume was some of the worst I've seen in recent comics publication, and the script was less than consistently great. Still, I'm glad a talented woman took over writing duties for at least two of the volumes I'm catching up on.
Green Arrow seems to me SOOO similar to Batman in many ways. They're both non-superpowered billionaire playboys, but the playboy part of the character is played up much more blatantly in Green Arrow. This opens up the option of going for juvenile sexism or humourous critique. Thankfully Nocenti goes with the latter for the most part.
I was fascinated by some of the explicit commentary on the Occupy movement in this book, but it was ill-informed and about two years too late.
tmwebb3's review against another edition
1.0
What a mess. Two disjointed stories that didn't go together. Art was New 52 style, but I didn't enjoy it and thought it was disjointed like the story. Only reason I'm carrying on is the CW TV show.
macthebrazen's review against another edition
1.0
I don't even... This has to be the worst thing I've ever read. It feels like fan fiction by a 16-year-old who borrowed from some obscure folk tales and threw in GA characters before putting some stream-of-consciousness writing through Google Translate a couple of times. There is nothing redeemable here. The plots feel like something from Axe Cop, without the sense of irony. The art is terrible. The characters constantly do things that are completely out of character for them given volume 1. I have no idea how this got published.
Deus ex machina Chinese superheroine Suzie Ming (while in the middle of a fight alongside GA against some random demon corpses that came out of nowhere) : "Green Arrow, I must ask you something. China's pride and ambition know no bounds. As we match America's power, our two countries need peaceful cooperation at the top. No conflict can escalate, no matter what. Can I count on your help in this?"
Green Arrow: "Anything you wish, you can count on me."
Then the "story" goes on, with no hint as to this conversation's relevance.
WTF?
Deus ex machina Chinese superheroine Suzie Ming (while in the middle of a fight alongside GA against some random demon corpses that came out of nowhere) : "Green Arrow, I must ask you something. China's pride and ambition know no bounds. As we match America's power, our two countries need peaceful cooperation at the top. No conflict can escalate, no matter what. Can I count on your help in this?"
Green Arrow: "Anything you wish, you can count on me."
Then the "story" goes on, with no hint as to this conversation's relevance.
WTF?
rhganci's review against another edition
1.0
GREEN ARROW is suffering right now, from what I've identified as three main deficiencies:
1) Creative team solidarity
2) A discernible, developed villain or struggle
3) Purpose
While the first volume attempted somewhat successfully to convey commentary or discourse on a social issue, this most recent one fails to do so entirely. A muddied commentary on ecosystem protection is filtered through some kind of adolescent sex dream in which Ollie runs away with, is betrayed by, then fornicates intermittently with a set of hive-mind-but-not-quite triplets, sometimes simultaneously. After it dissolves into some kind of modern day KING LEAR adaptation that makes no sense whatsoever, the story moves to self-aware robotics, a tease for the Dark Archer, and Asian zombies. A play to save sales occurs as the Batfamily makes an appearance, but by then, the reader is so detached from the character, the setting, and the poorly structured plot that it ultimately has no effect.
Hopefully the coming of ARROW to television will assist the creative teams assigned to GREEN ARROW in finding a more manageable way to represent the character. I'm also looking forward to THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, as Geoff Johns can do no wrong in giving us a fun version of the Green Arrow in that context. This volume is very disappointing, and definitely the least enjoyable of the New 52.
1) Creative team solidarity
2) A discernible, developed villain or struggle
3) Purpose
While the first volume attempted somewhat successfully to convey commentary or discourse on a social issue, this most recent one fails to do so entirely. A muddied commentary on ecosystem protection is filtered through some kind of adolescent sex dream in which Ollie runs away with, is betrayed by, then fornicates intermittently with a set of hive-mind-but-not-quite triplets, sometimes simultaneously. After it dissolves into some kind of modern day KING LEAR adaptation that makes no sense whatsoever, the story moves to self-aware robotics, a tease for the Dark Archer, and Asian zombies. A play to save sales occurs as the Batfamily makes an appearance, but by then, the reader is so detached from the character, the setting, and the poorly structured plot that it ultimately has no effect.
Hopefully the coming of ARROW to television will assist the creative teams assigned to GREEN ARROW in finding a more manageable way to represent the character. I'm also looking forward to THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, as Geoff Johns can do no wrong in giving us a fun version of the Green Arrow in that context. This volume is very disappointing, and definitely the least enjoyable of the New 52.