Green Arrow: Archer's Quest

Rating:
Summary: This is patheic....
Review: Big rip off of the early Green Arrow stories dneby Denney O'Neill, except here the artwork is so bad that the artists look like they need to learn how to draw before they do anymore comics.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Character-Driven Green Arrow Story Ever!
Review: Kevin Smith brought Oliver Queen back from the dead in "Quiver" and "Sounds of Violence". Brad Meltzer, in his first comic work to date, picks up the book where Smith left off and gives us the best character-driven Green Arrow story ever - a story that brings Ollie back to LIFE!

The premise of the story is simple - Ollie and his long-time ward, Roy Harper (aka "Speedy" aka "Arsenal) goes on the road to find pieces of Ollie's life. Brad Meltzer gives us a story reminiscent of the classic "Hard Travellin' Heroes" on-the-road stories of Ollie and Hal Jordan, but with a twist! While those classic stories showed the duo in search of the true heart of a nation, this story is the search for Ollie's true heart. That makes this story intensely personal and refreshingly sentimental.

It is ultimately an introspective look into who and what is Oliver Queen, a man with ties to almost every important person in the DC Universe, who has more heart than almost anyone and at the same time harbors some of the darkest secrets - and by the end of the book, we see some of those secrets surfacing and the gnawing effect it has on the man. But this book is never pessimistic or bleak. In fact, ever since the beginning of this new series (with Smith's "Quiver"), there is an overwhelming sense of triumphant joy displayed throughout the storytelling. Perhaps this has to do with the very expressive art of Phil Hester and Ande Parks - who are soon turning to be the definitive G.A. artists of our generation. I admit that I wasn't immediately taken to their more "cartoonish" style since most of the great G.A. artists of the past employ a far more realistic art style; e.g. Neal Adams and Mike Grell.

The book also includes the full script to chapter one, a foreword by some senator and afterwords by Brad Meltzer and Greg Rucka along with the reproduced covers and some notes about the creation of those Matt Wagner painted covers.

Lastly, I'd like to say something about the current trends in comics-storytelling. In recent years, there seems to be a general aversion towards stories built over decades of continuity. The clearest representation of this are works of the Nu-Marvel folks - especially those involve in the "Ultimate" books. The reason is simple - books not-mired by continuity make easier "jump-on" points and thus the possibility of hooking new readers. Well, this Green Arrow story, along with those by Kevin Smith, are rooted in DECADES of continuity. And that's why is works! The storytelling acknowledges everything that came before - giving the characters of Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Dinah Lance, Connor Hawke, etc a surprising amount of depth and emotional realism - while reinterpreting these Silver Age characters with the more-informed complexities of our age. In my book, that's the meaning of "Ultimate" - not rootless but the genuine and best version of something. Take my challenge - give this book, "Green Arrow: The Archer's Quest" to anyone, any non-comic reader, and see his/her reaction. The high chance is that he/she may soon become a fan and start digging deeper to understand the history and background of it all. This is the Ultimate Green Arrow.

Rating:
Summary: The archer returns!
Review: This is a compilation of several issues of the Green Arrow comic book series. The thing that makes these particular issues special is the fact that it was written by Brad Meltzer ("The Millionaires", "The Zero Game", etc). This is one incredibly amazing book! Green Arrow has just come back from the dead (don't they all?) and now has some unfinished business to take care of. Along the way, we see the return of a grown-up Speedy (now Arsenal) helping GA collect artifacts from his life. Most are surprising, and a couple are very puzzling as to their meaning--until the end of the book. I don't want to go into details because that's part of what makes the story so great.

We get to see a new side of the Emerald Archer here too, with a return to the things of the past that can bring back some memories for those of us who read the old series and remember his original JLA days. At one point, he even takes on Solomon Grundy with nothing but his bare hands and two arrows (you've got to read it to believe it--it's incredible!). As an added bonus, you get the script to the first issue, as well as Brad's original pitch for the storyline (it's different from the book, and it's good that he improved on it for the actual series).

All in all, I can't recommend this one highly enough. It's got everything you could ever look for in a comic book story, including the most startling plot twist ending I've read in a long time. That one panel changes everything we've known about GA's past. You definitely want to read this one, and I hope Brad comes back again sometime to write a few more!

Rating:
Summary: Legends
Review: This is a fantastic rebirth of one of the all time greats by a writer who respected the legend while adding to it. The story transcends the expected, exploring the dynamic of father son relationships, and in a great twist, the "porn buddy" system that I first encoutnered in one of the funniest episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm ever. In essense, when a superhero dies, what dies he do to protect the ones he leaves behind: he gets someone to get rid of his "stash." This series of wonderfully drawn comics explores O. Queen as he retrieves what has been discarded. Plot doesn't really matter here, it's a wonderfully woven character peice that makes you laugh, and admittedly, tear up a bit. Get this, whether a seasoned comic lover or not. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Great graphic novel!!!!
Review: This is one of the best Green Arrow stories to date. Brad Meltzer really shows that he can write comics with the best of them and creates a great run of Green Arrow, which is collected here. A really fast read, as I read it in one sitting. Very good stuff.