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| [ SHOOTING FOR A SALE ] |
TO QUOTE Harry Belafonte: “I drag me belt from off me waist / You should hear them screaming round the place”.
THE REVIEW:
In just a few issues George has full-on become 'Ollie's dog'. Oliver has moved on from caretaker of the injured to a protective magic dog owner, and now he will fight any rag-tag gang of creepy-ass Bone Collectors who try and take his dog away. Good thing is, he always wears his Green Arrow jumpsuit under his flannel when out on a rainy date. And that belt with the Green Arrow buckle, ka-pow, that sucker sure comes in handy.
In his little monologue boxes, Oliver Queen is a deeply introspective, intelligent, and profound man, bordering on philosopher. When he opens his mouth, however, he's a stereotypical millionaire (he's not a billionaire anymore, right?) playboy, bordering on frat boy. Frankly, this is the most brilliantly written version of Oliver Queen I've ever read. Here's to hoping Benjamin Percy has a long and respected reign on this title.
Alright, I must admit, I am a bit biased. So if you're not in to non-powered vigilantes, with no superheroes on speed dial, but maybe a touch of the supernatural, then, well, this isn't your book. But if you like your comics rooted in a bit of realism with the occasional jaunt in to the otherworldly, then you're probably enjoying this story-arc as much as I am.
Half of our art team was swapped out this month, but the Zircher and Dallocchio combo have kept the tone set when Zircher worked with Fiorentino, which works as well in the dreary, rainy streets of Seattle, as it does on the desolate highway of southern New Mexico. Gabe Eltaeb even added some stylized color panels to the fight scenes at the beginning that echoed back to the style of Marcello Maioli, who colored Mister Queen's adventures back during Jeff Lemire's run. Maybe the Bone Collectors' jazz hands pose as they knocked the totem pole over was a little cheesy looking, but otherwise, the art in this issue was magnificently handled. I particularly liked the skull detail on the moths, and am very curious if they're intended to be an exaggerated representation of the Death's-head Hawkmoth, and thus a hint to the Bone Collectors' origins, or simply a spooky moth of their own.
Story-wise, this issue finds a nice balance, opening with the conclusion of the fight scene we left off on last month, and closing with Oliver and Catalina on a road trip to track down the Bone Collectors' prior crimes in Juárez, Chihuahua. You've got your action scenes, your research scenes, and in between we get a cut scene flashback to remind us of the events of the Sneak Peek that ran during Convergence and connects its final page to the Bone Collectors we were reintroduced to last issue.
With poet Oliver providing deep insight in to his enemy, himself, and his new found lady friend, in the monologue boxes throughout all three scenes of this issue, it really makes for a great read. It's a nice contrast to see Oliver's fear, concerns, self-doubt, and consideration of the scenario he finds himself in, compared to the cock-sure, judgmental, and oft times snarky monologue boxes over in a certain dark knight's comics. Oliver is not Batman -- and makes a point in this issue of proclaiming how he doesn't want to be -- but the comparison between DC's two most well known non-powered vigilantes with a lot of money is kind of unavoidable. Though once upon a time the distinction was made by leaning Oliver more towards the civic minded liberal approach to Bruce's more isolated conservative approach, in a continuity where Bruce is a bankrupt amnesiac volunteering at a community center for street kids, its nice to see Percy finding other ways to distinguish Oliver's path to keep the characters unique.
Half of our art team was swapped out this month, but the Zircher and Dallocchio combo have kept the tone set when Zircher worked with Fiorentino, which works as well in the dreary, rainy streets of Seattle, as it does on the desolate highway of southern New Mexico. Gabe Eltaeb even added some stylized color panels to the fight scenes at the beginning that echoed back to the style of Marcello Maioli, who colored Mister Queen's adventures back during Jeff Lemire's run. Maybe the Bone Collectors' jazz hands pose as they knocked the totem pole over was a little cheesy looking, but otherwise, the art in this issue was magnificently handled. I particularly liked the skull detail on the moths, and am very curious if they're intended to be an exaggerated representation of the Death's-head Hawkmoth, and thus a hint to the Bone Collectors' origins, or simply a spooky moth of their own.Story-wise, this issue finds a nice balance, opening with the conclusion of the fight scene we left off on last month, and closing with Oliver and Catalina on a road trip to track down the Bone Collectors' prior crimes in Juárez, Chihuahua. You've got your action scenes, your research scenes, and in between we get a cut scene flashback to remind us of the events of the Sneak Peek that ran during Convergence and connects its final page to the Bone Collectors we were reintroduced to last issue.
With poet Oliver providing deep insight in to his enemy, himself, and his new found lady friend, in the monologue boxes throughout all three scenes of this issue, it really makes for a great read. It's a nice contrast to see Oliver's fear, concerns, self-doubt, and consideration of the scenario he finds himself in, compared to the cock-sure, judgmental, and oft times snarky monologue boxes over in a certain dark knight's comics. Oliver is not Batman -- and makes a point in this issue of proclaiming how he doesn't want to be -- but the comparison between DC's two most well known non-powered vigilantes with a lot of money is kind of unavoidable. Though once upon a time the distinction was made by leaning Oliver more towards the civic minded liberal approach to Bruce's more isolated conservative approach, in a continuity where Bruce is a bankrupt amnesiac volunteering at a community center for street kids, its nice to see Percy finding other ways to distinguish Oliver's path to keep the characters unique.
On a more somber note, one can not help but wonder how fictionalized the DC Universe's Ciudad Juárez is going to be. Are we going to stick with a story about a weird Mayan magic bone cult destroying a city, either literally or symbolically, with their evil yet sufficiently fictional ways? Or are we going to get real and deal with Juárez's history of narcotic trafficking, cartels, political and police corruption, kidnapping, sexual assault, and femicide? While modern Juárez has technically improved over the past decade, it's still highly ranked as one of the worst murder rates per capita in the world. Will introducing the Bone Collectors as part of the equation be part of our story to bring the harsh realities of our world to the DCU version, perhaps as part of expanding Oliver's social conscience beyond the confines of Seattle? Will the presence of Green Arrow and Tarantula be compared to General Moreno's attempts at real world vigilantism? Time will tell...
THE MUSIC:
Now maybe it's the fact that I've been watching old horror movies all month. Or maybe its the tale of the Bone Collector, linking their modern quest for bones baring some sort of otherworldly power to ancient Mayan legends and gods, that got me thinking of a certain film about what happens when you build your house on an ancient Indian burial ground. I'm not really expecting their arrival in Juárez to be greeted by objects flying around the town without visible reason, but, I'm going to go enjoy another read-through of this issue while listening to the Theme from Poltergeist. I suggest you do the same.
THE MUSIC:
Now maybe it's the fact that I've been watching old horror movies all month. Or maybe its the tale of the Bone Collector, linking their modern quest for bones baring some sort of otherworldly power to ancient Mayan legends and gods, that got me thinking of a certain film about what happens when you build your house on an ancient Indian burial ground. I'm not really expecting their arrival in Juárez to be greeted by objects flying around the town without visible reason, but, I'm going to go enjoy another read-through of this issue while listening to the Theme from Poltergeist. I suggest you do the same.
Lets keep the theme going here. We started with George, a beast. We've had the blood, so much blood. We had some moths, or maybe locusts. There's clearly some snakes / serpents coming. The chances of hail in Juárez are probably pretty slim, but, I've seen the pattern. We've clearly got a ten plagues of Egypt vibe going on here. But less Biblical and with liberal poetic license applied. So we'll compare it to The Abominable Doctor Phibes. Carry on!
THE CONCLUSION:
We've got a pretty solid issue here. Bit by bit Percy is building up the Bone Collectors, giving us a mysterious menace that Oliver would probably bungle in to blindly without Catalina's assistance, but her guidance doesn't take over the story. Instead, her presence provides an opportunity to further develop the character of modern day Oliver in his own way, breaking away from some of the mess made prior to Percy's tenure without completely discarding it.
This is still relatively newbie hero Oliver, having grown significantly during the Outsiders War, but still not a master hero. He's got some celebrity in Seattle, but more as a symbol than from anything we've seen explicitly played out on page. We've seen him attempt to mend past relationships, with varying degrees of success. We've seen him choose his own path, rather than fall in with those who might try to choose a path for him. And we've seen him work with others as short or long term allies to a specific, agreed upon end. Yet I believe that this arc with Tarantula is the first time he's putting his faith in another, largely unknown to him, in order to battle something that he doesn't fully understand. This is the arc where Oliver learns what kind of hero he is now.
This is still relatively newbie hero Oliver, having grown significantly during the Outsiders War, but still not a master hero. He's got some celebrity in Seattle, but more as a symbol than from anything we've seen explicitly played out on page. We've seen him attempt to mend past relationships, with varying degrees of success. We've seen him choose his own path, rather than fall in with those who might try to choose a path for him. And we've seen him work with others as short or long term allies to a specific, agreed upon end. Yet I believe that this arc with Tarantula is the first time he's putting his faith in another, largely unknown to him, in order to battle something that he doesn't fully understand. This is the arc where Oliver learns what kind of hero he is now.
There's not a whole lot going on in this issue from a plot perspective. As mentioned previously, it's one part fight scene, one part flashback to a crime he wasn't there to stop, and one part vigilante road trip to Mexico. But it's that inner monologue that really sells this issue. The art is beautiful and the colors appropriately gloomy and spooky, but the superstar is the wordsmith. Thank you, Mister Percy.
But what shall out heroes do when they reach Juárez?
But what shall out heroes do when they reach Juárez?
- Kick Bone Collector ass. Take Bone Collector names. Repeat.
- Hit a local bar and get blitzed on cheap tequila.
- Don't even bat an eye if the eagle cries.
- Buy some cheap sombreros at a tourist shop and try to blend in with the locals.
- Get detained at the border due to all the weapons they're trying to bring in to Mexico. End series.
*** Just reading and writing and rambling in the back of the Joker's old Ho-Home-On-Wheels... Keath.
GREEN ARROW 45
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
November 03, 2015
Rating:
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
November 03, 2015
Rating:
