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TO QUOTE Robert Lowell: “If we can see light at the end of the tunnel / It’s the light of the oncoming train.”
THE REVIEW:
After reading issues 9 and 10 of Green Arrow, I now know that Island of Scars Scar Island
While these two issues did help aid in the progression
of the Green Arrow saga, and is full of magnificent art from two very talented
artists (though stylistically very different artists), the big moment for many long
time Green Arrow fans (or even recent recruits by way of a certain television
program) may well be the triumphant return of Eddie Fyers. If I recall correctly, we have not seen Mister Fyers since Flashpoint, so unlike the growing laundry list of
unexplained retcons since Rebirth, his apparently erased history is not
part of the Rebirth shuffle. But
Oliver Queen clearly recognizes him.
Combined with the throwaway “I know this all too well” comment when
Oliver and Dinah first find the Scar Island poppy fields, this implies that Andy
Diggle and Jock’s Green Arrow
Year One is at least partially in canon for the Rebirth retconned
origins of Oliver Queen. Or alternatively, these
hints could be referencing something completely unrelated that Ben Percy
has not yet revealed to us.
My only complaint about the
(re)introduction of Eddie Fyers, is that Juan Ferreyra’s art, though
amazing, is also very distinctive, so the mustachioed redhead psychopath Eddie ends up resembling [Spoiler Alert: If you’re not up to date
on your pre-Rebirth Squad goals…. that’s a thing, right? Squad goals?
As it references your goal of reading the Suicide Squad book,
right? I think that’s right. Anyway, you’ve had enough warning of spoilers
in the middle of this sentence, if you haven’t skipped to the next paragraph by
now it’s your own damn fault] Die Faust der Kain’s late leader, Adam
Reed (whom I believe Ferreyra is co-creator of, along with Tim Seeley
when he took over the writing duties on New Suicide Squad). If only we could get a story where the two of
them teamed up! Heck, if Diablo’s
inexplicably back from hell, I don’t see why not. I’ll add it to my request list.
Though that’s not really much of a
complaint, now is it?
But overall, I think I enjoyed the Murder
on the Empire Express story a bit more than the closing chapter of Island of
Scars, even though both of them were thoroughly enjoyable.
And the artist pairings worked great in both contexts. Byrne’s expressive, almost anime-style
faces are the perfect accompaniment as we bounce back and forth between the
split team to learn both sides of the same insane backstory. Percy does a great job of building an
instantly lovable character in Ata, whom we quickly piece together with
the previously introduced Ana, even before she states it overtly to John. Fortunately, Byrne’s art style manages to
work wonderfully when rendering robot guard bears, The Burned, and
raging explosive fires as well.
The transition to Ferreyra’s style
as the team boards the train works magnificently. The bold, hyper-real coloring technique is
similar enough between the artists to feel natural, taking into account that Ferreyra’s bright,
heavy lines bring detail to the characters while allowing plenty of room to compensate for the
motion and speed of the train in contrast with the relative calm inside it (until
the inevitable fisticuffs and arrows break out). This also acts as a constant
reminder of the fact that they are in an underwater transpacific tunnel. Even in the wide shots, composed to show the
train zooming along with heroes running along the top or dangling off the side,
he manages to ensure details of the characters where many artists would
simplify and abstract their work. Both
Byrne’s firefight and Ferreyra’s great train adventure felt like an action
movie busted out in the pages of a comic book.
Quickly moving onto the story side of
things, and I must say that I'm really enjoying Percy’s representation of
Oliver Queen (and pals) as a well intentioned but ultimately flawed
character. Despite different levels of
quality in story since Flashpoint, the one constant in Oliver has been
that he’s trying to be a hero despite not being very good at it. He stumbles, he falls, he learns, and he
grows. He doesn’t retread the same
mistakes, but rather thinks he has a handle on things -- thinks he can manage on
his own without calling for help, but still relies on friends. He won’t call in the Justice League, but
he’s slowly learning to treat those he previously might have characterized as
his subordinates as his equal. Dinah
definitely helps in that growth, whilst John helps to keep him in check as
well. And yet he still manages to burn
bridges (no pun intended) with Ata and Ana before we even learn the name of
their tribe. I hope he hasn’t made himself
an all new enemy (On second thoughts, no, as a reader, I really do hope that he’s
made a new enemy.)
My only confusion in this pair of “all is
revealed” issues is about Oliver’s apparent ignorance of the Trans-Pacific
Railroad. When he first learned of
it, it seemed to be completely new to him.
Now we learn that it’s not a secret project undertaken by the
THE MUSIC:
You can practically hear it echoing through
the more than 5700 miles of underwater tunnel as Dinah yells for them to hurry,
John dangles from the side, and Ollie rushes to catch the tail end of the
technological marvel that is the Empire Express. In fact, I kind of like the idea of Dinah’s
ineffective Canary Cry being more of a lightly weaponized version of the
“I – I – I – I” yelp in Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train.
Was that 'Too on the nose', you say? 'Nay', says I. There’s the whole theme of inheriting other people’s problems and taking the unsolicited advise from unqualified sources as you try to steer your life; pretty much how Oliver Queen sees himself.
Was that 'Too on the nose', you say? 'Nay', says I. There’s the whole theme of inheriting other people’s problems and taking the unsolicited advise from unqualified sources as you try to steer your life; pretty much how Oliver Queen sees himself.
Without looking at the picture provided, can you guess what book the following quote
is from? “Now it is well known that when there are many of these flowers
together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep,
and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps
on and on forever. But Dorothy did not know this, nor could she get away from
the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently her eyes grew
heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep.”
Although the discovery of the Ninth Circle
THE CONCLUSION:
Bonus points for the boxing glove arrow, folks. It was a little bit of a let-down, using almost the same gimmick that they used on the Arrow TV show to bring the classic to life. However, it was a very refreshing moment to have a little glimpse of the Green Arrow of yesteryear in our modern story arc that has little need for shooting things with arrows and has overtly removed both Henry Fyff’s gadgetry and Oliver’s budget from the equation. (Though it's not so much a "silencer" as a "less-painful-ener"...)
Bonus points for the boxing glove arrow, folks. It was a little bit of a let-down, using almost the same gimmick that they used on the Arrow TV show to bring the classic to life. However, it was a very refreshing moment to have a little glimpse of the Green Arrow of yesteryear in our modern story arc that has little need for shooting things with arrows and has overtly removed both Henry Fyff’s gadgetry and Oliver’s budget from the equation. (Though it's not so much a "silencer" as a "less-painful-ener"...)
I’m very glad to hear that “the Ninth Circle Scar Island Ninth
Circle
You write in a writer cave, right Mr
Percy? Right?
*** Just reading and writing and rambling in the back of the Joker's old Ho-Home-On-Wheels... Keath.
GREEN ARROW #9 & #10
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
November 22, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by David Andrews
on
November 22, 2016
Rating:
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