20 April 2010

Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Star City, Part XVII: Green Arrow: Year One

Comic hardcover, 152 pages
Published 2008 (contents: 2007)

Borrowed from the library
Read March 2010
Green Arrow: Year One

Writer: Andy Diggle
Artist: Jock
Colorist: David Baron
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher

The latest version of Green Arrow's origin sees billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, always looking for something to fill his empty life, dumped off the side of his yacht by his conniving chief of security. Andy Diggle has a good grasp of Oliver, showing his evolution for layabout to man-with-a-mission very well, yet also showing that (in the best heroic tradition) Oliver was Green Arrow all along. The plot is decent, though uncomplicated-- but when were origin stories ever about plot? China White is a great villain in name and visual appearance, but uninteresting in actual execution.

What really takes this story from above average to excellent is the artwork by the oddly-named Jock, who succeeds in communicating the intensity of Oliver's experiences time and again, and in realizing Diggle's script with ease. David Baron's colors are also fantastic. By the end of this story, you believe that Oliver Queen is ready to return to civilization and kick some butt in Star City.

I do want to know how Green Arrow makes the transition from jungle fighter to street patroller, which is just as potentially interesting as this, but that story seems to have never been told, at least not in the modern continuity.

No comments:

Post a Comment