Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Green Arrow #2 Review

    


Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Sean Izaakse
Colors by: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters by: Troy Peteri
Cover art by: Sean Izaakse, Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: May 23, 2023

Green Arrow #2 finds Roy and Dinah on the warpath to find the one person who knows what happened to Oliver and Lian - Amanda Waller. Meanwhile, Oliver and Lian try to settle into life in an alien world with a dangerous secret.
Is It Good?

Green Arrow #2 is good. Not as good as issue #1, but it's perfectly fine. That said, there are one or two spots that are cause for concern going forward. Let's get into it.

When last we left Roy Harper and his Earth-bound allies, they chased a lead as to Ollie's whereabouts to Gotham City, where Roy unexpectedly reunited with his now-alive daughter. Before father and daughter could catch up, Lian suddenly disappeared in a teleportation flash and reappeared on an alien world where Ollie has been surviving since his resurrection after the conclusion of the Dark Crisis.

Now, we see Ollie has taken up his vigilante ways in an alien city, with Lian stubbornly jumping in to help. Meanwhile, Roy gears up in a rage, with backup from Dinah, to hunt down Amanda Waller for answers. It's not 100% clear why Roy is so certain Waller's responsible for Ollie and Lian's disappearance, but facts aren't getting in the way of Roy's feelings. When Roy and Dinah storm Belle Reeve looking for Waller, Peacemaker is ready and waiting.

Ugh! More on that last bit in a minute.

There's a lot to like in this issue. I like Roy's understandably motivated rage to hunt down anyone with answers about his daughter. The archery action is top-notch. Ollie's snark, when he confronts an anthropomorphic cat/alien crime lord, is amusing. And for all you Dragonball fans out there, Ollie appears to have a connection at the Capsule Corporation (you'll know it when you read it).

There's fun adventure, excitement, and heart aplenty, so Williamson has prime ingredients for an enjoyable comic.




As mentioned previously, there are points of concern. First, Sean Izaakse's art is generally good, but the costumes look overdesigned and busy. Sometimes less is more, and simpler is best. Roy and Ollie's new outfits definitely fall into the "How many shapes and textures can I fit on a single human body?" category.

Second, Ollie has information surrounding his and Lian's displacement in an alien world that he's deliberately withholding from Lian, and she knows it. The "you're better off not knowing for your own good" trope has been done to death, and it falls flat, especially in situations like this one where it doesn't make sense.

Lastly, can we stop putting Peacemaker in every DC Comic? Yes, he's a breakout character from the second Suicide Squad film, but he's a weird character with niche appeal. Let's reserve Peacemaker for when it makes sense.


About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Green Arrow #2 is a generally good comic with great art, great action, emotional weight, and gobs of character motivation. However, issue #2 isn't as good as issue #1 for a few reasons - namely, over-designed costumes, over-used tropes, and yet another unnecessary appearance by Peacemaker.

7.5/10

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