Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Phil Hester, Eric Gapstur, 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 29,8, 2024
Green Arrow #12 brings the series to a close (not really) with lots of hugs, family time on the beach, and the looming shadow of Absolute Power on the horizon.
Is Green Arrow #12 Good?
When last we left the Emerald Archer and his extended family in Green Arrow #11, they narrowly escaped the hard light construct version of the Justice League in an abandoned JL base while stealing the Sanctuary files from Amanda Waller. The Waller problem wasn't addressed, but the family is now together again. Later, Waller zaps Ollie away to a future with Malcolm Merlyn to get his revenge, but the perennial archvillain is waiting with a group of hard-light versions of the Arrow Family to attack.
In Green Arrow #12, Ollie fights against the Faux Arrows, but the odds are too overwhelming. But Ollie has an ace up his sleeve and activates a switch that teleports the real Arrow Family to his location. The fight is over before it's begun.
In the end, Ollie stands alone against Merlyn for one final shot. Merlyn shoots an arrow that scratches Ollie's cheek. Ollie shoots an arrow that nails Merlyn in the forehead with a taser shot. Diggle teleports to their location to cart Merlyn to jail.
With the immediate business wrapped up, Ollie teleports the Arrow Family to Starfish Island, aka Lian Yu, for five pages of beach volleyball and feel-good smiles.
If you're wondering why this was the end but isn't, this issue ends the 12-issue run, and the ending acts as a definitive capper, but it looks like the series will continue to act as a prelude/build-up vehicle for Absolute Power. Therefore, the series is ongoing but in a filler capacity.
What's great about Green Arrow #12? Williamson's feel-good moments deliver as promised. Considering the cascade of forces keeping the family apart, it's nice to see them back together enjoying family time, especially Roy and Lian.
What's not so great about Green Arrow #12? For all the build-up and mystery surrounding the first half of the arc, Merlyn's defeat and capture come off as a rushed afterthought. You get the impression Williamson was told to wrap it up quickly, and it reads that way.
Plus, Waller's scheme to get her hands on the Sanctuary mask isn't something that should be treated with a lack of urgency, which it is here. Further, I doubt Waller would simply sit around and wait for the family vacation to end before claiming the mask. This entire issue screams "rush job," which, unfortunately, bolsters Williamson's rep as a writer who can't stick the landing.
How's the Art? Hester, Gapstur, and Izaakse do a fine job combining their distinctive styles in a way that makes sense. Hester's art in a flashback to Ollie's early days on Starfish Island, for example, feels different than the Hard Light battle, but the separation of timelines and tones works. Normally, multiple artists on a single issue is a red flag, but it's not a problem here.
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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Final Thoughts
Green Arrow #12 wraps up the arc and the series by transitioning into a bridge that serves as a prelude to Absolute power. The multiple artists find a way to get their distinctive styles to complement each other, and Williamson's feel-good ending pulls at the heartstrings, but the final conflict against Merlyn feels rushed and lame, turning what should be a climactic finale into a semi-filler.
5.8/10
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This issue and this whole series is ridiculous. I said why exactly in previous months' reviews (very extensively if you want to read them sorry lol) so I will just say that this ended as bad as it was set up in the first place and made as much sense which is none (exactlythe same problems it had in previous issues). The reunion moments after were the most ridiculous bits, every character stripped of their individual personalities, their unique connections to each other, how would each of them deal with their strange new situation just to get a badly colored garish beach holiday moment, nothing about it being about the Arrow family themselves, just a generic setting that looks like an advertisement or something and the reunion was supposed to be the part selling this book to readers! ( conveniently this kind of writing for family moments makes it that the writers or editors don't have to know anything about the individual characters, their history and their place in the family, how would they talk to each other, what they would like to do in their free time etc etc, just slap a a big gathering at the dinner table or at the beach or park or whatever scene in the comic, that means the family is fine and back together right? We don't have to do any other work for these characters to be introduced and properly set up this way right? Just draw them in their coloful costumes, the fans are so tired of the badly written edgy series that they would take any kind of color and writing culminating in a reunion of any kind over those comics, we won't even need a plot) I don't understand how this gets as high scores as it gets when it is at most between a 4 or 5 if being overly generous whoch it doesn't deserve so I will give it 3. Again, Williamson used to write better but I feel like they just give him these series at the same time and he didn't have an idea for most of them just wrote it cause they handed it to him as opposed to having a pitch himself ( GA and Batman and Robin which is even worse)
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