Green Arrow #1

I'm going to make this clear: I have not read much Green Arrow. Maybe two issues in total. That being said, I really like what I have read, Ollie Queen seems like an awesome dude and I should read some Green Arrow. Somehow I just never got around to it. Also, on a sidenote, the idea for the Green Arrow movie, "Supermax" sounds really cool, where Ollie is stuck inside a Supermax prison with all the criminals he's put away, and he's trying to escape. They need to make that movie.

This comic has ups and downs. I'm going to start with the positives, the art is pretty darn good, Dan Jurgens has always been a solid artist so this is no surprise. Only issue is Ollie's facial scruff is inconsistent. I'm not sure where he was long sideburns, has short ones and is clean shaven, has a permanent five o'clock shadow, basically it looks different in every panel. If you can get past that, you're golden.

Also, the actions sequences are quite good as well. Green Arrow kicks absolute butt in this. He disposes the villains-of-the-week with relative ease and decent flair. His inner monologue is great too, writer J.T. Krul gives him a very jaded and spiteful attitude. It's clear that he despises those who uses their gifts for evil and to harm others rather than helping society.

However, I'm not so sure how well this issue kicks off as a new #1. We get a clear idea of the plotline for Oliver's business venture, and that's great. But Jax and Naomi are introduced, and they really weren't explained to well. We learn that Jax has some trepidation about designing weapons for Ollie, but that's about it. And until the end, we weren't given any idea of who the first nemesis is going to be (if it's the first group of people, wow that will suck).

In minutes he has a full goatee?

A little unshaven 5 o'clock shadow

There aren't many negatives though. I already addressed the inconsistent facial hair. But let's talk about the costume. Oh the costume. Here is two looks at it (see what I mean about the facial hair?)

This is how he's supposed to look (see below). The new guy is just some chump in a jacket, not the second coming of Robin Hood! Although I do like his belt buckle. But seriously that jacket, those boots and those massive wrist guards, they suck. Too 90's for me. If this were Connor Hawke, I'd dig it, but it's not.

What I enjoyed: Krul has done Oliver Queen before, so he has a good grasp on who Green Arrow is, which is half the battle sometimes with a C-List character like Green Arrow. This issue was fun, not real deep, but had some solid fighting in it.

What I didn't: Seriously, where's the mustache? And don't forget Dan Jurgens inability to draw consistent facial hair one panel to the next. Who exactly are Naomi and Jax? And i forgot, there was a cliffhanger at the end that tells us nothing. I'm not going to spoil it (usually I don't care, but it's the last friggin' page in the book) but when you do that, one of the two parties has to be an instantly recognizable face, who is that gang of misfits and why are they breaking one of the "villains of the week" out of jail?

Conclusion: I'll give it a 77/100(C+). It's nothing too special, but I do like Krul and his version of Oliver Queen makes me interested in his story at large.