The 'Green Arrow' comic gets revamped by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorentino

 Wanting to reinvigorate two heroes at the same time, DC Comics paired Green Arrow with his emerald ally Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) in a series appropriately titled Green Lantern/Green Arrow. Writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams tackled something in comics that was not seen up to that point, relevance. Green Arrow’s liberal crusader streak ran wild in the series that had the archer introduce the Lantern to cold facts about the world. From issues of race, drugs, and poverty the heroes tackled it all as they crisscrossed the country.  The stunning art and the real world themes endeared this series to readers. The stories made comics more than just entertainment by opening eyes to social issues that affect day to day lives. Much of Oliver Queen’s adventures as Green Arrow were seen as derivative of Batman’s gimmick. Outside of his Robin Hood look there was not much to distinguish Green Arrow from the protector of Gotham City. In The Brave and the Bold #85 (August-September 1969) that all changed. Bob Haney and Neal Adams took Green Arrow in a new direction. With a new look even more in line with Robin Hood’s and a new liberal attitude Green Arrow became a much more interesting character.  In More Fun Comics #73 published in 1941, Mort Weisenger and George Papp introduced the emerald archer Green Arrow. Billionaire Oliver Queen created many trick arrows and gadgets to become the super hero who looked like Robin Hood. With his sidekick Speedy, Green Arrow patrolled the streets of Star City. Green Arrow was the archery version of Batman. Where Batman had his Batcave, Green Arrow had his Arrowcave. Where Batman had the Batmobile, Green Arrow had his Arrowcar. Despite the similarities, Green Arrow was popular enough to survive the turbulent time for heroes of the 1950s and has been in near constant print for more than 70 years. Here is a look at many of the changes that Green Arrow has undergone throughout the decades.View the list »
The 'Green Arrow' comic gets revamped by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorentino

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The CW Network has a hit on its hand in the new series “Arrow”. The series based on the adventures of the DC Comics hero Green Arrow was recently renewed for a second season. The series has received praise for its depiction of Oliver “Ollie” Queen the spoiled billionaire turned vigilante.

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When “Arrow” debuted in October 2012 it received rave reviews, but fans wanting to follow the adventures into the comics were left with a subpar comic book that had little resemblance to the television series. Until now. . .

Green Arrow #17 takes the series in a much needed all-new direction from the previous 16 issues instilling much of the drama from the television series into the comics. New writer Jeff Lemire (Animal Man) and new artist Andrea Sorrentino (I, Vampire) bring life to the series.

The creative team is not mimicking the adventures from “Arrow” they are crafting a new tale that runs concurrent with the events on television.

Oliver Queen has been stripped of everything. The company he is heir too has been taken over by a rival. The friends that supported Ollie’s vigilante activity are taken from him. He is on his own facing new enemies without all the tricks and gadgets he relied heavily on.

Lemire takes Green Arrow back to his roots. By stripping him of all unnecessary gimmicks the writer has enhanced his appeal as a streetwise vigilante. He does not need the boxing glove arrow, the flare arrow, the harpoon arrow; all he needs is an arrow with a sharp point. When Green Arrow is at his best it is when he is shown as a great archer with a mission and that is something Lemire gets back to in this issue.

Sorrentino brings the darkness to the series with moody artwork that foreshadows the coming dread for the hero. Sorrentino uses attention-grabbing page layouts that lead your eye across the page. By using small panel insets the artist highlights key points in the narrative of the story that work to slow the pace heightening the suspense.

Green Arrow #17 makes the series accessible to anyone, new fans and old. It gets Green Arrow back on the track that has defined him for most of the past 70 years. Lemire and Sorrentino with their back to basics approach have made the Green Arrow comic a must read.

Check out the list for a look at some of the other interpretations of Green Arrow since he was introduced in 1941.

View the list
  •  In More Fun Comics #73 published in 1941, Mort Weisenger and George Papp introduced the emerald archer Green Arrow. Billionaire Oliver Queen created many trick arrows and gadgets to become the super hero who looked like Robin Hood. With his sidekick Speedy, Green Arrow patrolled the streets of Star City. Green Arrow was the archery version of Batman. Where Batman had his Batcave, Green Arrow had his Arrowcave. Where Batman had the Batmobile, Green Arrow had his Arrowcar. Despite the similarities, Green Arrow was popular enough to survive the turbulent time for heroes of the 1950s and has been in near constant print for more than 70 years. Here is a look at many of the changes that Green Arrow has undergone throughout the decades.
  •  Much of Oliver Queen’s adventures as Green Arrow were seen as derivative of Batman’s gimmick. Outside of his Robin Hood look there was not much to distinguish Green Arrow from the protector of Gotham City. In The Brave and the Bold #85 (August-September 1969) that all changed. Bob Haney and Neal Adams took Green Arrow in a new direction. With a new look even more in line with Robin Hood’s and a new liberal attitude Green Arrow became a much more interesting character. 
  •  Wanting to reinvigorate two heroes at the same time, DC Comics paired Green Arrow with his emerald ally Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) in a series appropriately titled Green Lantern/Green Arrow. Writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams tackled something in comics that was not seen up to that point, relevance. Green Arrow’s liberal crusader streak ran wild in the series that had the archer introduce the Lantern to cold facts about the world. From issues of race, drugs, and poverty the heroes tackled it all as they crisscrossed the country.  The stunning art and the real world themes endeared this series to readers. The stories made comics more than just entertainment by opening eyes to social issues that affect day to day lives.
  •  In Green Arrow: The Long Bow Hunters writer and artist Mike Grell brought grim and gritty reality to the Green Arrow character. A much darker tone was set than the one of the angry activist archer with a smart mouth. No longer patrolling Star City, Ollie moved to Seattle where he became more of an urban vigilante. The trick arrows were gone and the threats became much more real.This new direction for the hero proved to be quite popular in the era following the release of Watchmen when fans wanted their heroes to have a harder edge. The new Green Arrow series was launched and with Grell directing most of its 137 issue run it is the longest running Green Arrow series to date.
  • After the Mike Grell era came to an end DC Comics was sort of at a loss what to do with the character. It was the mid-1990s and DC Comics was in the habit of moving their established heroes to the sidelines and bringing in younger replacements.Green Arrow was no different. Oliver Queen was killed when a bomb exploded aboard a plane. His estranged son, Connor Hawke took up the mantle of Green Arrow. It was a brief era that saw a different take on the emerald archer. The series by writer Chuck Dixon and artist Rodolfo Damaggio had Connor participating in many adventures in all corners of the DC Universe before the series was cancelled.
  •  Oliver Queen’s son filled in admirably for Green Arrow but he was not the same. After the series focusing on Connor Hake ended, Green Arrow was removed from the DC landscape. In 2001, writer Kevin Smith and artist Phil Hester came onboard to create a new Green Arrow series. Their first goal was to return the archer to the land of the living. It was no small task since he had exploded aboard an airplane. Through DC Comics magic, the Spectre, who was Ollie’s best friend Hal Jordan, returned Green Arrow as the protector of Star City. Smith would write the series for 16 critically acclaimed issues and then passed the torch to writer Brad Meltzer who continued to rejuvenate the archer’s stories with Hester.
  •  Green Arrow is one to never settle down. He is a promiscuous hero who never met a woman he did not love. But there was always one love that stood out above the rest, Black Canary. Ollie Queen and Dinah Lance had numerous torrid love affairs and had been involved in some amazing capers. Ollie proved himself to Dinah as a changed man. When he proposed she knew he was ready for this commitment. The wedding was rushed and soon the two were co-headlining their own series. But tragedy interrupted their lives. When Green Arrow’s former sidekick Speedy turned against the heroes it had a profound effect on Green Arrow who made his adventures a one-man act again.
  • As part of the line wide revamp of all of their comics in September 2011, DC Comics restarted the adventures of Green Arrow. Much of the stories since his creation were wiped away and the character started fresh. Now a younger hero this Oliver Queen was the head of Q-Core a subsidiary of Queen Industries. Back living in Seattle, he is battling bad guys all over the world with the help of some trusted allies.The stories were uninteresting and failed to capture the audience’s attention despite some talented creators working on the series. The TV series “Arrow” launched and the comic paled in comparison. DC needed to do something to show why their archer was must read material.
  •  Writer Jeff Lemire and artist Andrea Sorentino have taken over the creative duties on Green Arrow with the 17th issue. Returning the character to a more grounded reality by stripping him of his support team, the comforts of running Q-Core and the crazy amount of money he has to finance his endeavors, Green Arrow is now just a man with a bow.One issue into the new series and already fans are going crazy with excitement. This is the archer they have longed for. Green Arrow #17 is a great action story where the character is once again a crusader for justice in a real world.
View the list

, Hollywood Comic Books Examiner

David Suiter, is an avid comic book fan since 1989. A collection in excess of 20,000 comic books. He loves the heroics and the splendor of the characters in an art form that is only restricted by the imagination.

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