Its time again for another Weekly Comics Hype. Im doing these alphabetically, but skipping around a bit, and today begins three weeks of green. Kevin Smith found an excellent outlet for his creativity when he took the reins of a revamped, relaunched Green Arrow title in 2001. The character of Oliver Queen, a loudmouthed uber-liberal with a sideline in conspiracy theories and distrust for many of his fellow heroes, was a perfect mouthpiece for Smith, and while his fifteen-month run on the title was certainly flawed, it made for great reading.
Smiths run on the book, collected in two volumes, is not among the most newbie-friendly titles Ive recommended because the character of Green Arrow has a long and burdensomely complicated backstory. Quiver, which is collected in volume one, was originally serialized in ten parts and addresses some of this, but while its much more entertaining than, say, Mallrats, I can imagine a Kevin Smith fan who doesnt know comics very well being more than a little confused by the very intricate story, which mingles its way through dozens of other characters in search of a plot.
Volume two, Sounds of Violence, collects the last five months of Smiths run, effectively a one-part story and a pair of two-parters with a running subplot through them. This is much more user-friendly and contained. In order, it concerns Ollie Queens new emphasis on the family hes picked up, his desire to patch things up with the great love of his life, and a battle with a sound-obsessed serial killer called Onomatopoeia. This last story is downright excellent. Phil Hester, whose pacing and character designs are simply wonderful, really turns the desperate fight in a hospital into a page-turning thrill. As a film director, Smith has, not unjustly, been criticized for being too static, and more interested in dialogue than action. If he were to film a sequence as cool as this, those criticisms would vanish overnight.
The Green Arrow title has continued with other creative teams since Smiths 15-month run. Brad Meltzer contributed The Archers Quest, collected in the third volume, before Judd Winick took over. I havent read these, but Ive heard good things about them
Volumes 1 and 2 of Green Arrow are in print and available from most retailers. Your local comic shop would enjoy your custom; new books ship each Wednesday, so why not stop in to Great Escape after work tonight?