On the Panel – Green Arrow
#Issue 36
I reviewed the first part of this story when it came out and thought this one was strong enough to talk about. Comic book Oliver Queen meet a Felicity Smoak that fans of the show will find similar yet different.
This story uses the introduction to two supporting characters to move itself forward and does this really well. Felicity and Mia fit in well to this comic, each having some really snappily written dialogue that really is entertaining to read. I don’t know what the tone was prior to these two issues but I really like how lighthearted it is. My experience of Oliver Queen in earlier comics as well as the Justice League Unlimited cartoon and to an extent Smallville was a man who doesn’t take things too seriously and always has something sarcastic to say. In many ways he was something of the anti-Batman so it’s nice to see that here and have that reflected in the strong supporting cast.
Felicity’s dialogue is very reminiscent of things she would say in the TV show which isn’t surprising given that Andrew Kreisberg and Ben Sokolowski are involved and they write the show. She does differ from the Felicity fans will know in that she is a little darker and far more assertive. She is confident about her skills and generally has a more imposing personality. Her motormouth tendencies are thankfully intact and I like that she’s one step ahead of Oliver and Diggle. She also seems to be hiding a streak of morality behind a mercenary veneer which prevents her from killing Oliver despite being paid to do it.
There’s something of a back to basics vibe in these two issues. It seems that the Green Arrow series is moving towards a simple setup that just has Oliver with a small supporting cast trying to do good things in Star City. This is really refreshing and I hope things continue like this. Comics do really need more tightly focused character stories where the stakes aren’t off the charts. I’m much more attracted to personal stakes so these types of stories really work for me.
Overall
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8.5/10
Summary
A really entertaining read with a fresh take on a fan favourite TV character. There’s just enough familiarity with the TV show for readers who are looking for more Oliver Queen in their lives to pick this up and feel at home.
This comic benefits from a strong supporting cast backing up Oliver in an organic way. The focus is kept tightly on Oliver and his team and the dialogue is snappily written with some great interactions between the characters. I like how the stakes feel smaller scale yet major enough to challenge the characters.