Writer: Joshua Williamson
Art: Sean Izaakse, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Troy Peteri
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 23rd, 2023
Green Arrow is alive…but where the hell is he?! That’s what Roy Harper and Black Canary want to know, and their search takes them into the bowels of Belle Reve. But they’d better hurry—the stranded Oliver Queen and another lost member of the Green Arrow family are both being hunted by a brand-new villain called…Troublemaker. Let’s dive into Green Arrow #2 by Joshua Williamson to see how this issue shakes out.
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THE DISPATCH
Green Arrow #2 opens with our direction finally on… the Green Arrow. We see him off-planet, fighting crime, and taking names regardless of where he’s located. Even if it’s the far reaches of space, Ollie stands up for the little guy. It’s his M.O. and Williamson sets up that story beat flawlessly for new readers. Truthfully, what we got is Green Arrow on an alien world. That’s basically the foundation as we get started. How and why he got there is still up for debate. But it now being two issues in, it’s not completely straightforward quite yet.
Additionally, for the diehard Green Arrow fans, we get the chili back in full effect as well. Williamson takes a swing at incorporating even more characteristics of GA, however, it just doesn’t seem to land very well nor does it flow all too well with the story. Moreover, the story itself picks up quickly moving our heroes immediately away from the setting we quickly learned about which seemed a bit ridiculous and wasteful of page count. Why take the time to get to know any of the characters on this planet if we’re already moving away from them?
Plus, we panel back to Roy and Black Canary to see what’s going on with them… which is fine. However, they’re branching out because they think Waller has something to do with it. Yet, nothing was explained as to why they think Waller “could” be responsible. Ultimately, Williamson spices up Green Arrow #2 with a bit more action thanks to this amazing artistic team but it’s almost all insignificant before the issue concludes. The Roy/ Canary angle seems foolish and we end the issue not knowing where GA is heading. Therefore, readers find themselves two issues in none the wiser with little direction and little answers to boot. Sure, we get more Ollie but all it appears to be is airtime and nothing substantial.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Green Arrow #2 provides more action and focus on Oliver, some subtle characteristics that we’ve missed from the character, and a semi-direction for Roy and Dinah while incorporating some tremendous art by Izaakse. However, Williamson spends too much time on an alien planet that we may never see again, chili humor, and a cliffhanger setup that wasn’t that big of deal. How and why the heroes are searching for Waller remains a mystery as well as why Green Arrow and his family are being teleported all over the place.
Sure, it’s still incredibly early in the story to get all our answers. However, some direction or story nuggets need to be addressed in order to keep fans locked into the story. Truthfully, it’s not a bad start, however, it could be a bit better. Right now, I think fans are still just riding high on the fumes of a revitalized Green Arrow title. Nevertheless, those fumes can only last so long before fans are going to need something a bit more substantial to sink their teeth into. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!