Writer: Joshua Williamson
Art: Sean Izaakse, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Troy Peteri
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: June 27th, 2023
Arsenal and Black Canary versus Peacemaker and the new Peacewrecker! While Arsenal and Black Canary’s quest for answers has sent them into danger, Green Arrow is lost in time and space—but at least he’s not alone now. Two members of the Green Arrow family join Oliver Queen in the last place you’d expect as Green Arrow #3 by Joshua Williamson continues to unfold.
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THE DISPATCH
Ollie and Lian head to the future while Roy and Dinah take on Peacemaker in the Present as they search for answers in this week’s Green Arrow #3. The focus of the opening pages was mainly on a silly accuracy contest to add some subtle humor into the narrative. It was ultimately unnecessary and condensed a battle that was set up from the cliffhanger making the Roy-Dinah angle almost pointless.
Nevertheless, we flash forward to the future with Ollie and Lian where we “partially” discover a hint as to what Ollie was doing in the future and why. There is this big reveal that sets the stage for a huge disaster yet to come. And for some magical reason, the Queen’s needs to be apart. Now, the how and the why are left open-ended for us to discover. That said, even if we were given the exacts, I don’t know if this plot thread packs enough of a punch to really keep this story together. Granted, the cliffhanger has some weight to it. But, will Williamson iron it out or is it mainly just for show?
ART
The covers are of course amazing and the splash pages are impressive. When Izaakse has room to draw, he sets the tone well. You can feel the emotionson each splash page. However, the jagged panel design mixed with some of the jam-packed character cameos made for some crammed pages at times. Nevertheless, the action sequences, vibrant color choices, and background drop out within those very same sequences made for a rather vigorous issue.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Green Arrow #3 provides fans with some subtle direction but limits its potential by leaving out too many key components to the story. Why should we care about future “bad” events when we don’t know what they are, how bad they are, how they are caused, and specifically who caused them? It’s too vague and too open-ended for anyone to grab onto. Therefore, it’s hard to get behind this story and become invested.
Additionally, we don’t know necessarily how and why Waller is involved nor do we know how and why Ollie jumps to where he does. There are simply too many moving pieces without specific answers to make Green Arrow #3 a viable story. Who’s the antagonist? Well… we don’t know. What are we trying to stop from happening? Well… we don’t know. Why exactly are we jumping through time? Well… we don’t know. Readers, you need direction in a story and we simply don’t have it. Three issues in… come on. I hate to say it, but if this story doesn’t turn around quickly, this Green Arrow rival will be short-lived. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!