Green Arrow #5 cover, via DC Comics.
Green Arrow #5 — Joshua Williamson, Writer; Sean Izaakse, Phil Hester/Ande Parks; Artists; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray — 9/10
Ray: Where is Green Arrow? When is Green Arrow? And most importantly, who is Green Arrow? All these questions have bounced around the first four issues of this fascinating series, and this issue lays a lot of them bare — with a visual callback to the character’s most iconic modern art team. When we last left off, Ollie had been tossed through time again thanks to a battle with Parallax — the twisted version of his best friend Hal Jordan. He wound up in the far future with a grizzled, scarred version of himself. As they escape from mutants in a destroyed world where they’re the last hero standing, the old man tries to convince Ollie that this is all his fault and he needs to go into exile, fulfilling the plan of Parallax. It’s very convincing — but not convincing enough, as Ollie sees through it and reveals the false Ollie’s true nature. And that leads to a fascinating question — who is Ollie’s arch-nemesis?
Time-split. Via DC Comics.
Green Arrow does not have the rogues gallery of other DC heroes, but he does have some key enemies — but none of them match up with what we see here. And there’s no time to dwell on it, as Ollie winds up in the days right after he returned from the dead — complete with art by Phil Hester and Ande Parks, which does an amazing job of returning us to the feel of those exciting comics by Kevin Smith, Brad Meltzer, and Judd Winick. We get some other interesting subplots this issue, including a great scene between Cheshire and Roy Harper that sheds a little light on Lian and her story, as well as on Amanda Waller’s larger plan. But the main story moves so fast and furious, in an almost disorienting manner, that we are kept firmly grounded in Ollie’s story as he races through time. This is probably the most cosmic and epic GA story of all time, and it’s a testament to the creative team that it works so well.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
