Green Arrow: Straight Shooter
April 13, 2004 | Trades
Green Arrow: Straight Shooter
Judd Winick, Phil Hester, Ande Parks
DC Comics
$19.95/$12.95 US (Paperback)
**** (out of five)
Green Arrow’s life is one of excess.
The emerald archer goes from adventurous crime-fighting to the beds of beautiful women to fun with his family when things are going well, to having to take on a gang of three-ton ogres, being hunted by an assassin and getting crucified to a morgue floor when they’re bad.
Worst of all is that usually his flippant attitude and callous lack of self-control is the cause of all the bad stuff.
There are few characters that are such an interesting mix of nobility and depravity, but damn does it make for interesting reading.
Writer Judd Winick in this volume brings the adventures of Green Arrow (Ollie Queen to his friends) to the pages and he really nails the essence of the character.
Ollie is a lech, a rogue, an obnoxious loudmouth, a thoughtless heel and a dozen more negative things. He cheats on his girlfriend, he lies to his kids, he fights dirty and still he’s the hero.
In spite of all these negatives Ollie still carries the nobility of trying to help the people of his city, picking fights with the bad guys, who can clearly kick his middle-aged butt, and more often than not, trying to do the right thing at the expense of his blood and bones.
There may have been fears that after Hollywood director Kevin Smith brought Ollie back to a monthly book three years ago and New York Times best-selling author Brad Meltzer picked up, then quickly dropped, the reigns of this title that wouldn’t be the same.
Straight Shooter shows Green Arrow is in good hands.
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