Green Arrow #14 review

What is Oliver Queen up to? He’s publicly allied himself with Suicide Squad chief turned dictator Amanda Waller, helping her oppress his fellow superheroes. He’s not out hunting heroes – the souped up Amazo androids are doing that – but he is passing on their secrets and cataloguing the weapons ‘The Wall’ has stolen from them.

So yes, what is he up to? I’ve seen arguments online that joining Waller isn’t out of character for Green Arrow as he’s been on the outs with his fellow heroes so many times, but come on, Waller isn’t just The Man, she’s the ultimate Man, authority writ Prometheum Giant large. Ollie cannot be on her side. Even his Waller colleagues don’t believe it.

But, this issue doesn’t give us any insight into his motivations – there are no thought balloons, no internal monologue. Bar a recap our title character is in just one scene, having a grumpy chat with the armoured goon Bright. Ollie makes the point that while Waller has the weapons, she doesn’t yet have all the people behind them, so can’t consider the fight over.

So that’s Oliver. Not giving me the answers I was hoping for. But do I care? Not really, because the rest of the issue is huge fun as Roy Harper leads the rest of the still-free Arrow Family on a special mission.

That’s an excellent idea, reminding us that despite not being an A-lister, Roy – whether going by Speedy, Red Arrow or Arsenal – is one of DC’s smartest, most experienced heroes.

Taking off in not one, not two but three Arrowplanes are Roy, his ex Jade; their daughter Lian; Ollie’s sister Emiko aka Red Arrow; Black Canary wannabe Red Canary; Speedy II Mia; Arrowette; and Ollie’s son Connor Hawke. What with his dad having gone rogue or undercover, Connor is rocking a new look and old name. For the second time, Connor is Green Arrow. And what an improvement the look is, I hate that stupid man-bun he’s now hiding under the hood.

Unfortunately, someone else has inherited it.

And Mia is questioning Connor’s life choices!

Thanks to the connections of one family member, the gang find longtime JLA enemy Professor Ivo, but he soon reminds them that Amazo wasn’t his only creation.

Oh wow! I never expected to see Twomorrow Woman again. If you’ve never read JLA #5 from the Nineties, it’s worth a look. Otherwise, just enjoy her appearance here.

Also enjoy the Ivomobile! Emiko’s feelings on Batman. Ollie’s building project. This is the best Green Arrow issue in a while, even if we do get yet another tedious reference to Nightwing’s very mundane bottom. Joshua Williamson’s script is peppy and smart, while the art from Amancay Nahuelpan and Sean Izaakse is crisp, with clear storytelling, expressive characters and big moments. The art really catches fire when Ivo’s lair is reached and breached, though there’s not a bad page. And the colours from Romulo Fajardo Jr are well chosen, dynamic even. Troy Peteri has fun with a couple of opportunities for display lettering.

And the cover…. it is terrific, the best Green Arrow image I’ve seen from Phil Hester, and Phil Hester has done a lot of great Green Arrow images. Working with Hester are regular inking partner Ande Parks and colorist Ryan Cody. The Absolute Power furniture clutters things up a tad, but the cover doesn’t suffer too much. It’s just a cool idea, excellently executed. And, weirdly, this is the first time I’ve ever noticed the massive great arrowhead in the logo, yet it’s been there since the start of this series. Blimey.

It’s safe to say, Green Arrow #14 hits the target.