Before I review Green Arrow #1, I should probably say that I haven’t read a whole lot of Green Arrow in the past. It wasn’t a book that ever really drew me in, though I will admit to having liked character in various other books I’ve read him in, just not enough to delve into his various series. After the events of Justice League: Cry For Justice and The Rise and Fall Special, I decided that, with a new number one, this might be a more accessible time to break into the series. To be clear, I also have to say that I am not one of the seemingly rare fans of Cry for Justice and the events that have spun out of it. I personally found it a terrible series that was unnecessarily violent and butchered many characters (some literally). However, I didn’t want this to stop me from checking out Green Arrow #1, as I help out hope that maybe J.T. Krul would be able to do more justice (no pun intended) for the character with a new status quo.
In that regard, I’ll just say that Krul is making some progress. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a good book, but it is improving. This is a relatively easy entry point for character of Green Arrow, provided you know of the events of Cry for Justice and the Star City Forest growth in Brightest Day. Green Arrow has taken up residence in the forest as its “Robin Hood,” something Krul’s script is not willing to let you forget as there a frequent references to this, some even straight up calling Ollie such. It’s kind of a tired comparison and it is entirely overplayed here.
However, I could overlook that in the face of a truly good story. Though this story lacks much originality, it has some promise to become entertaining and for some reason, I have an interest in the new owner of Oliver Queen’s old company. What I couldn’t get past though was the unnecessary violence used especially in the early pages. I understand that Green Arrow has gone through a traumatic experience and is re-hauling his methods but his violence seemed out of place and there was no need for anyone’s nose ring to get shot off with an arrow. It came off as violence for violence’s sake and ultimately detracted from the book.
As much as I disliked the violence, I found myself, for the most part, enjoying the art. Diogenes Neves art style reminds me of a cross between Rags Morales and Scott Kolins and that is not necessarily a bad thing. It seems significantly more detailed at times than others and this can be a little disarming, but overall his art, aside for the blood, is fairly enjoyable.
As I said at the beginning, Green Arrow is not a good book, but it also wasn’t a terrible one. There is potential in the story and the art is likeable so I plan to continue following the book for at least the next few months as it could prove to be an entertaining read. The more Krul can distance himself from Cry for Justice the better and he certainly seems to be improving this regard. If he could tone down the violence and the sometimes extreme portrayal Green Arrow himself, Krul could turn this book around and make it a good book.
Overall Score: 6.0/10
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