Green Arrow #30 Review

Reviewer: “Starman” Matt Morrison
Story Title: Loose Ends

Written by: Judd Winick
Penciled by: Phil Hester
Inked by: Ande Parks
Colored by: Guy Major
Lettered by: Sean Konot
Editor: Bob Schreck
Publisher: DC Comics

Regular readers of my writings may recall that I’ve had… words about Judd Winick’s handling of the character of Oliver Queen in the past few issues. (See this past Looking to the Stars for the original comments!) Specifically, how Oliver has been handled in regards to his fidelity to Dinah Lance or lack thereof. As I pointed out, they never have said exactly where the two stand right now… until this issue, where it is confirmed that Ollie and Dinah were “together”. At least, together enough for Connor and Mia to give Oliver the sharp tongue and cold shoulder respectively.

Now this is a major sticking point with me as well as a lot of other Green Arrow fans, who will tell you that while Oliver Queen is a flirt and has Italian eyes (they’re always roman!), he will never actual act on any suggestive remark he makes. (Again, read THIS Looking to the Stars for the complete history of why Oliver Queen ISN’T a cheating scum bag.)

The sad thing is that aside from that one point, the writing on the book has been good. The action scenes are good, as Oliver has to fight an entire army of the odd troll creatures besieging his city. The wise-cracking dialogue and sarcastic internal monologue are spot-on (“Being first doesn’t exactly count… not when you’re out-numbered twenty-to-one and your adversaries can throw cars one-handed”). And yet… there it sits. Oliver Queen is perfect when Winick is writing the heroic man of action… but totally misses the mark when written as a father, lover and person.

Sadly, judging by the end of this issue it looks as if Winick is going to take the easy way out in dealing with the issues that Ollie’s affair has raised and that all the consequences of it will be ignored or… God willing, retroactively removed from continuity when the next writer comes onto this title like when Winick took over from Meltzer.

Still, Hester and Parks continue to do an excellent job on the art. The shadows project outward, giving the whole book a film-noir feel without being heavily inked or overly dark. Indeed, Parks inks barely cover Hester’s pencils at all… except to bring out the shadows.
In closing, I think it best to end with two quotes that best sum up my feelings about why I’ve not been enjoying Green Arrow lately. One is from a fictional character; the other from the reviews section at The Green Arrow Fansite.

“That pisses me off! I can’t help it! I wish I could shrug it off, but I can’t! …Why do you pull crap like this?” – Connor Hawke

“I like the way Judd Winick writes. I just don’t like what he writes.” – Jayme Lynn Blaschke