Reviewer: Ben Morse
Story Title: “City Walls pt. 3: Captive Audienceâ€
Written by: Judd Winick
Penciled by: Phil Hester
Inked by: Andre Parks
Colored by: Guy Major
Lettered by: Willie Schubert
Editor: Bob Schreck
Publisher: DC Comics
I’ve enjoyed Judd Winick’s run on Green Arrow so far; he knows how to write a good Oliver Queen and he’s made life interesting for the Emerald Archer and his supporting cast. His first story arc, “Straight Shooter,†worked very well, even over six issues, because every issue had a lot going on, both physically (Constantine Drakon was a bad-ass villain) and emotionally (moral dilemmas galore).
Winick’s second arc, “City Walls,†has been good so far, but it starts to show signs of weakness with this third installment. For one thing, I won’t spoil it, but there’s a turn of events in this issue that leads to the villainous aspect of the equation bearing a bit too much resemblence to the secondary antagonists of “Straight Shooter,†but that’s not really my problem (it may be next issue). No, my problem lies in the fact that this is too much a transition issue, advancing the main plot along, but not in a surprising or compelling way. This issue is a text book example of the problems my friend and colleague Tim Stevens has with so-called “compressed storytelling,†stories being six issues long so they fit better in trade paperbacks, not because the storyline necessitates it.
I liked the first and second parts of “City Walls†a lot almost because the conflict with the principal villain wasn’t the main focus, much as it wasn’t in the early chapters of “Straight Shooter;†the villain (Constantine Drakon in the previous storyline, The Riddler and his cronies here) was up to something, making overtures in the background, but Ollie was sorting out his nightmare of a personal life. When Ollie finally comes face to fist with the villain, there’s been a nice buildup and the confrontation has a special feel to it, there was no dead air in between because you were as interested in Ollie cheating on Dinah or apologizing to Mia as you were with what was to come; this issue was the dead air. Ollie and Connor running around with no idea what’s going on, no supporting cast, nothing but plot advancement spread over one issue that could have been done in three pages last issue and three pages next.
I’m also not a huge fan of how The Riddler comes off in this issue. Jeph Loeb did a good job in just one issue of Batman of advancing The Riddler from the also ran loser spot he’s occupied for decades to a newly dangerous and captivating villain. Winick looked like he was keeping it up last issue, painting The Riddler as a quirky but stone cold psychopath who had a flair for theatrics, but was also dangerous and knew what he was doing. This issue, The Riddler loses his footing, and while I’m all for taking the plot in unexpected directions, I think the portrayal of The Riddler here is dangerous in that it could undo some really good work.
Despite it all, this really isn’t a bad issue, it’s just not a spectacular one; more than that, it’s an unnecessary issue. Regular readers of the title can probably overlook this issue, even if it is more or less a waste of $2.50, but if any new reader bought Green Arrow #36, I highly doubt he or she would feel compelled to run out and pick up any other issues. This issue will fit nicely into a trade paperback, but it falls pretty flat, though no lower than that, on its own.
