Green Arrow #18 – Chris Condon, Writer; Montos, Artist; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: It’s a bold new era for Green Arrow, and it comes with the most dramatic creative shift possible. Josh Williamson’s family-focused epic superhero run has wrapped, and it’s time to switch over to a gritty noir run by indy sensation Chris Condon. Joined by acclaimed DC artist Montos, they’ve taken Ollie back to basics – he’s taking a break from the family and the League and holing up in a city called Freshwater, plagued with crime. When the issue opens, we see a kid discover…something horrific in a playground, tying into an environmental disaster that happened in the ironically named town long ago. But now, after foiling a robbery of desperation, Ollie’s investigating a murder – one where the victim seems to have drowned despite there only being a single jug of water in the residence. And pulling Ollie in further? The victim was someone he knew all too well.
Condon gets one thing right about Ollie right away – he’s a pain in the you-know-what. There are plenty of other heroes who fight for social causes, including both Supermen, but Ollie is the only one who wears his politics on his sleeve in both his guises. He’s usually right, but delivers his messages in an abrasive way that often wins him enemies. That’s exactly what happened with a powerful chemical corporation, one who had a Senator in its pocket – and now those same people are winding up dead. He’d be suspect #1 if he wasn’t investigating the case, and his quest pulls him quickly into the orbit of a Freshwater policewoman who is piecing the case together. It’s the kind of debut issue that’s definitely a slow burn, setting its tone and pace, but it’s got a great hook and a feel for the kind of gritty, haunting storytelling Condon is best known for. Can’t wait to see it all unfold.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
