Green Arrow #21 – Chris Condon, Writer; Montos, Artist; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: A slow-burn mystery delving into the twisted history of the Freshwater poisonings that pulled in Oliver Queen without his knowledge, this issue takes a big step forward. We know now that the Freshwater Killer isn’t one person, it’s a collective of victims, and it all deals somehow with a little boy who developed epilepsy as a result of the poison many years ago. I always assumed his mother would be the mastermind – but we find out that she recently died from breast cancer. And we find this out from Kenny himself, now a grown man who is still clearly scarred from the suffering he’s endured as a child. He’s gathered his fellow survivors, some of whom lost family members and others who are sick or dying themselves, for what appears to be a support group – but it seems to have as much to do with getting what they deserve. Is he the mastermind of this whole killing spree? Not sure, but it looks likely.
And now, Oliver’s been pulled into the killing spree himself, being targeted at his home, but he survived and now has to talk his way out of his conversation with the police. There’s a hilarious segment here where he tries to play the clueless-rich-guy card that always works so well for Bruce Wayne – but he takes it about a few dozen steps too far and comes off like a complete buffoon. It’s a rare bit of humor in a pretty dark run that steps up in intensity this issue – as Detective Benitez and her dog run right into trouble. The Freshwater Killers – and there appear to be dozens of them – are done being stalked by the authorities and have decided to take the lead in fighting back. While I’m not rooting for them, as their take on justice seems rather indiscriminate, they are some of the most sympathetic antagonists at DC right now and this book continues to be a fascinating read.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
