Absolute Green Arrow #1 – Pornsak Pichetshote, Writer; Rafael Albuquerque, Artist; Marcelo Maiolo, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: It’s been a while since we had a new Absolute book, but the plot threads simmering here have been building for a while. In this oversized first issue, we pick up in the aftermath of the murder of Oliver Queen by Carter Hall, which we saw in Absolute Evil. The billionaire was finally ready to turn on his former friend Jubal Slade, a powerful executive and sex trafficker. But before he could expose Slade, he was beaten to death. Now, Slade is reaping the benefits – until he’s ambushed in his penthouse by a mysterious masked killer with a Green Arrow aesthetic – seemingly patterned after Greenarrow Trading, the company Slade co-founded with Queen. And around the world, people celebrate his death.
This gets the attention of Dinah Lance, a former MMA fighter and cop turned bodyguard who is trying to make ends meet to provide for her sick father – but her temper keeps getting her fired. Dinah had an encounter with Ollie over a decade ago, when he was a rich heir looking to make the world a better place, she was a believer who maybe trusted him too much, and Jubal was just Ollie’s nerdy partner who had some creepy attitudes about women. Now both of them are dead – and other powerful billionaires are getting worried. Dinah is soon recruited by Malcolm Merlyn, who is representing the interests of a big pharma billionaire who worries he’ll be targeted – as well as those of Hector Hammond, who is looking at the bigger picture.
The tension in this issue is through the roof, with the killings being done in brutal and creative fashion – more like a slasher movie at times than a superhero book. But the masked killer is nowhere near as scary as the ruthless, manipulative executives and their associates who are determined to stop it now by any means necessary. Merlyn in particular shows just how far he’s willing to go to force Dinah to get on board with their plan. So we have a good woman, in league with some very bad people, up against a villain who might be targeting people worse than him. It’s the grimmest story in the Absolute Universe so far, and that’s a big part of what makes it so instantly compelling.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
