Green Arrow #21 Review

(w) Jeff Lemire
(p) Andrea Sorrentino

"The Kill Machine" finishes up this month with not a bang, but a subtle whimper. I want to like Jeff Lemire's run on Green Arrow, I really do. And there are elements that I think are very strong, but Green Arrow #21's attempt to expand the mythos of Oliver Queen actually backfired and made the character a whole lot less charming. Since Ollie technically defeated Komodo last issue, this issue is mostly about tying up all the loose ends Lemire has left dangling.


** SPOILERS AHEAD **

First and foremost is how Ollie and his father are connected to the island where Ollie first learned to shoot a bow. Magus -- Lemire's 'deus ex machina' that's been popping up from time to time to lend a helpful story about the past -- finally decides to lay out the cards for Ollie and explain everything. Turns out Richard Queen and Simon LaCroix were friends once, but LaCroix murdered Queen. The reason? I'm not entirely sure. Magus explains that, "...LaCroix was everything your father wished you would be. He made him his protege in both business and his quest for the arrow. And then LaCroix killed him for it." Doesn't make too much sense to me: to murder the man who gives you opportunities unbounded. But that brings me to my second point.

THE CLAN OF THE ARROW?!?!?!?

Years ago, then-Marvel writer J. Michael Straczynski attempted to explain that Spider-Man was just the current avatar of the Spider God who had bestowed the power of the spider to various humans throughout history. It was a stupid and pointless endeavor that only succeeded in cheapening the character's rich narrative history, betrayed the core concept that anyone can rise up to a hero, and generally mucked up Spidey's continuity so much that everyone basically just doesn't talk about it anymore. It was a ridiculous attempt to give more meaning to a hero who didn't need some deeper meaning to his powers. It was completely unnecessary.

This is the feeling I'm getting from this whole 'weapon clans' concept Lemire is introducing. Basically, Oliver Queen was always destined to pick up a bow and become one of the most formidable and talented archers in the world because there is an ancient Arrow Clan of which is family was part of. I understand that part of the 'New 52' is actually making some things new, but this is the kind of change that makes fans angry.

Oliver Queen used to be about helping the less fortunate because he felt a sense of responsibility due to his being born into wealth. He took it upon himself to learn and grow as a person and become something better than he was before. And for a few issues, Lemire was beginning to lean toward this direction with the character after 16 issues of Ollie being a total ass and a pale ghost of his former self. Instead, Lemire decided to make Green Arrow just another hero who was 'destined' to become a hero instead of reinforcing Ollie as an example of peoples' ability to do better.

This just doesn't feel fun anymore. It feels forced. Not everything in a comic book universe has to be tied to fate, destiny, or past events. Sometimes, heroes arise because they need to and not because their great-great-grand uncle was cursed by an evil warlock for generations or somesuch like that. I like Lemire's dialogue; it's quality work and the all characters feel organic. I also love Andrea Sorrentino's artwork. It's honestly just the story that's turning me off of Green Arrow now.

GRADE
6.8/10

Justice League of America #3

(w) Geoff Johns     (a) David Finch

I want to like Justice League of America more than I do. The first issue was fun in as much as a set-up issue can be, and the second issue was build-up for the teams first mission. There hasn't been a lot of time to develop the team dynamic, and it's starting to hurt the series as a whole. It's surprising because Geoff Johns is usually spot-on when it comes to character development and team books.

Before I get into the issue proper, I want to address something that's been bothering me since the first issue. WHERE IS SIMON BAZ? He was completely absent from the first two issues -- his dossier introduction aside -- and in Justice League of America #3, he appears in all of two panels, and they're both panorama shots so he's barely visible. Simon's inclusion on the team is a big reason why I was interested in the title in the first place, and he's still nowhere to be seen three issues in. A lot of people had the same issue with Justice League when it first began, but those first six issues were a complete origin story where all the Leaguers meet for the first time. The JLA is established and has yet to have a full-team mission.

Alright. Moving on.



** SPOILERS AHEAD **


Justice League of America #3 opens with a scene between Stargirl and Amanda Waller. While their conversation starts off innocently enough, it quickly takes a sharp left turn when Waller takes a hard stance against Stargirl's wish to be a more active member of the team. The comic book trope of the youngest superhero of the bunch feeling left out drives the sequence, but Waller's ugly attitude shows just how sketchy this team is at it's most basic level. Courtney Whitmore -- as Waller reveals her name to be -- joined the team as a bright-eyed, optimistic do-gooder who is now being blackmailed into running PR for this government-sanctioned superhero team. It's all very intriguing. And David Finch's facial work really characterizes Waller's ugly nature.

Vibe feels like a 'deus ex machina' to get the team and himself out of almost any technological quandary. Oh, there's a security camera? Vibe can't be photographed and neither can those around him...as of this issue. Not in his own series; only in this issue of Justice League of America. Also, I really don't like Katana. I've never read any of her pre-New 52 material, and the first issue of Katana was so hideous I just put it down and screamed into a pillow for a few minutes. She just seems like such a ridiculous Japanese stereotype that I just can't understand why people stomach her.

Green Arrow's faux pas during an orchestrated arrest of Catwoman fantastically well done, and Ollie's subsequent use of the privileged information about Catwoman's true allegiances to garner a place on the team is eloquent and hilarious.

Speaking of Catwoman, I read Catwoman #19 after Justice League of America #3 because it's supposed to be a look at Selina's 48 hours inside Arkham Asylum before she escapes at the end of JLA #3. I wouldn't recommend doing the same unless you're interested in reading a story that has nothing to do with anything at all. The whole plan was for Catwoman to get info about the Secret Society whilst inside Arkham. Instead, she antagonizes everyone and really doesn't get much in the process. 

GRADE

7/10

Total Side Note:
Within the pages of Catwoman #19, Ann Nocenti took it upon herself to explain that Arkham Asylum isn't actually a historic mansion turned into a hospital, but rather a fully modern facility employing holographic technology to make it look like a historic mansion. 

Two reasons why I hate this so much.

1.) It totally and completely destroys the idea that Arkham is a genuinely frightening place. The facility's presence is juxtaposed to it's primary function which is what made it such a compelling part of the Batman mythos. If this holds across other titles, it will mean that Arkham is just another loony bin, no different than your average high-tech insane asylum.

2.) If Dr. Arkham has the money to spend on holographic infrastructure for an entire facility, why can't he spend more on security, overall structural integrity, and pooling of resources to achieve real results? It makes absolutely no sense. If Dr. Arkham is some weirdo who only runs the asylum to play around with the criminally insane, why does Batman trust him? And if he truly does think he's doing the best he can, why does Batman suffer such a fool?

Justice League of America #2

(w) Geoff Johns     (a) David Finch

After a brisk yet satisfying first issue, Justice League of America #2 stumbles a bit as Geoff Johns attempts to get the action rolling as quickly as possible. Honestly, it's kind of annoying that the "Secret Society" is already known to so many people. I know Martian Manhunter says that all the villains he's interrogated have no idea what the Society is, but the fact remains that A.R.G.U.S. knows about it so how secret can it truly be? Johns spent six issues building up to Darkseid's arrival in Justice League. Here, the team is already assembled and out on their first mission. I'm all for getting to the point, but this seems needlessly fast paced.

The most unfortunate part is that this entire issue feels very much like it could have been the first, with the first issue as a #0. I know DC already did "Zero Month", but if Johns wants things to move at this kind of speed, he's already misstepped because the first issue was so slow. Both issues have been good, but neither fit together particularly well, and that's not a good relationship between the first and second issues of a new flagship series. 

Surprisingly, Green Arrow turns out to be the surprise star of JLA #2, and he's only conscious for the latter half of the issue. I still don't know why, but Johns insists on writing Steve Trevor as a massive ass, and his conversation with a newly awake Ollie Queen reasserts this bewildering fact all over again. Back in Justice League #8, Arrow attempted to join the League proper with less than desirable results. Trevor approached Arrow and it was established that Green Arrow would be an agent of A.R.G.U.S. It seems that now, after Ollie's been through the gauntlet to uncover the Society, Trevor has no problem throwing him to the curb without a satisfying explanation. The emotional tension between Ollie and Steve is great, and Ollie's insistance that Steve "sold out" is a fantastic throwback to Green Arrow's classic counterculture characterization.

Even though JLA #2 doesn't have the same feel as the first issue, Geoff Johns is still stetting up something big. Perhaps the series is supposed to feel like it's not completely sure of itself, much like Steve Trevor and his grasp on the JLA situation in general. Last year's The New 52 #1, which came out on Free Comic Book Day, portended the coming of a Trinity War that pitted hero against hero. That reality is coming closer and closer to fruition with more characters and plot lines being introduced.

GRADE

7.5/10

The Week in Revue (Mar 6-12, 2013)

------- Spotlight

Age of Ultron #1 of 10
(w) Brian Michael Bendis     (a) Bryan Hitch

------- DC Reviews

Earth 2 #10

(w) James Robinson     (a) Nicola Scott

Green Lantern #18

(w) Geoff Johns     (a) Doug Mahnke

---------- mini DC reviews

Green Arrow #18

(w) Jeff Lemire     (a) Andrea Sorrentino

Stormwatch #18

(w) Peter Milligan     (a) Will Conrad

Superman #17
(w) Scott Lobdell     (a) Kenneth Rocafort

------- Marvel Reviews
All-New X-Men #8
(w) Brian Michael Bendis     (a) David Marquez

Avengers #7

(w) Jonathan Hickman     (a) Dustin Weaver

---------- mini Marvel Reviews

Iron Man #7

(w) Kieron Gillen     (a) Greg Land

The Superior Spider-Man #5

(w) Dan Slott     (a) Giuseppe Camuncoli

Spotlight: Justice League of America #1

(w) Geoff Johns     (a) David Finch

A lot of fans were upset with Geoff Johns' first issue of Justice League back in September 2011, with the main point of contention being that only a fraction of the League actually makes an appearance. It was Johns' attempt to decompress the origin story of the League, and it met with varied reactions. It seems like DC's Chief Creative Officer took a few pointers from that experience with Justice League #1 to help craft his approach to Justice League of America #1, a debut issue that hits all the right narrative beats, looks absolutely phenomenal, and feels like a natural next step for the 'New 52' universe after a year and a half of world building. Unlike nearly every other title from DC currently the characters, setting, and tone of this series all result from what we've been reading over the past 18 months instead of being blindly introduced to revamped or new characters. Here, with Justice League of America #1, the reader readily understands why this team is being formed beyond the context given in the issue -- we've seen the hints being dropped, the growing animosity within the superhero community, the world-shaking events that eventually had to lead somewhere.

My biggest surprise with Justice League of America #1 was honestly the art. My personal opinion on David Finch's art is like roller coaster, and I've not been happy with his work on Batman: The Dark Knight. But for some reason, Finch's pencils for JLA #1 are simply stunning as the artist finds an incredible balance between his desire to express realism and going all-out for a fun pulp look. Seriously, never have I been more satisfied with David Finch's artwork than in these pages.

This JLA is a totally different beast than it's pre-'New 52' iteration. In the past, the term 'Justice League of America' was more or less the de-facto name for the team that now -- in the 'New 52' -- simply goes by Justice League. The nature of DC's line-wide relaunch meant giving old ideas new life under a new framework. A.R.G.U.S. -- the superhero relations branch of the US government -- has a rather tenuous relationship with the League proper, so Amanda Waller decides to put together her own team of super powered individuals dedicated to protecting and serving the United States of America. While it's not dissimilar from Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. assembling a group of extraordinary persons, that's about the extent of the similarities. The JLA is a government-sanctioned team, but knowing Geoff Johns, that's going to complicate things more than make them smoother.

Justice League of America #1 plays out like a 'zero issue' without the pretensions of being a 'zero issue'. We get introductions to the major players (sans Simon Baz, for some reason) and well paced exposition that doesn't feel overbearing. Steve Trevor makes his first major appearance in a while, and it's mostly to be a surly curmudgeon. Nothing Waller says makes him happy, and everything seems like the worst idea in the world. I get that Trevor is still a bit jaded by how his relationship with the Justice League ended, but Johns is writing him like a jerk who's looking for something to complain about. Trevor's weird pessimistic comments aside, the various sequences focusing on recruits for the JLA are surprisingly fun and don't feel like rehashes -- we know all these characters already (except for Vibe, who I'll get to in a moment), so it's impressive to see Johns bring something new to the table for each one of them.

The US government is finally waking up to the reality that super powered people are now the norm and they're doing something about it -- if you can't beat them, join them. Team 7 (it seems) and the Justice League International were both failed attempts at taking a sanctioned stance against super-crime, and the JLA is a kind-of spiritual successor to those two ideas. Waller's team incorporates the public transparency of the JLI while employing dubious personalities who can get the job done. By the end of the issue, Johns has a firm direction in place for the world's newest super team, and it will pit them against one of the previous JLA's oldest and most ruthless enemies. Also, there's a single panel that makes a great case for a superhero schism being the focal point of the upcoming "Trinity War".

Justice League of America #1 is a joy to read. Geoff Johns has written on damn fine story that's already got me excited for the second issue. This series is the first one to grow organically out of the 'New 52'. Talon is similar for being a byproduct of the events in Batman, but Calvin Rose is a new character that readers are still getting to know, which makes it just as much an effort to invest in as any other 'New 52' title. JLA #1 features heroes and villains that have already made a name for themselves in the DCnU and now, we get to see them work together. Basically, if you like any of these characters, you're going to like Justice League of America #1.

GRADE
9/10