Hey folks, back once more with a review for DC’s newly ongoing Green Arrow! This issue is written, of course, by Joshua Williamson and the returning Green Arrow legend, Phil Hester on art. Always a treat.
This issue was exciting for me, since it brought back a long-forgotten villain back from the toy box to play around with again. It wasn’t quite what I expected however, which is mildly disappointing, but the story told was still pretty fun and definitely in that spirit of mid-2000s Green Arrow stories.
The whole plot of the issue revolves around the return of Onomatopoeia, the sound-based serial killer that hunts vigilantes created by Kevin Smith near the tail end of his classic run on GA way back in the day. Onomatopoeia is an immensely creative concept, using the medium of comics to great effect, but we never really learned what his deal was, due to Smith never completing his story. This book seems to want to respect that ownership over the character’s history and doesn’t let out any details we didn’t already know, instead using it to frame a mini-mystery that Connor Hawke has to solve – the supposed murder of Oliver Queen (Again, and again…. and again… He really does this a lot). The real kicker of a plot twist comes right at the end, which for the sake of preserving the book’s intent, I will opt not to spoil here so you can read it yourself. I will say though, Onomatopoeia certainly isn’t all he seems in this story, and I would love to see if Williamson has any plans for him in the future, perhaps even a collaborative effort with Kevin Smith? A guy can dream.
DC Comics
It was also just nice to see a Connor-focused story, combined with this particular choice in penciller made the whole thing feel very nostalgic. It feels like ages since I’ve read a good Connor Hawke-led adventure; really brought me back to when I was reading Green Arrow books as a teenager and very much immersed in back reading so much ’90s and 2000s era DC.
DC Comics
The art is also fantastic, due to the incredible work of iconic Green Arrow artist Phil Hester taking the reins this issue. He’s been poking around a lot this run, adding a lot of legitimacy to the book. You know if you’ve got Phil Hester on your GA run, you’ve truly made it something special. It’s just nearly impossible to picture one without the other, especially with how prolific his time on the book was back in the day. Bringing him back for an Onomatopoeia and Connor story is the right choice – there’s nobody more experienced in making these characters look and move more like themselves than him. Can’t undersell that, even remotely, which is why I didn’t.
Another great issue out of Williamson and the crew here. It’s been no secret that I’ve praised this book at every turn, and I really can’t apologize for that, so I won’t! This book just rocks, it’s hitting all the right marks, and I’m having the time of my life. For the first time in a long while I can safely say that DC is in a place where I’m liking almost all its output in regards to my favourite characters, something that I don’t think has ever been at-the-present aligned so perfectly in all my years reading comics. I say this every time, but I hope this book lasts for at least 100 issues, or at least until Williamson runs out of steam… because I would personally cry horrible, ugly tears if it didn’t, and you wouldn’t make me cry, would you, Joshua?
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