The excellent Absolute Green Arrow returns this week with its third issue, which continues to dig into its mysteries and further development of the street-level Absolute Universe. Dinah needs to capture the Green Arrow Killer, and this week, she hatches a plan that should work. Meanwhile, Oliver Queen’s protégé, Roy Harper, enters the picture, adding new layers to the billionaire-and-elite-class story that Roy and Ollie have found themselves in.
When it comes to Absolute Green Arrow #3, the plotting and pacing are key. The balance of action, exposition, and flashback feels evenly weighted, keeping you invested and never wearing out its welcome. While we follow Dinah, writer Pornsak Pichetshote keeps you invested in her own journey for answers thanks to her respect and past love affair with Ollie. We don’t necessarily have time to probe her character, but it’s there on the surface.
That said, Absolute Green Arrow #3 opens with a flashback to Dinna’s days as a fighter. It’s a reminder of her many lives, but also of her ability to fight. Quickly, the story zips back to the present, where Dinah is meeting with a cop for intel. The power and reach of the super-rich become evident before the story jumps back two days.
Time for some action.
Credit: DC Comics
Time jumps can sometimes feel forced, as creators use them to keep you guessing and insert action, but here it structurally keeps you guessing. The two days prior lead to an intense action scene where the Green Arrow Killer is seemingly trapped, but they’re prepared for anything. We then cut to Dinah in the present, tracking down Roy, who looks quite drugged up, or at least tired. Knowing his history in the main universe, the creative team is certainly plucking at his ability to fall into bad routines. Here, though, it might be less drugs and more the circles of the uber-rich.
For fans of the Absolute Universe twisting on things we know, the Roy and Ollie scene will be a must-read. There’s also the cliffhanger villain reveal, and Rafael Albuquerque perfectly captures this character’s intensity while adding a heaping amount of weird. Tie the underlying antics of the super-rich abusing people and power, and one can see connections between this book and Absolute Batman‘s Joker.
Albuquerque’s work is striking in this issue, from the character acting to the action. Seeing a flash of the boy with eyeballs all over them in the reflection of a diner window is an example of layered storytelling that doesn’t look odd or weird. Marcelo Mailo’s colors help amp up the slightly unrealistic vibe, so stuff like that works, like the cool yellows and oranges in the scene. When explosions take place, you practically feel the shrapnel. There’s a hyper focus and intensity that’s unmistakable thanks to Rafael’s work.
Absolute Green Arrow #3 continues to prove this is one of the strongest books in DC’s Absolute line. Pornsak Pichetshote carefully layers intrigue, character development, and social commentary without slowing the momentum, while Rafael Albuquerque delivers dynamic, expressive artwork that makes every page pop. Between Roy Harper’s debut, another fascinating twist on DC mythology, and a haunting final reveal, this issue leaves readers eager for whatever comes next.
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