Green Arrow #1: The Hunt for Oliver Queen

It has been almost four years since DC trusted Oliver Queen to carry his own solo title, and as a grand relaunch, GREEN ARROW #1 falls flat. Joshua Williamson tasked himself with penning a first issue that would marry both Green Arrow’s long history and an easily accessible jumping-on-point for readers fresh to the character, and in his attempt to do both, has wound up doing neither all that well. This isn’t a bad issue by any means, but it struggles under the weight that’s been placed on its shoulders as both a Green Arrow story and a tent pole book for whatever event the Dawn of DC relaunch has been slowly building towards since the end of Dark Crisis.

We pick up with Oliver Queen stranded in an unknown, mystical location, his arrival mirroring his origin. From there, Williamson brings us back up to speed through double-spread splash pages recounting Ollie’s origin as a hero before cutting away to Connor Hawke, Roy Harper, and Dinah Lance. That trio is on the hunt to find Oliver, but instead of discovering the source of his disappearance, they cross paths with none other than Roy’s daughter, Lian.

This issue lacks a real narrative or plot. It’s trying to juggle Arrow Family fan service and the disappearance of Oliver Queen. It wraps its plot directly into the greater DC story, fast-tracking it into the beginning of this one issue, which could be done if the scenes in this issue were given room to breathe. Oliver narrates the introduction to our story and the Arrow family, draining the book of any atmosphere it could’ve had. There’s also something missing when it comes to the character’s voices. Based on their dialogue, you would not be able to tell Roy from Connor from Ollie; the suffocation of fan service significantly affects their characterization. Williamson is really, really trying to win fans over here by giving the image of what they want, that being the Arrow family reunited and the restoration of legacy. Lian returning didn’t have the impact it needed outside of superficial value because it was hamstrung behind narrative bookends that lacked tension. All this rush has, however, is seemingly in service of a more significant plot, and whether or not the conceptual plot of this series, that being a sci-fi bent Green Arrow story, is more vital than the sum of its parts will decide whether or not it was worth the while. Sadly, fan service without a genuine focus on telling a Green Arrow story isn’t adding to anything engaging.

There’s still a lot here to enjoy; however, Sean Izaakse’s art is explosive. His visual designs for the lost world Ollie’s been trapped inside and the characters’ are very inspiring. The mystery surrounding said world is also very intriguing, its role in the grander DC narrative intertwining with Amanda Waller’s machinations in a way more significant than expected.