2012 may have been a great year for Hawkeye but 2013 is rolling out the red carpet for the most celebrated liberal in all of comic books: Green Arrow.
It’s no surprise to anyone that after the New 52 relaunch, fans found it really hard to relate to the clad green archer but that is all soon to change. February will see Green Arrow #17 hit the shelves with the new creative team – writer Jeff Lemire (Animal Man, Justice League Dark) and artist Andrea Sorrentino (I, Vampire).
While this team is starting on the 17th issue of the series, Lemire promises this story will be geared towards new readers.
“I want this to be completely accessible to new readers, obviously, but at the same time I can’t just throw away what’s been done in the first 16 issues. So if I have done my job well, which I hope I have, it will read like a first issue but all the major and important bits of the first issues will also be referenced and re-established in a hopefully accessible way.” — Jeff Lemire
Arrow’s presence in comics isn’t stopping there. Thanks to the new series Justice League of America (also releasing in February), Arrow will have a commanding role in the DCU which will lead us to the upcoming summer event, Trinity War.
Writer Geoff Johns (Justice League, Aquaman) and artist David Finch (Batman: The Dark Knight) are teaming Green Arrow up with Simon Baz (the new Green Lantern), Steve Trevor, Martian Manhunter and many other lower ranked heroes.
The pages of Justice League #13 saw Oliver Queen approach Steve Trevor with the information of an unknown threat facing the Justice League. These pages teased a lead straight into this new and upcoming series.
Comics are great and all, but Green Arrow hasn’t stopped there. Did anyone notice he was also on the TV!?
The CW series Arrow debuted on October 10th last year and brought in 4.1 million viewers. It was the biggest audience the network had received in the past three years. So what do you do when you’re a network exec and a show is producing those types of numbers? Well, you order more episodes!
One of the great things about the show that keeps audiences coming back week after week is the dark and gritty (Batman Begins-esque) story telling. That and a large cast of DC villains, some great (such as Deathstroke) and other who, while they’re lame in the comics, have been revamped with a new edge for the show (like The Royal Flush Gang).
Whether you’re looking at the Emerald Archer on the glossy pages of a comic or the high-definition format on the television, Green Arrow is sure to catch your eye this year.
If you make the feature image a little wider you won't get that awkward little text on the side there, it will just all be pushed down.
Or you can make the picture smaller. In my experience I look for the content in an article, if I have to scroll through huge images I sometime let my eyes wander and I never actually read what was posted for me to read.
I have to admit I have not kept up with the New 52 Green Arrow, but I have watched all of the Arrow episodes that have been aired. They did an amazing job on the show and I hope they continue to do an amazing job.
Lemire is a fantastic storyteller. He's done great work with Animal Man and Justice League Dark. I can't wait to see what he can do with a character more centered around fighting crime.
Love me some Green Arrow. Good FYI article for those who might not be familiar with the character or that he's about to get more awesome!