[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Otto Schmidt
Summary
A mysterious archer frames Green Arrow for multiple counts of murder.
Positives
The cover by W. Scott Forbes is really cool. It’s a striking image with the arrow through the football helmet. And I like that Ollie is in handcuffs. The cover hints at the story and is a cover that may grab people’s attention who haven’t been reading.
The art by Otto Schmidt is great. In this issue, I really appreciated his pencils on Dinah and Ollie’s faces. Schmidt does a fantastic job of conveying emotion through the face without a lot of detail. There’s a natural look to the characters that I like. Additionally, his backgrounds are gorgeous. I am always impressed by how Seattle looks in Schmidt’s work.
I liked the small intro to the Vice Squad. Ultimately, this current story is about the effectiveness of a vigilante and whether Green Arrow is actually helping or not. I like that Benjamin Percy is introducing vigilantes that are clearly bad. The Vice Squad is what everyone fears Green Arrow might be.
Negatives
I don’t like the list of suspects for the mysterious archer. There’s really only one answer that would be satisfying. Every other name Diggle lists don’t really make sense to me. It could be none of those characters but that would seem anti-climactic after giving us a list of potential suspects.
Verdict
Overall, this is a solid issue. Schmidt makes a welcome return to the art and does a great job as usual. While the main story is something I’ve seen before, the interaction and dialogue between Ollie and Dinah makes it very easy to read.
