@GeneSelassie
Wow. Just…wow. There’s so much packed into Green Arrow #50 — yet it never feels overwhelming. Here in this final issue, recurring plot threads from the series, as well as hanging threads from No Justice and Heroes in Crisis, all come to a head. Black Canary is forced by a clandestine government agency to bring in Ollie as well as the weapon he was entrusted with by the Justice League. What ensues is one of the greatest chase scenes of the past decade.
Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing channel the raw energy from some of the best creators to write this book; from the socially conscious narrative by Denny O’Neil & Neil Adams or Julia & Shawna Benson to the gritty street level action from Mike Grell or Ben Percy to the importance of family bonds by Brad Meltzer or Judd Winick, this book distills everything about what makes Oliver Queen (and Dinah Lance) great into one prodigious and kick ass issue. Not to mention, seeing the Arrowplane again after so many years made me smile.
As far as art is concerned, the kinetic style and energetic facial expressions by Javier Fernandez and the clean and simple palette by John Kalisz made each page quite fun to take in. The style also reminds me of another great artist from Green Arrow’s history, Scott McDaniel. There is not a single wasted panel in this book, even something as simple as a piece of clothing catching on fire punches you right in the gut if you know who that piece of clothing belonged to.
The only disappointment in this story is that Kelly and Lanzing just started this run, only to be told that their story will be the end of this volume of Green Arrow. These writers had enormous shoes to fill, carrying on everything that Percy and the Bensons set up. But they did it with aplomb. Green Arrow #50 is the best single issue of a comic that I’ve read so far in 2019. 5/5 Bibles.
-Gene Selassie