GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY #24

Big Game:  We Prey

November 2009

Written by Andrew Kreisberg

Pencils by Mike Norton

Inks by Bill Sienkiewicz

Cover by Ladrönn

Synopsis

Big Game’s son has come to hunt for his father’s killer, Cupid.  Now, Black Canary has taken Cupid from her jail cell to protect her, but they are being chased by the police.  The duo are able to elude the police, but Big Game is able to track them down.  As Black Canary fights Big Game, he tells her that Green Arrow is dead.  She refuses to believe it and is awarded by arrows flying through the air to capture Big Game.  However, it is not Ollie.  It is Speedy (aka Mia Deardon).

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I don’t know what to make of this issue.  There are parts of it that I liked and parts that were just stupid while there were scenes that I am still not sure how to take.  For instance, the opening scene with two characters caught in the middle of the big chase.  It is a fairly standard trope to showcase innocents during a superhero skirmish, but this one?  Why lesbians?  Why the kiss?  Why so much detail and time spent on these two women?  Why get Cupid involved?  It borders on over the top, culminating in Cupid’s cry about Prop 8 (California proposition that recognizes only man/woman marriages), which makes me think Kreisberg was using the comic to further his own agenda.  After that, the issue settles down into a normal issue.  I like the fact that Dinah provides arguments for Lieutenant Hilton to stand down and the fact that he does just that.  I also like the wisecracks from Cupid; she rattles off a few good lines.  I also like the way the two interact, especially when Dinah asked what happens and gets the “something” response.  I was less than thrilled with the officer who “can’t hear you” and therefore continues the mission.  At the very least the office wasn’t revealed to be working Big Game; I guess it really was a malfunctioning radio.  Then Big Game shows up.  Which is fine, but it seems pretty stupid to tell everyone Green Arrow and Big Game are fighting, then reveal the winner and not show the fight.  Maybe it is my own expectations, but I keep thinking Ollie was going to show up to save the day, his so-called “defeat” just a part of the plane to capture Big Game.  And when he didn’t?  Well, what the hell, maybe the back-up will show what happened.  Since it didn’t, I have to ask.  What happened?  (It is possible the end of the fight was shown in the previous issue; it has been more than a month between issues for me so I may be mis-remembering).  And, finally, the ending, which I guess was okay; at the very least I wasn’t expecting it.  Anyway, overall a very weird issue.  I am not sure whether I liked it or not.  I think not as the uneven writing sinks some of the good parts.  I will say that Kreisberg’s writing is still not quite there, but I think judging by some of the good things here, he might be getting the hang of it. 

Opening Night Jitters

Written by Andrew Kreisberg

Art by Renato Guedes

Synopsis

After spending time in London, Mia Deardon (aka Speedy) returns home to Star City.  Just as her plane lands, she hears about the Big Game situation.  She immediately jumps into the fray to help Dinah and Ollie.  Later, Mia is sleeping in her own bed when she hears Ollie making the decision to leave Dinah in search of himself.    

Review

This was disappointing.  I like Speedy and I like what she can bring to the extended Green Arrow family.  So while it is nice to see her back, I wish she could’ve returned in a story that actually showcased her.  What I would have liked to have seen was a story that was about Speedy and what she had been doing she since left for England.  Instead, what we got was the before and after her big rescue from the first feature.  And it isn’t bad by any means, but when a character returns to a book after time away, we want to know what they had been doing, not what they are doing once they get back.  If that makes any sense. 

PREVIOUS	Main		Page	NEXT