GREEN ARROW #39

City Walls, Part Six:  ...Come Tumbling Down...

August 2004

Written by Judd Winick

Pencils by Phil Hester

Inks by Ande Parks

Cover by Marcos Martin and Alvaro Lopez

Synopsis

Star City has been cast into darkness, thanks to a spell that completely encloses the city, keeping everyone inside.  Inside the city, people are being killed by demons who only attack when someone breaks the law, such as stealing or looting.  Ollie Queen (aka Green Arrow) has put together an army of police officers and gangster with the intent of attacking the demons that surround the home of Albert Davis, the man behind the attacks.  The attack, however, was just subterfuge so Ollie could get into the house without being seen.  At the last minute Mia joins him.  When they get inside they find Albert Davis, who pleads with Ollie to kill him.  Apparently the demons have taken control and unless Davis is killed, the demons will eventually take over the world.  Ollie can’t do it and wants to find another way.  Davis insists.  Ollie hesitates, but this time Mia kills him.  Instantly, the enchantment fades away.  Mia tells Ollie she had to do, there was no other way.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I am conflicted with this issue and the ending.  Well, okay, maybe not the ending.  Winick seemed to be heading towards a slam bang action-filled ending.  We get a little bit of it, but not much.  Instead, Winick has focused the story on Mia, first at the beginning with Ollie reluctantly allowing her to go with him and then at the end with her making the decision that Ollie couldn’t.  I like these parts and I like the way it ends.  He has certainly set himself up for some potential soul-searching that I assume will lead to Mia becoming the new Speedy.  But Winick spent so much time setting up the battle that I expecting more action.  Ollie and Mia get to the hosue so quickly that I thought I had missed a few pages.  And then, when they encounter Davis and he immediately offers the solution, I wondered if maybe I had missed some more pages.  The solution was lame, Davis’ easy capitulation was lame; I wanted a little more resistance before we get to the conclusion.  So in a sense I am not disappointed with what I got in this issue, but I am disappointed with what I didn’t get.  If that makes so.  I suppose what the issue needed was more pages and some more fight scenes.   

The idea of obtaining a warrant for the arrest of Albert Davis is a good one.  As stated in the issue, it is a legal way to maneuver around the demons.  Granted, I knew it wasn’t going to work.  I just wish that Winick had found a better way that the cliche of the good guys reacting to movement by the bad guys that may or may not have been an act of war.  The entire scene was a good idea undermined by a bad idea. 

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