GREEN ARROW #69

Seeing Red, Part One:  Out Of Town Guests

February 2007

Written by Judd Winick

Pencils by Scott McDaniel

Inks by Andy Owens

Cover by Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens

Synopsis

Green Arrow and Speedy break up a drug smuggling ring, with a little assistance from a figure lurking in the shadows:  Batman.  Meanwhile, the commissioner of police receives a phone call from Slade Wilson (aka Deathstroke) with information that could bring down the mayor.  The next day, Mayor Oliver Queen officially opens a new apartment building, which was funded by WayneTech.  Also at the opening ceremony is Bruce Wayne.  Ollie suspects that Bruce came to Star City for more than just the ceremony.  Elsewhere, several local thugs are demanding either the money or the guns from Danny Brickwell.  When he declines, the thugs pull out their guns.  Before they can shoot, all of them are killed from above by the Red Hood.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

Before I even get to an assessment of this particular issue, I want to discuss the appearance of the Jason Todd (aka Red Hood), both in the DCU in general and in this particular book.  First, I am not all that bothered by the not-dead status of Jason Todd.  I don’t have a like or dislike of him as I have read very little of his appearances when he was alive.  What I know of him comes from his death.  Nor did I have any qualms about his resurrection and return as Jason Todd.  In fact, I thought the some of the issues with the Red Hood (written by Winick) were pretty good.  The problem I had with Red Hood/Jason Todd is that after his return, I was certain the editors in the DCU had no idea what to do with him.  Actually, I think they knew exactly what they wanted to do:  turn him into Nightwing.  But when Dick Grayson refused to die, suddenly there was no real place for Jason Todd.  What to do with him?  I am sure, faced with that question, DC turned to the writer (Winick) who championed his return in the first place.  So, now we get a former Batman sidekick and current Batman villain (technically) playing a large part in a Green Arrow book.  And this is where I run into problems.  I am sure Winick will provide a good reason for the Red Hood to be in Star City, but no matter the reason the truth is that he appears in this book because of Winick and no other reason.  If Winick wrote Firestorm, we’d see Red Hood battling Firestorm.  I appreciate that Winick likes Jason and wants to use him.  I even appreciate the fact that the editors at DC can’t return Jason to Gotham (and we all know NYC was a mess) so therefore they are at a loss what to do with him.  But to put him into a Green Arrow book is the wrong way to go.  Try for a mini-series.  I would even argue that Winick could have the Outsiders attempt to track him down.  But not in a Green Arrow book. 

Okay, on to this issue.  There were some good parts, such as Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne doing some double-talk about their costumed lives while out in public.  And I liked Deathstroke’s return and his plan to get back at Ollie.  However, I disliked the beginning.  Winick just spent several issues explaining how Ollie got better as a fighter and in the span of several pages, the common thugs are able to sneak up on him with a rocket launcher and get away in the truck.  I though Ollie’s senses were supposed to be better and no one would get the drop on him.  I am also unsure about Brick.  I thought he was helping out in the ‘glades.  Although it looks as if the wall was torn down, which apparently happened off panel, so perhaps the alliance between the two is now off.  If the wall is down, I am disappointed Winick did not show.  He made such a big deal of it the first One Year Later issues that it is a shame it fizzles away without much fanfare.

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