DCU Comic Book Reviews

GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE #1

Part One

early September 2007

Written by Andy Diggle

Pencils by Jock

Inks by Jock

Cover by Jock

Synopsis

Oliver Queen is a thrillseeking millionaire playboy.  At a charity fundraiser, he purchases the bow used by the stuntman in Adventures Of Robin Hood for one hundred thousand dollars.  Later, Ollie makes a fool of himself in front of everyone, falling down drunk and vomiting.  When Ollie’s close friend Hackett attempts to get him to invest in a luxury resort deal in Fiji worth 14 million dollars, Ollie decides to sail to Fiji to see the hotel for himself.  On the yacht, however, Hackett reveals that the hotel was a scam.  Originally, Hackett was just going to sail away and leave, but when Ollie decided to tag along, it meant Hackett needed to take extreme measures.  However, Hackett can’t force himself to kill Ollie, so instead he dumps him overboard to drown in the ocean.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

For anyone who has read The Losers, the updated version created by Diggle and Jock a few years ago, this issue will confirm what a great team they are.  For anyone who has only read Diggle’s recent story in Batman Confidential, this will just show that the right artist can make all the difference in the world.  Jock adds so much to Diggle’s writing and the art is what makes this issue a joy. 

The origin of Green Arrow is an interesting situation.  There really is not much to it beyond millionaire playboy gets stuck on an island, takes up a bow and arrow to survive, and when he gets rescued and returns home decides to help those less fortunate.  Over the years this has not changed that much, unlike say Superman or Batman or Wonder Woman in which various elements of their origins have been changed.  Despite that, there have been several Year One Green Arrow stories (and more than you would think there would be).  I think the appeal with Green Arrow is not the mechanics of the plot, which as mentioned largely remains the same, but the fact that the structure of the story is loose enough that Ollie’s character arc (his growth and maturation) can be changed or altered without affecting the events of the basic plot. 

This is evident in this issue as Diggle and Jock tell the first part of the story:  the time up to the moment when he falls off the boat.  Diggle adds a few new things to Ollie’s story, but the essentials are still there.  He adds in a blatant Robin Hood connection to explain his eventual costume and then adds in betrayal fro ma supposed friend to give the story a little more weight, but as I said, these are flourishes to an already solid story.  It will be interesting to see how die hard Green Arrow fans will react to this series, but I think that there will only be an uproar if Diggle can find something that really changes Ollie’s origin.  Somehow I don’t think that will happen.