***Contains Spoilers***
Mike Grell‘s run on Green Arrow in the Longbow Hunters Saga is action-packed and gritty. I read a digital copy and now looking to buy the pair of omnibus if I can find them at affordable prices.
This was a pleasant change from the Green Arrow & Green Lantern adventures in the late ’70s. Mike Grell has created a gritty street crime/spy adventure in this six-year run. I enjoyed the mix of social issues, crime stories, and character development. At times it did feel a bit overdone and too ’80s. Some of the nudity felt forced and gratuitous in 2022, but I can see how this was disruptive and new when it first came out.
The Shado stories were my favorite, followed closely by the Edward Fryers stories. I appreciate that the stories were set outside the larger DC universe and loved the cameo by Hal (vs. Green Lantern). However, I would have preferred to see more of an Oliver/Dinah team-up. It was always odd to me that they would only really fight separately, but both insisted on the lifestyle.
While Oliver’s character development grew, I did get a bit annoyed by the love triangles. It seemed strange that Oliver could just up and leave for months at a time, but then everything is fine right away when he returns. Shado’s “rape” of Oliver to have a kid also seemed to go without much repercussion. The kiss with Marianne to break up Oliver and Dinah seemed out of character. There could have been better ways to break them up.
Great read! This story is 4-stars and something that I am sure to revisit in a few years.
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