I dropped this series after the first dozen issues for a very stupid reason: I was disappointed that Mike Grell wasn't doing Jon Sable, Freelance. Years later I picked up the rest of the run at a quarter sale and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's an adult series (in a non-salicious way) about the relationship between a man and a woman who happen to be superheroes. It takes place in it's own little corner of the DCU and pretty much stands on its own.
I liked the Dixon series, too, although the emphasis eventually shifted from Oliver Queen to Conner. It's not so much a question (for me) of which is "better," but rather which I'm in the mood for. I can pretty well steer you away from the issues between the Grell and Dixon runs, however, except for the "Zero Hour" crossover, which was quirky enough to appeal to me. In the interests of full disclosure, Zero Hour was one of my favorite crossovers of the day. YMMV.
Thanks Jeff! I have read Longbow Hunters, and wondered if the ongoing was in the same vein. Back then, I lived 3 hours away from the nearest comic shop, so that's why I missed out
I liked them both, although I can't say I remember them very well. I eventually gave up on the book before the focus shifted from Ollie to Connor; I didn't like the Eddie Frye character and I felt like he was being shoved down our throats.
Jeff is right that it stands in its own corner of the DC Universe; Mike Grell had this notion that most everything about Green Arrow was "silly" -- starting with the name -- and went out of his way to, I guess, present him as being not silly. That's why no one ever actually says "Green Arrow" in the title and why he stopped using the trick arrows and started skewering people. On the other hand, Grell didn't seem to realize that his more "realistic" treatment of a vigilante is, in its own way, rather silly because it upped the violence, and the gore that comes with the violence, without the consequences.
Take the guest appearance of Grell's creation Travis Morgan, from the Warlord title. Morgan never appears in costume and is never referred to as the Warlord. So far, so good. Instead, there are in-jokes about how much he and Ollie look alike. But the story has him, Ollie, and Dinah spending all night fighting off an army of killers armed to the teeth, and they win, and Morgan goes on his merry way. As one critic pointed out, if there was a gun battle that went on for hours on end, you know it would be on CNN. But not here; nobody notices.
I haven't read much of Grell's run on GA, but I can say I enjoyed most of the Connor Hawke era.
First off, it's Chuck Dixon, so you know its got some good action and generally interesting characterizations.
Not being at all acquainted with the intricacies of the "Green Arrow" story, I did get kind of lost now and then with one-off references that popped up. These weren't enough to make me drop the book though, because it was an action book, and you could just plow through that stuff and still make that particular story work.
It's just story about a guy shooting people with arrows after all.
From the top of my pointed head, I thought he was a CIA (or ex-CIA) agent working for some mysterious person, trying to send GA to right some wrong or otherwise get GA in some trouble.
Lumbering Jack said:
He's a guy with a mustache. That's all I ever figured out about him. Dixon was always a little light on the details.
Luke Blanchard said:
I've an idea I should know this, but I don't: who is Eddie Frye?
Martin Gray > David WarrenJanuary 4, 2010 at 11:52am
I read the Longbow Hunters and that was enough for me - if you're embarrassed by the name, costume and MO, let someone else write the book!
David Warren said:
From the top of my pointed head, I thought he was a CIA (or ex-CIA) agent working for some mysterious person, trying to send GA to right some wrong or otherwise get GA in some trouble.Lumbering Jack said:
He's a guy with a mustache. That's all I ever figured out about him. Dixon was always a little light on the details.
Luke Blanchard said:
I've an idea I should know this, but I don't: who is Eddie Frye?
Replies
I liked the Dixon series, too, although the emphasis eventually shifted from Oliver Queen to Conner. It's not so much a question (for me) of which is "better," but rather which I'm in the mood for. I can pretty well steer you away from the issues between the Grell and Dixon runs, however, except for the "Zero Hour" crossover, which was quirky enough to appeal to me. In the interests of full disclosure, Zero Hour was one of my favorite crossovers of the day. YMMV.
Jeff is right that it stands in its own corner of the DC Universe; Mike Grell had this notion that most everything about Green Arrow was "silly" -- starting with the name -- and went out of his way to, I guess, present him as being not silly. That's why no one ever actually says "Green Arrow" in the title and why he stopped using the trick arrows and started skewering people. On the other hand, Grell didn't seem to realize that his more "realistic" treatment of a vigilante is, in its own way, rather silly because it upped the violence, and the gore that comes with the violence, without the consequences.
Take the guest appearance of Grell's creation Travis Morgan, from the Warlord title. Morgan never appears in costume and is never referred to as the Warlord. So far, so good. Instead, there are in-jokes about how much he and Ollie look alike. But the story has him, Ollie, and Dinah spending all night fighting off an army of killers armed to the teeth, and they win, and Morgan goes on his merry way. As one critic pointed out, if there was a gun battle that went on for hours on end, you know it would be on CNN. But not here; nobody notices.
First off, it's Chuck Dixon, so you know its got some good action and generally interesting characterizations.
Not being at all acquainted with the intricacies of the "Green Arrow" story, I did get kind of lost now and then with one-off references that popped up. These weren't enough to make me drop the book though, because it was an action book, and you could just plow through that stuff and still make that particular story work.
It's just story about a guy shooting people with arrows after all.
Luke Blanchard said:
Lumbering Jack said:
David Warren said:
He's a sort of freelance mercenary who was cast as GA's antagonist in Longbow Hunters, but they later became allies.