@Yazov I think it would’ve been nice to see more training. He was just suddenly talented with a bow and arrow based off of some training he did years ago. Seeing the progression would’ve felt more authentic.
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This is the first Arrow story I’ve read. I watch Arrow, so that is the extent of my exposure to Oliver, until now.
I like this origin more than I like the TV’s show’s origin. On the show, he starts his crusade because his dad asked him to ‘right his[the father’s] wrongs.’ Here, we see Oliver start his crusade after receiving exceptional kindness and selflessness from someone that was in a dire and precarious situation.
I like this Oliver more than the TV Oliver. The fixation with Robin Hood was cool. The withdrawals from opium were descriptively written. I felt like I got an upclose and personal blow-by-blow view of the fight scenes. The traitorous “friend”, well… he had it coming based on what he did to the people on the island.
I liked the ruthlessness and brillance of China White - she needed both attributes to build the vast empire she built. Great villain.
Two things made me pause: (1) How did he find more drinking water? It looked like he only found one red container of stale and contaminated water. (2) How was he able to take everyone out, seemingly so easily? I think that goes back to the point @Yazov made about seeing more of his training in archery.
Overall, I enjoyed it; it was a fast and entertaining read. I want to know what happens next.
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Congratulations on the son!
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One of the above posts just reminded me…there in fact is the Arrow TV show series. Is any of that show like this year one comic at all? Is Arrow also Ollie on TV?
I liked the series because its completely different than any other “super hero” story I’ve ever seen or read. Caught me totally off guard that a rich man would change his life so much to help others out. So much self reflection from Ollie where he reminisces about how he was, what he used to do as hes changing his life on this island to help the less fortunate. This series really has me wanting to read what’s next and check out the TV show if it’s at all like this.
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I really enjoyed it. It was the first year one story I’ve read and I realized how nice it is to be able to read a story with no continuity attached. I don’t read them in comics ever
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I liked it. Didn’t love it. The art was beautiful. Some of the story felt a bit, I don’t know, too convenient I guess? Like… I’m willing to suspend my disbelief in that Oliver was lucky enough to wash up on an island. But when his boat gets “caught in the same current” and was also washed up with him the whole time…I already my head a bit. Or that both happen to wash up on the exact same island where Ollie’s attempted murderer happens to also be doing business. I could go on, but that’s probably enough.
Like I said, it’s not that I didn’t like it. I did enjoy my time reading it. And I actually read it all in one sitting, which isn’t my norm. So that’s saying something I think. It’s just that some of it felt a bit too easy I guess. Hope that makes some sense. I feel like I’m rambling haha
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@thegoz
It does have a lot of comic book goofiness.
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Congratulations! I will check those issues out.
@MattMcdonald Yeah, and I’m not trying to fault it for that or anything. Hope it didn’t come across that way. Just not totally for me I guess
Glad to see a lot of you digging the book. This is one of my all time favorites so it’s kinda hard for me to speak objectively about it. But I’ll be in throughout the day tomorrow chatting it up:)
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On references of this comic on Arrow, there is a big one in China White, who is a reoccurring villain on the show played by Kelly Hu.
Anyway, this is a pretty damn good mini. Diggle really does a good job at making Ollie a douche but still likeable, and Jock’s art is just to die for. If I could find any problems, it’s the whole bit of Ollie getting addicted to heroin, which just felt out of place and didn’t really add to the story other than “ooh, so gritty!”
One detail I liked was how they told this new take on the origin without invalidating what came before. When Ollie talks about making up a story about “some hippies growing weed,” that’s referencing the origin that Ollie tells to Dinah in The Longbow Hunters.
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Saturday’s like Christmas morning for me as a child. This is when I get to unwrap whatever it is Uncle Matt left under the DCU tree and tell all my buddies what I got!
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@Yazov
I’m perfectly okay with their explanation as to why he’s such a good archer. It kinda fit with that whole burnout persona he’s got going on
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This is a great story, updating the classic Green Arrow origin, and adding a deeply personal journey for Ollie to transform from spoiled rich kid to social justice warrior. Hackett is a good addition to the Green Arrow mythos, even if he doesn’t survive. He is a good counterpoint to Ollie and their character dynamic is one of the best things about the series.
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I too enjoy the Hacket and Ollie dynamic. I really wish he would be reintroduced in the DCU.
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This was a good read for sure and I’d say it does draw parallels to the first season of Arrow. I liked how Hackett had every opportunity to kill Ollie, but opted not to. Also thought that China White was a pretty good villain with how setup she was with the opium.
I will agree with others it would’ve been nice to flesh out how he got to be good with the bow, but at the same time it feels like the story is still good without it.
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