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Green Arrow #52 Review

Comic Books

Green Arrow #52 Review

Green Arrow-as-werewolf ends this week and based on the cover I’m not so sure he makes it out alive. We take a look at the comic to answer the question: is it good?

Green Arrow #52 (DC Comics)

Green Arrow #52 Review

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And based on the official DC Comics summary I guess he is dead:

Green Arrow is dead. Deathstroke has won, and now he’s returning to the states to deliver Dr. Miracle to the man known as Blood Bag. And in Seattle, the war between the Berserkers and the Patriots has led to the Wargs being rounded up and sent to internment camps—which sparks an uprising among the Wargs!

Why does this book matter?

I’ve rather enjoyed this series, though for the most part it has felt average. That said there are moments that lift up either due to the art, ideas, or action which makes each issue worthy of your eyeballs.

Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?

The story comes to a close with most if not all plot points wrapped up. Writer Benjamin Percy manages to make the first two pages quite heroic even though Green Arrow is dead. From there, Deathstroke continues to be a badass and tensions rise, culminating into a climactic issue that brings the action.

The strongest element of this issue is Deathstroke coming to grips with having a conscience. Though he did stab the hell out of Ollie last month he questions his actions (however briefly) and eventually does the right thing in a sense. The idea of going against your nature is well written in the captions and connects to Deathstroke and Green Arrow in their own ways.

Szymon Kudranski pulls off the Green Arrow death scene in a cool three panel page as he fights through blood. He also continues to make the big bad vampire character freaky as heck and the entire sequence of Deathstroke delivering the payload works due to the dark horror feel.

It can’t be perfect can it?

Far from it unfortunately. From the magic blood that cures all the problems and wraps things up too easily, to the vampire villain who is quickly dispatched, to awkward dialogue throughout, this issue reads like it was rushed. I’m not even that bothered that Dr. Miracle has been reduced to a fearful and powerless character (because he has), but to use his blood as a fix to all of this story arc’s problems simply feels lazy. There’s no buy-in to care about Dr. Miracle and using his blood to fix nearly everything is just too easy. Nothing feels earned.

Meanwhile, the art has its moments, until it doesn’t. There are fantastic panels that convey the horror of the werewolves, the vampire and Deathstroke, but there are many more where characters are drawn with awkward hips or arms. Kudranski excels at drawing creepy stuff, but when it comes to choreographing action characters look off and that takes you out of the experience. In one of the worst pages of this book Dr. Miracle is strung up to a ceiling and it does not look believable. A few panels later, one of the vampires’ henchmen is shot with arrows and her gasps and pain are comically bad. Bottom line, there are too many awkward panels throughout this issue.

Is It Good?

I can’t say this is a good comic. There are too many awkward panels that pull you out of the narrative and the narrative itself is a rush to the finish line with awkward dialogue and easy coincidences.

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