:.. Green Arrow/Black Canary: A League of Their Own

Green Arrow/Black Canary: A League of Their Own

DC

Written by Judd Winick, Art by Mike Norton and Wayne Faucher

Jun 01, 2009 Web Exclusive By Kyle Lemmon

Wedded superheroes live the kind of abnormal domestic lives you’d associate with Hollywood darlings, so when a resurrected Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) and Black (Dinah Lance) got hitched, fans of the resultant team-up DC series knew to expect tragedy to assail the duo. Writer Judd Winick and illustrators Mike Norton, and Wayne Faucher stir up enough internal calamities for the GA family. Regrettably, A League of Their Own presents little in the way of compelling external threats. Before the first act commences readers are thankfully caught up with a quick prologue. The Green Arrow team learns that during their nuptials the recently assailed and comatose Connor Hawke has been kidnapped. The newlyweds enlist an ad hoc search team of fellow Justice Leaguers Batman and Plastic Man, sidekick Speedy and thief Dodger to look for their son. While the odds and sods posse search for Connor, a harebrained Ra’s al Ghul imposter is also uncovered. The villains are obviously not the focal point of this series. It’s hard to be fan of the grinning James Bond-like malevolent Doctor Sivana. This Emerald Archer collection spans Green Arrow/Black Canary #11-14 but only gets exciting in its last two issues. Winick fares better when he dramatizes Connor’s unnaturally quick recovery and its possibly sinister repercussions. Ollie’s fatherly dissention over his daughter (Speedy) falling for the shifty Dodger is also quite comical. Dinah and Ollie’s marital squabbles complement the pedestrian artwork but one still wishes DC would aim for the grittier side of the GA series. The Silver Age-styled Secret Files one-shot about father Arrow and the Perpetuas demon Tonnabok is a bizarre choice for an addendum but goes along with what Winick was trying to convey with this family narrative. The most disconcerting part of League is how truncated it reads, like its creators are stuck choosing between more agreeable narrative targets. A longer story might have worked. Ollie’s archery counsel during The Parting Shot seems apropos: “It’s not shooting blind, but you’ve got to go more on instinct than sight. The second shot from the same distance is easy." (www.dccomics.com)

Author rating: 5/10

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Average reader rating: 7/10