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Jun 03, 2016 DC Comics By Mark Redfern

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a Green Arrow comic book, probably since issue #1 of the New 52 relaunch in 2011. I meant to read Jeff Lemire’s run, as he’s one of the best comics writers of the last decade, but never got around to it. I have been keeping up with Oliver Queen’s small screen adventures on The CW’s Arrow, however, and now with the DC Rebirth relaunch it seems as good a time as ever to give the Emerald Archer another try on the printed page.

One thing that Geoff Johns’ DC Rebirth #1 pointed out is that the New 52 era backtracked on several romantic relationships. Lois Lane and Clark Kent were no longer married or even dating, the same with Barry Allen and Iris West. And the original Wally West didn’t even exist any more, even though his wife Linda Park did. The relationship between Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance (aka Black Canary) was another big one that got rewrote and a large part of the Green Arrow Rebirth #1 one-shot issue is bringing these two lovebirds back together. Apparently in the post-Flashpoint timeline these two have only met in passing once before, but when they reconnect in this issue there is immediate playful tension and chemistry.

It’s a bit hard to reconcile the fantastic recent take on Black Canary as the badass frontwoman of a cool post-punk band (which I did read and is referenced briefly in this issue) with a more traditional superhero comic, but it’s also nice to see Oliver and Dinah together again and it’s promised that the new regular Green Arrow comic will feature Black Canary heavily. As enjoyable as Arrow is, one character they did mishandle was Black Canary. Katie Cassidy became more convincing in the part as the series went on, but her sister Sara Lance (played by Caity Lotz) always made a more convincing Black Canary and had better chemistry with Oliver (played by Stephen Amell). [Spoiler alert if you’re behind on Arrow.] Now Arrow‘s Dinah Laurel Lance is dead and Sara Lance is the White Canary and on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, leaving Arrow no option to have the fun kind of Green Arrow/Black Canary partnership fans would want. Hopefully the new Green Arrow comic can scratch that itch.

This issue has compelling art by Otto Schmidt and the story by Benjamin Percy, featuring villains who hide out underneath Seattle, prompted a Wikipedia history lesson: who knew much of downtown Seattle was destroyed in a great fire in 1899 only to be rebuilt some 20 feet above the burnt out old city? (www.dccomics.com)

Author rating: 7/10