Green Arrow #23
Written By: Jeff Lemire Art By: Andrea SorrentinoGreen Arrow #23 has its moments of cool, nuanced Kung Fu-style action, but overall, suffers from pacing issues, a drastic art decision mid-issue and the use of underdeveloped characters.
With the possibility of sticking to the gritty main plot with Ollie, it is a shame that Lemire chose to throw in the goofy romantic sequence with Fyff, the tech geek. This just proves how the silly tone of Ollie’s supporting cast doesn’t match up with the threat, and because of this, makes characters like Fyff come off as cheesy and unneeded.
The back story between Ollie and his half-sister is an interesting development, but the decision to reveal the origin of the Outsiders in a long-winded two and a half page ordeal slows down the issue drastically, considering it is the final chapter. With Count Vertigo stopped so quickly shortly thereafter, the pay off isn’t there, since the showdown is delegated to the last couple pages of the issue.
Having the back story expressed in an “aged-paper” fashion is interesting in theory, but executed, there is a lot of unused space and the actual paintings themselves aren’t too different from the art in the other portions of the issue, save for saturation.
While there are fun elements to Green Arrow #23 with the art – in particular Ollie’s arrows and Count Vertigo’s attack – the issue is bogged down with issues of plotting and radical art choices.
