Review: Green Arrow Vol. 6- Broken
Quick Summary
Pros: Well scripted action sequences provide tons of fun and excitement. Emiko and Oliver’s interactions are great. The book ends in a way that leaves a lot of potential for the future.
Cons: The conclusion to this storyline comes about quickly and feels somewhat rushed. The Futures End tie-in does not work well on its own.
Overall: This book is a satisfactory conclusion to a wonderful saga. It starts with a bit of action and some of the series’ trademark fight sequences. Then it moves on to some great development for both characters and storylines. It stumbles near the end and feels rushed at points, but still ends up being one of the best volumes in this series. This is a great volume for fans who have been reading along the whole time or a perfect place for new readers to jump into the action.
Story
Green Arrow Vol. 6: Broken continues the success of Jeff Lemire’s legendary run on Green Arrow. Here, readers get to see the thrilling conclusion of what has been a simply epic saga and get a few last minute surprises before it ends. However, this volume is also very short and tries to wrap up a lot of loose ends with only a little bit of time. This causes some portions of the book to feel a bit rushed and makes this volume the weakest of Lemire’s writings. That being said, the weakest of Lemire’s writings is still one of the best volumes in this series thus far and is definitely a read that fans of Green Arrow will enjoy.
(spoilers start here)
The book starts out with a Secret Origins issue that succinctly wraps up everything important that has happened in the saga so far. For new readers, this provides a great jumping on point and does a wonderfully accurate job of providing all relevant information. However, readers who just finished Green Arrow Vol. 5: The Outsiders War (Review) will be repeating a lot of information and may end up being bored until the origin story is over.
Luckily, this origin is rather short, allowing the exciting portion of the book to begin. Oliver is back in Seattle and ready to take on newcomer Dragon. However, before being able to do this, he is ambushed by a number of enemies Dragon has managed to recruit to his cause. He is nearly defeated, but is saved by his sister, Emiko, who has come to Seattle to become Green Arrow’s new partner. This portion of the book is where the fun action takes place and is where readers are treated to the awesome fight sequences that have become a staple of this run. In this way, the book achieves great success and is at nearly the same level of quality as the previous volumes.
The problem comes about near the end. Though the conclusion is well written and provides a satisfying end to Lemire’s run, I couldn’t help but feel like it was rushed. In the previous volume, Dragon was set up as a terrifying threat who was going to provide Oliver with nearly the same level of trouble that the Outsiders did. However, when he finally is able to step up to bat, he ends up being dispatched within a few pages of Oliver encountering him. Lemire’s writing manages to make this ending as entertaining as possible, but it still ends up being a bit disappointing in some regards.
The positives from the ending come from the way it sets up interesting storylines for the next volume to pick up. Emiko’s entrance into Green Arrow’s life, Oliver’s tense relationship with Diggle, and the status of his current teammates are all places where unique and interesting storylines have the possibility to be built. I am particularly interested in seeing Emiko embrace her role as Green Arrow’s protégé, as this has the potential to be both funny and emotional. Overall, this volume left me extremely excited to read the next volume of this series, even though Jeff Lemire will be leaving it.
The book then concludes with a Futures End tie-in issue that doesn’t really read well on its own. Most Futures End tie-in simply provide a unique look at a possible future for a character. This one is directly related to the Future End storyline and thus does not make a ton of sense without knowledge of that storyline. Seeing grown up versions of Emiko and Naomi is fun but ends up being one of the issue’s few big positives.
(spoilers end here)
Art
Andrea Sorrentino’s artwork continues to be one of the best aspects of this series; it is honestly what elevates this book from being a pretty good volume to a great one. Sorrentino draws your attention to precisely where it needs to be and uses this attention to highlight the book’s best looking features. This is a collection that can go from emotional and inspiring moments of heroism to dark and intense fight sequences on the drop of the hat, something that keeps readers in a constant state of engagement. This is a good looking book that validates all of the compliments we lavished upon Sorrentino’s work in our review of The Kill Machine (found here).
Continuity
Green Arrow Vol. 6: Broken flows directly out of the events of Green Arrow Vol. 5: The Outsiders War (Review).
The story continues in Green Arrow Vol. 7: Kingdom.
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- Oliver mentions a “Villain’s Uprising” happening. This is, most likely, a reference to Forever Evil (Review).
- The last chapter of this book is a tie-in to Futures End.