Review: Green Arrow Vol. 3- Emerald Outlaw

October 13, 2020 ComicBookWire

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is fun, tense, and exciting. Green Arrow’s approach to political issues provides a unique reflection on current events. The entire volume does a great job in building excitement for the future. The artwork is gorgeous throughout the book.

Cons: The volume’s pacing is troubled in a few places.

Overall: This is another hit for the Green Arrow Rebirth series. It has engaging action, a well-executed approach to political issues, and some simply beautiful artwork to back it all up. The volume also pushes the series forward by continuing to develop its mysteries, giving readers plenty of reasons to come back for more. This is a book for fans of Green Arrow’s approach to crime fighting or politics.

Story

Green Arrow Vol. 3: Emerald Outlaw, by Benjamin Percy, is pure Green Arrow fun. It centers on flashy action and witty banter from Green Arrow and his associates. These adventures push forward the narrative behind this series, introducing additional intrigue and opening the door for future adventures. The same positives are also seen in Green Arrow’s trademark political commentary and activist nature, which works well here and also seems to be building toward something more significant. The only real downside is that there are some pacing problems. Overall though, this is a solid read that should please fans of this character.

(spoilers start here)

Emerald Outlaw is, first and foremost, a series of action-packed confrontations starring Green Arrow and his comrades. He has to deal with a villain attempting to frame him for a series of murders, contend with corruption within the city’s police force, and deal with an alt-right vigilante group attempting to kill any and all criminals. Each of these encounters is engaging, contains scenes of daring heroics from the main characters, and includes some fun moments between Green Arrow and his friends.

All of these encounters also come with Green Arrow’s trademark penchant for political statements. The volume tackles systemic police corruption, hatred disguised as “law and order” policies, and alt-right politicians. In these ways, it reflects on the modern political landscape and provides Green Arrow’s views on it. This is well done and feels reminiscent of what Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams accomplished decades ago.

The entirety of Emerald Outlaw also provides a point of transition for the Green Arrow series. It takes the status quo of the previous volumes and begins to work on pushing it even further. It indicates that the political system in Seattle is going to change, that something is going on with Diggle, and that the mysterious cabal threatening the city is set to do even more. This left me even more excited to read more from this comic.

The biggest problem in Emerald Outlaw is the pacing. The volume jumps from one major problem to the next and then resolves things rather quickly. I would have liked to have seen more time spent exploring the mystery surrounding Merlyn’s reappearance or on the threat posed by “Vice Squad” before both concepts were resolved. This is not a major problem but it is a bit frustrating.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The visuals have been highly positive throughout the Green Arrow Rebirth series and Emerald Outlaw is no exception. Otto Schmidt’s artwork is gorgeous on every page and is a serious asset to this book. It allows the characters to look fantastic, does a great job in bringing Green Arrow’s unique world to life, and is laid out in a way that flows well. It makes the action feel dynamic while also taking time to simply appreciate the beauty of a few key moments. Alongside Schmidt’s work, a single chapter from Juan Ferreyra also looks great and a single chapter from Eleonora Carlini, Carlos Rodriguez, and Gus Vazquez does a solid job in replicating Schmidt’s style. All in all, this is a book where the visuals prove pleasant all around.