Review: Green Arrow Vol. 6- Trial of Two Cities

Quick Summary

Pros: The main narrative is interesting and utilizes a lot of the development from prior volumes. The volume’s approach to politics is well-done and works for Green Arrow. The character-driven portions of the story reach a fantastic conclusion. The artwork is mostly positive.

Cons: Some pieces of the conclusion are slightly disappointing.

Overall: This volume brings the larger narrative in this Green Arrow series to a close and does so with gusto. It combines compelling storytelling with great visuals in order to produce an entertaining reading experience. There are a few places where the narrative misses the mark but, for the most part, this ends up being a worthwhile conclusion to this era in Green Arrow’s history. Those who have been enjoying the series thus far should keep reading here.

Story

The final volume in Benjamin Percy’s impressive run on Green Arrow gets a lot right and only stumbles once in a few small places. The main narrative is tense and interesting. It takes all of the unfinished storylines and dangling mysteries from the past five volumes and puts them on the table. This results in a compelling narrative with an ending that satisfies in multiple regards. The downside is that some of the storytelling is cheesy and small pieces of the ending don’t feel satisfying. Overall though, Trial of Two Cities is a worthwhile conclusion to this Green Arrow run.

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The main narrative in Trial of Two Cities follows Green Arrow’s bold quest to free Seattle from the villainous clutches of the Ninth Circle. This quest sees him reconcile with his allies, risk his life to prevent an innocent woman from being put in danger, nearly witness the death of his sister, and ultimately has him betrayed by his own mother. The narrative ups and downs are exciting as it is never clear if the heroes will come out on top or how they will manage to do so.

This narrative also perfectly handles Green Arrow’s approach to civics. It firmly rejects an economy and government focused on the wealthy and insists that a political system is never any better than its most needy. This is true to Green Arrow’s character and works as the centerpiece of this arc’s moral message.

However, some of the book’s biggest successes come from its conclusion. The character-driven portions of the book’s end are excellent and leave things on a wonderful note. By the end of the read, Black Canary has made headway in making Green Arrow understand what she has been trying to tell him; Emiko has received the recognition she has been craving; the Justice League has clearly taken Green Arrow more seriously; and Diggle is back on Team Arrow. The biggest development, though, is within Oliver himself; who has moved beyond his past in order to make a better future for himself and his city. These pieces of the finale are excellent.

However, there are also small pieces of the finale that don’t work quite as well, mostly revolving around the end of the Ninth Circle. While many of the Ninth Circle’s main lackeys received dramatic conclusions, the actual organization itself doesn’t go down in any sort of dramatic fashion. It is assumed they are dealt with by the information Oliver obtained yet the fact that we don’t actually see anything done with this information is a bit disappointing. It is also a bit frustrating that nothing much was done with the Ninth Circle’s ties to the occult, which seemed like they were going to be a much bigger deal when this series started. However, this leaves plotlines open for the future so who knows if this open-ended ending will work out even better later on.

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Art

The artwork in Trial of Two Cities is consistently positive. Jamal Campbell and Stephen Byrne get things rolling with two energetic and stylized chapters. These chapters are bright and inviting, opening the volume with the optimistic note on which the previous volume closed. Then, Juan Ferreyra takes over as the tone shifts. In Ferreyra’s chapters, more realistic depictions better reflect some of the intense emotions on display and help emphasize the serious nature of this climactic storyline. Throughout the volume, the artwork looks nice and matches the story.

Continuity

Green Arrow Vol. 6: Trial of Two Cities continues the main storyline from Green Arrow Vol. 5: Hard Travelin’ Hero (Review) but it technically takes place immediately after the “Gotham Resistance” story arc from Dark Nights: Metal: The Resistance (Review) (Reading Order).

The story here continues in Green Arrow Vol. 7: Citizen’s Arrest (Review).