Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artists: Eleonora Carlini & Mirka Andolfo
Colors: Arif Prianto
Letters: Nate Piekos
Green Arrow #20 satisfyingly wraps up the Return of Roy Harper arc. Benjamin Percy does an excellent job of writing a conclusion to the historic breakup of the Green Arrow and Speedy relationship as well as the potential future for an Arsenal and Green Arrow team up. Green Arrow #20 also continues its meta-commentary on current politics of our country but does so without feeling preachy.
The last few years have been and up and down for Green Arrow. The beginning of the New 52 was a rough read but then Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentinio took over and their run is one of the greatest Green Arrow stories in the history of the character. In the wake of the Lemire/Sorrentino run the book became mediocre as it wasn’t awful but it could have been a lot better. Luckily DC Rebirth has been very kind to the character, who should be a flagship character with the success of the CW’s Arrow. Benjamin Percy has been doing a top-notch job and the title has been very enjoyable and the most recent issue is no different.
Green Arrow #20 concludes the Return of Roy Harper, which has defined the DC Rebirth relationship between Green Arrow and Arsenal. The present storyline follows Green Arrow and Black Canary defending a Native American Reservation from the expansion of an oil pipeline. The Reservation also happens to be the same reservation where a young Roy Harper was adopted and raised until a family tragedy exiled him to Seattle. Previously in the story Roy returns to aid his adopted brother and ends up in an uneasy alliance with Green Arrow. The story has also flashbacked to Roy become Green Arrow’s tech support and later Speedy, Green Arrow’s sidekick until his dip into Drugs and Alcohol soiled the relationship. This concluding issue does an excellent job of wrapping up both storylines as both tales come full circle. We see Green Arrow unable to win in the past against Count Vertigo without Roy while Arsenal needs Green Arrow in the present day to redeem himself of the past tragedy and sets up a future where these two heroes may find a way to work together.
Benjamin Percy has really found Ollie and the supporting casts voices. He’s returned Ollie to his social activist roots made famous by the Dennis O’Neil stories of the ‘70s while also catering his tales to new readers jumping on from the success of Arrow. His dialogue is dead on and he had me laughing with how asinine Arsenal’s backward hat look is with the wonderful comment, “You’re the eighth grader of Superheroes Roy. Your code name should be Middle School Bro.” I’ve been enjoying his writing since Green Arrow Rebirth #1 and I will stay with the book as long as Percy is writing it. The art was in the Green Arrow style that began with Otto Schmidt but Carlini and Andolfo put their own distinctive twist on the style. It has a lot of action and movement in its panel layouts and lends itself perfectly to Percy’s writing style.
Verdict: If you’ve been enjoying Green Arrow in its Rebirth incarnation or if you are fan of Arrow then this issue is a Buy. Benjamin Percy’s Green Arrow has been a great read every other week and one of the books I am happy to be getting twice a month. The art is fun and exciting and Green Arrow #20 does not disappoint.
