The No Event Comic Review #6

Arrow Trade Paperback

As with any anthology, you get a mixed bag with contributors of various skills. This collection, however is too little of the good and too much of the bad.

All of the stories in this collection are stand alone 8 page tales. It comes as no surprise that the best stories are by Mike Grell, author of Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters and 80 issues (plus 2 Annuals) of the monthly comic between February 1988 through November 1993.

The worst of the stories simply rehash events disclosed in the TV. Much like the inaccurately named BEFORE WATCHMEN, these tales simply show stories we already know from the point of view of different characters or dramatizing stories that were told concisely by characters and didn't need to be shown in an 8-page comic.

The problem with the good stories is that at 8-pages, they are to shallow to really enjoy. What you get is the hint of a good story, then it is done. I think that the reader would have been better served if these stories were expanded and then released 8 pages at a time. With any luck, once the series is over, DC will continue the series in comic book form, much like they have done with Smallville.

Instead of spending money on this collection, I would recommend purchasing the Green Arrow comics by Mike Grell, including the rerelease of Longbow Hunters, as these greatly influenced the look and feel of the current TV show. I would also recommend reading Green Arrow: Year One by Andy Diggle and Jock, which has a new cover to tie it in with the show.