Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Review | Tagged: amanda waller, batgirl, black canary, brainiac, brick, Carmen Carnero, dc comics, green arrow, Julie Benson, justice league, justice league: no justice, no justice, oliver queen, sci-fi, Shawna Benson, superheroes, trish mulvihill

Green Arrow Annual #2 Review: A High-Flying and Charming One-Off Story

There is a Brainiac spaceship raining chaos upon Seattle. It looks like a job for the Justice League, but they're nowhere to be seen. Even worse, Green Arrow can't get in touch with Red Arrow, Arsenal, or Black Canary, and the Queen Incorporated cell phone satellite has been taken down. Thankfully, Batgirl contacts Ollie through a Birds of Prey transmitter. Can Green Arrow figure out what's going on without being killed?

As you could guess from the description, this is a No Justice tie-in story. It explains what Ollie was up to during the prelude and immediate aftermath of the miniseries.

It doesn't add anything earth-shattering to No Justice, but it is a very fun read. Green Arrow is left to deal with threats above his paygrade. He is committed and skilled, but he trips and stumbles in parts. It recalls Kelly Thompson or Matt Fraction's Hawkeye stints or even Nick Spencer's Astonishing Ant-Man, where the heroes are well-meaning walking car crashes of people. I wouldn't say that Green Arrow's situation is that dire, but he's within walking distance of it.

The story flows very well too, with Ollie never staying in one place too long and the story never overexplaining itself. There is plenty of action with liberal use of trick arrows, which is always a good thing. The story does contradict itself about who took down the Queen satellite and for what reason, but, in the end, this is a minor detail.

Carmen Carnero's artwork is a sleek and fast-moving style which looks fantastic from beginning to end. It's highly-detailed too, and each panel has a nice texture to it. The right details are focused on from scene-to-scene, and I'm generally crazy about this art style. Trish Mulvihill's color art is bright and appealing to boot, making the comic that much more energetic.

Green Arrow Annual #2 is a fast-moving and fun one-off story that highlights a lot about what is great about Oliver Queen. Julie and Shawna Benson crafted a classically fun comic here, and the art team of Carnero and Mulvihill contributed excellent artwork. This one earns a strong recommendation. Give it a read.

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