Ten years ago, Oliver Queen/Green Arrow sacrificed himself to save others, and his friends have never quite gotten over their grief at his loss. But recent crime scenes have been littered with the trick arrows that are Ollie's trademark, and people have sighted a hooded figure with the classic blonde goatee. Ollie may be back, but he's changed--plagued with amnesia, he doesn't remember anything of his recent history, much less what's been going on while he was dead. How and why is he back? And what doesn't he remember?
I admit I was a little hesitant about this book, given the generally poor reception to Smith's Batman arc, Cacophony. However, I loved his work on The Widening Gyre, and I like his movies, so I gave it a shot. (Also, this was the last of the three Green Arrow books owned by the MLC. We may need to work on that). I have to say this was up there with Year One in terms of quality, and made up for the "meh" taste left over from the last GA book I read. This is a pivotal moment in Ollie's story: he's returned from the dead--an event which will make him vulnerable during the Blackest Night arc a few years down the road--but he's also got some introspection and self-realization to do (I could say more, but that would ruin one of the great surprises of the book). There are a great many cameo appearances in this volume, from the rest of the Justice League (both living and dead), to some more fringe DC characters (Morpheus! Woot!). Smith handles it all well, and seasons it with his characteristic humor, making for a fun read. Part of my love for this series might come from the fact that Batman plays a prominent role in the story, and seeing the Dark Knight juxtaposed against the (more normal and well-adjusted) Justice League is always entertaining.
Now I'm out of Green Arrow books, so I need to head down to Starclipper for some suggestions!
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