Green Arrow #8 Review

Pretty Bird

Written by: Ben Percy
Art by: Otto Schmidt and Nate Piekos
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: October 5, 2016

I really enjoyed the just finished "Sins of the Mother" story arc mainly because I love Emiko.  I also
love Ollie and laughed out loud when he woke up on the Island after the Inferno sunk, yelling, "Not again!"  Not again, indeed!!!  I guess it doesn't matter what we all think, Ollie is on the Island and we will have to deal with it.  So, is this beginning of the Island of Scars any good?  Let's find out...




The issue opens with Ollie dealing with survival on the island (yea, it's not really THE ISLAND) and that means killing game for food and running from one of the biggest bears I've seen this side of the Revenant!  Ben Percy does a good job showing how much Ollie misses his old life, but most importantly, his friends.

He doesn't have to miss all of them too long because out of nowhere, Dinah shows up to brighten Ollie's day.  I had to admire the way Otto Schmidt (yea, he's back!) lightens up everything to really stress that she is the light of Ollie's life.  After a bunch of bright panels of the two doing love bird things, we switch over to Diggle and things get dark.

He's busy having a late night campfire meal when he is attacked by what appears to be the same bear that attacked Ollie.  The bear scoops him up and takes him to...I won't spoil it, but let me tell you, it is shocking in a "what the fuck is going on?" kind of way.  Really, what the fuck is going on?!?!

The next day sees Oliver and Dinah figuring out what they are going to do next and Dinah continues being a good influence on Ollie.  They start off treating their situation as a bit of a vacation and I loved seeing them get better acquainted.  After an uncomfortable few moments where Ollie pushed a little too hard into Dinah's past. they spot Diggle's campfire and think the worst has happened to their friend.  The issue ends with the two suited up and off on the hunt.

This issue may be heavy setup, but what we got, I really liked.  There is a mystery brewing on the island and we see enough to have me really intrigued.  In the here an now, we also get some really good Oliver/Dinah moments that are worth the price of admission alone.

Speaking of that, Otto Schmidt's art is so good, I feel like I should pay him a little extra for his work.  It's that good and it just pounds in my opinion that Ben Percy has the benefit of the best art team in Rebirth.

Bits and Pieces:

If you have been enjoying Green Arrow up until now, I think that will continue this week.  If you haven't given it a try, this issue is as good as any as a jumping on point...maybe even better.  The character interactions, art and growing mystery make this easy to recommend.

8.0/10