Green Arrow #19 Review

My Ward...

Written by: Ben Percy
Art by: Eleonora Carlini, Mirka Andolfo, Arif Prianto and Hi-Fi and Nate Piekos
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 15, 2017

Put Oliver Queen and Roy Harper together and there are bound to be sparks, if not flames.  Ben Percy obviously knows that and really played off of that in the beginning of his "The Return of Roy Harper" arc.  By mixing in the past and the present, he showed me how much I want a Green Arrow/Speedy book even as he showed us why that may never be possible.  The issue ended with a punch to the face cliffhanger courtesy of Roy and while I thought it was odd that he didn't seem to know Ollie's life was in shambles, I went with it because I was having so much fun.  That being said, I enjoyed the flashback bits way more than the present day stuff and was hoping that might change (or at least even out) this week.  Did they and was this issue as good as the last?  Let's find out...


The issue opened on the "Rez" in the present and the present is a scene lifted straight out of Road Warrior.  It's mass chaos as the Wild Dog Militia tries to end the protest and the trouble extends to Roy and Oliver as well...Roy just straight up hates Oliver!  While they argue about the idea of people changing, Black Canary shows up and kicks total ass, but also knows when to fold 'em and gets everyone to leave the table when the leaving is good.

It was an okay start, but when we head back to the past, I once again realized that's where I want to spend my time.  We continue seeing Green Arrow and Speedy versus Count Vertigo and Ben Percy does a really good job reminding everyone how much of a tech genius Roy actually is.  Yea, the trucker hat isn't a dead giveaway, but the assortment of awesome arrows and his observational skills when it comes to Vertigo are dead on.

Back in the present, Roy gets a little talking to from Canary and it's about friends and family and while Roy wants to pretend he's not listening, we all know he is.  I really liked everything we got so far, but then Ben Percy goes back to his old SJW ways a bit it slows the fun train down.

We see what we already suspected, Broderick is obviously behind the Wild Dogs attacking the protesters and a continuation of the mystery behind who killed Bird and Roy's father.  The last bit joins nicely with Roy's decent into scumbags-ville and while Oliver is way over the top in his anger, we know where all this is headed...to quote Neil Young, the needle and the damage done.

The issue ends by showing us the beginning of the end of Roy and Oliver's partnership just as we see them joining up now for the greater good.  I know there are more bridges to repair before this is all done, but I loved seeing the two of them together with Canary.

I didn't like this issue as much as the last one, but all is not lost.  While most will grab onto the scenes of Roy's dark past, I loved the earlier ones, especially seeing how smart (and smart ass) Roy was.  I am still not that into the present day stuff and that's a big problem as that's the main story going forward, but hopefully Percy can change that starting next issue.  As for now, this is an okay issue with some good fan service.

The dual art team of Eleonora Carlini and Mirka Andolfo do a decent job throughout, but this issue is not as good looking as the last one.  There really isn't anything that sticks out as great, but the art doesn't ruin the party either.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue is full of fan service and social commentary and while I liked the former more than the later, neither made this a must read for me.  It's a shame because I loved the first issue of this arc, but this one made me feel like the story was already starting to drag after only two issues.  The art was good, but even that didn't wow me enough to recommend this issue.

6.8/10