Green Arrow #40 Review

Teen Resistance Titans League

Written by: Colin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing
Art by: Marcio Takara, Marcelo Maiolo, and Deron Bennett
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 2, 2018

“THE CHILDREN OF VAHKAR” finale! Nothing and his army have left Green Arrow for dead in the desert. In order to get himself back to full strength and take out the army, Green Arrow will have to team up with a band of rebel heroes in Vahkar—but will they trust him? Or will he only find himself with more enemies to fight?

Last issue we left Ollie bleeding out as Nothing and his kid army walked off into the sunset and this issue opens with a George W. reference and a lot of blood...Ollie's blood of course.  We get the unfortunate reveal that he left Canary with some bad words before coming to Rhapastan and then...he is all better!  Yep, Ollie wakes up good as new and finds out who saved him.  They call themselves the Last Free Kids in Rhapastan and they are pretty awesome!

I was not a fan of the first issue of this mini-arc and while that came off as cliched filler, this beginning was a bit different.  Give me an underground, resistance Teen Titans-like team and I am so in.

We get some introductions and while the group fashions itself after the Justice League, I'm still going Titans in my head.  There is a funny moment when we find out one of the members is called "Speedy" (cue head in hands for Ollie) and even the idea that Oliver was healed by a Lazarus Pit couldn't dampen my good mood.

Alright, we have a team and they are heading off to take care of Nothing, right?  Well...Oliver is not down with getting anyone else killed and tells the kids to hang up the guns and outfits and go home.  Home?  They have no home!  Instead, they attack Ollie to prove their worth and it leads to a training montage that makes Rob Lowe's fighting lessons in Youngblood seem overdone.  Then it's off to face Racki Nothing.

We then get the big fight, lots of trick arrows, reunions and trash talk between Ollie and Nothing.  The progression is a little confusing, but mainly because it's done at a breakneck pace to get it all finished by the end of the issue.

By the end, Nothing is defeated and as the kids are about to toll out Rhapastan justice, Ollie shows his hand and the people come up with a better plan.  Me?  I would have popped a cap in him, but hey, I'm from the streets, yo!  Actually, I probably would have peed myself and passed out way before any of this happened.

I'm not going to say this is a perfect issue because it isn't.  However, I had some fun with the Resistance and while the ending was a bit forced to fit the overall SJW concept that this book has embraced, it made me smile a bit.  That goes a long way with me.  I liked Marcio Takara's art a bit more in this issue and the whole art team did a bang-up job.

Bits and Pieces:

While I was not a huge fan of Lanzing and Kelly's first issue, this one had a bit more fun. The art was also a tad better this time around and while the message was forced, it was still one I can get behind.

7.0/10