Spotlight:: Green Arrow vol. 2 #5

Issue: Green Arrow vol. 2 #5

Title: "Gauntlet"

Credits: Mike Grell (scripts) Ed Hannigan, Dick Giordano (art)

Cover Date: June, 1988

Synopsis: A young gay couple comes into Sherwood Florist (Black Canary's flower shop) to purchase a rose to celebrate their 8th anniversary. Dinah congratulates them, and they leave for a walk in the park. Soon after, they're ambushed by wrench wielding assailant. One of them is killed, the other put in critical condition.

The cops, finding a receipt from the shop on one of the victims, arrive to ask Ollie and Dinah if they saw anything. Dinah takes one look at the photo and heads for the bathroom, while Ollie questions the cops to get a better read on the situation.

Apparently there's been a wave of gay bashing in the city, and the cops are hampered by an unwillingness of witnesses to talk. Some are scared, some are indifferent, and some feel that the victims deserve it.

Meanwhile, Dinah's assistant, Colin, tells her he can't work for her anymore. He's been forcibly recruited into a new gang, and they've put him through "The Gauntlet," injuring him severely. Dinah encourages him to go to the police, but Colin insists they can't help.

Ollie decides to go undercover and wanders out of a gay bar and into the park. As soon as he's out of sight of the street he's ambushed by a group of thugs. He fights them off, only to discover that one of them is none other than Colin, Dinah's assistant!

Thoughts: I'm still not entirely sure Green Arrow is the right guy for this venue, but the story sure is interesting. I suppose he has earned his social issue cred in his previous adventures with Green Lantern, so it would make sense for Ollie to be the one to investigate a string of hate crimes. I was dubious of Dinah's reaction to the crime scene photos at first, since she's a veteran crime fighter and has presumably seen worse, but it considering her recent experiences, it may have hit a little too close to home. Overall, I'm interested to see how it turns out.

Acquisitions: Dollar Bin Blowout

I took some time this weekend to travel a few towns over to see my family. While I was there, I decided to check out my childhood comic book shop, The Book Exchange. I didn't have any ideas when I went over there, I just wanted to see how the place was doing. Honestly, things didn't look so good, but they did have about a dozen or so discount bins, all at $1.

I looked around a bit, and didn't find anything interesting...until I got to the G's. I found an absolutely stunning run of Green Arrow vol.2. At a dollar a piece, the sheer amount they had hurt the pocketbook, but I didn't want to risk leaving it for one of the other 3 Green Arrow mega-fans out there.

All in all, I got 37 issues of Green Arrow: 12, 13, 15, 16, 24, 26-27, 31-33, 40-43, 45-46, 48, 50, 53-54, 59, 60-61, 65, 68-69, 74, 76-77, 103, 113, 117-118, 128, 134, and 136.

That filled in some pretty big holes in my collection, but since I didn't own many of those issues to begin with, I still have quite a ways to go. It does mean that I have most of the earlier issues, so at least I can begin reading and get a few stories under my belt before the holes stop me. I'm one of those people who won't read back issues unless I've got a good chunk to go through. I find that if I read random issues here and there I get really confused and don't enjoy it as much

While I was at it, I also managed to find the first two issues of Strike Force: Morituri, which I read over the weekend and really enjoyed. I really can't laud that book enough. There was also a random issue of Justice League: Europe. They had more, but for some reason I didn't include that series when I transferred my list from paper to Excel (something I've since corrected).

This will almost certainly be my last major acquisition until Free Comic Book Day (May 3rd), when I'll hit the quarter bins at Galactic Quest, hard!

Spotlight:: Green Lantern #80

Issue: Green Lantern #80

Title: Even an Immortal Can Die!

Credits: Neal Adams (art) Denny O'Neil (scripts)

Cover Date: October 1970

Synopsis: Our Emerald Trio (Ollie, Hal, and the Guardian) continue their trek across the country, but discuss ending it as they're all ready for some stability. Just then, a truck driver veers into their lane, forcing our heroes' truck off the bridge and into the water below.

Hal uses his ring to bring them up to the surface, and they're rescued by a passing tramp freighter. The captain tells them that he's transporting industrial, waste recently banned by the government, to a facility for disposal.

Later, the ship's boiler overheats, knocking out Green Lantern and forcing the crew to dump the )explosive) waste overboard. Ollie is dismayed at being forced to dump the waste into the river, but agrees that it was their only choice.

Hal is severely injured, and the Guardian's time on Earth has weakened him to the point that he can either douse the fire and clean up the pollution, or he can transport Hal to the hospital. He chooses to save his friend, but this choice is not without consequences.

Shortly after Hal's recovery, the Guardians back on Oa send an image to the trio. They condemn their brother's choice to save one person over the health and welfare of many. He is to stand trial on Gallo, home of the Tribune. The Tribune are a race even older than the Guardians, who sit in judgment of immortals who stray.

The trio arrive on Gallo to a chilly welcome by the Gallan robots, who force them to give up their weapons. Hal hands his over willingly, but when Ollie protests, the robot attacks without warning. Obviously outmatched, Green Arrow quickly surrenders.

The three arrive in the courtroom, but something is amiss. There is a human looking man on the bench, and all the jurors are robots. When Ollie and Hal try to protest, they are quickly fitted with devices that cover their mouths. The judge sentences the Guardian to death with no testimony and no time for deliberation.

Hal and Ollie are dropped into a holding cell with two other beings...who turn out to be the real Triune! The man behind the bench eas the mechanic in charge of maintaining their robots. He went insane at some point, and recently used the robots to usurp their power.

Hal and Ollie escape and manage to retrieve their weapons and use them to defeat the Judge's robot minions. Ollie stops him from escaping just as Hal releases the Guardian from his execution machine. Relieved, the Triunes are anxious to return to their duties, but a comment from Ollie convinces them to consider their mission carefully before continuing. Meanwhile, the Guardian declines to continue his journey with the Emerald Duo, deciding instead to remain behind and face justice for what he has done.

Thoughts: I don't really know what to think about this issue. What was it trying to say? The death penalty is bad? Robots are bad? The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or the one)? I really have no idea. The art was good, and it was nice to see Ollie use his brain to escape the holding cell, but outside of that, the issue was rather forgettable. I think that's a shame, since this is the first issue in the run that I haven't really enjoyed.

EDIT TO ADD: Something I forgot to mention the first time around, but check out that cover! I didn't enjoy the story, but that is some kick-ass cover art!

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

As I found out from Rob! over at The Aquaman Shrine, WB is creating a new Batman vehicle called Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The plan to to have Bats team up with heroes all over the DC universe. As you can see from the picture to the left, our friend Green Arrow is on the short list! Also slated to appear are Blue Beetle and Aquaman.

The show premiers later this year. I'll have more as it develops.

(Sorry guys, no trick arrow today. I'm out of town and don't have access to a scanner)

Dossier:: Black Canary

Real Name: Dinah Laurel Lance

Alias: Black Canary, " The Blonde Bombshell"

First Appearance: Flash Comics #86

Modus Operandi: World class martial artist, costumed crime fighter, florist

Powers/Equipment: Deadly sonic scream capable of stunning or even killing opponents. Custom motorcycle.

Backstory: The history of Black Canary is a convoluted one. Originally a Golden Age, WWII era member of the JSA, Dinah grew disillusioned with her home dimension after the death of her husband. After a crossover adventure with the JLA, she decided to stay on Earth 1.

Here, she became a long time member of the JLA, eventually falling for her dashing teammate, Green Arrow. The two became an item soon after.

The story gets a little more complicated after the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Now, the WWII Black Canary and her modern counterpart separate people. In this case, a mother daughter pair. Young Dinah grew up surrounded by super-heroics, and dreamed of taking up the mantle herself one day. Her mother objected, but Dinah soon found herself helping to found the JLA.

One day, while attempting to break up a drug smuggling ring, Dinah was captured and tortured. Her lover, Green Arrow, eventually rescued her, killing her captors in the process. This event would haunt both of them for years to come. As a result of her injuries, Dinah lost her Canary cry, becoming a normal (if exceptionally dangerous) person for the first time.

She and Ollie stayed together for some time, but eventually broke it off after she caught him making out with a Green Arrow groupie. She struck off on her own, joining up with her childhood "aunts" and "uncles" in the JSA. She moved from that to a long stint in Oracle's Birds of Prey organization. (During this period Dinah was exposed to a Lazarus Pit, restoring her Canary Cry).

Eventually, after the death and rebirth of Oliver Queen, the two got back together as a couple. Recently, Ollie asked for Dinah's hand in marriage, and she accepted. Although their wedding interrupted by a super villain attack, and she ended up killing a shapeshifter posing as Green Arrow, the two are now a happy couple. Currently, she's assisting Green Arrow in recovering his son, Connor from unknown kidnappers and serving as the first chairwoman of the Justice League of America.

Non-GA Spotlight: Doctor Who #1

Issue: Doctor Who #1

Title: "Doctor Who and the Star Beasts" (main) "Return of the Daleks" (back-up)

Credits: Mills and Wagner (scripts) Dave Gibbons (art)

Cover Date: October, 1984

Synopsis: This first issue finds the Doctor on his way to Spain for vacation. Unfortunately, the TARDIS is up to its usual tricks, and ends up putting him inside an alien space ship.

The aliens quickly subdue both the Doctor and K-9, moving the Doctor into an operating theater. We find out that they plan to implant a deadly bomb in his stomach. The Doctor is allowed to escape, but with a pair of alien spys on board the TARDIS.

Meanwhile, in England, two teenagers stumble across a truly adorable blue, fuzzy alien that they name Meep. They take it home and try to nurse it back to health, all the while passing it off as an exotic pet to the boy's mother.

The Doctor hears a news report about the crash of the Meep's UFO, and decides to investigate. He arrives just in time to help the two kids fight off an attack by the very same aliens that previously captured the Doctor. It turns out they they're hunting the Meep. They fear and hate it for reasons that remain unclear.

The Doctor quickly realizes that the attack was beaten off far too easily, and suddenly remembers the pain in his stomach. He suddenly figures out what the aliens have done to him, and warns the children to run... THE END!

The back-up feature is a fun little tale about an alien planet which films a movie about Daleks. The fantasy turns to reality when one of their less reputable citizens uses a mysterious crystal to make the Daleks real. Her plan turns against her after the Daleks, being Daleks, inevitably betray her. She teams up with the planet's military to use the crystal to return the Daleks to their fantasy world, eliminating the threat and leaving the movie studio with tons of absolutely amazing footage...

Thoughts: This issue was a ton of fun. The writers managed to capture what really makes the Doctor fun and translate it into comic book form. I thought the Dalek story (surprisingly) was the less compelling of the two stories. It just didn't click with me for some reason. The Star Beast story continues with the next issue, so I'll make sure to review that as well so you'll all know what happened...

No update today: 4/1

Sorry guys, life got in the way again. However, there are a couple things in Green Arrowdom coming up soon, so plan on reports about those tomorrow. I'll also go ahead and post a spotlight on one of those Doctor Who issues I picked up over the weekend.