DC Character T-Shirt

Greetings, gentle readers! I was off fishing with a group of friends over the weekend (including Ljacone of Comic Book Bunker fame) and while shopping for odd and ends, I came across this:

As you can see, they managed to cram quite a few characters onto the front of the shirt. The fact that it contains so many of my favorites makes me wonder if the manufacturer is reading my mind :) The characters they excluded, namely Wonder Woman, confused me at first, until my roommate noticed that the images are all men! I's wager that there's a similar shirt in the Ladies section with the Ladies of DC!

Of particular interest to us here at the Arrowcave is the image on the top right, Green Arrow.
Here's a close-up of the image:


I have no idea who the artist on these might be, since I'm especially bad at this (maybe someone out there can help me out?) but the image is very dynamic and attractive. You can see Ollie drawing his bow to down a bad guy off screen!

As an added bonus, we get a double shot of GA family awesomeness. Toward the bottom of the shirt, we have Roy Harper in his Red Arrow costume! Here's a closer look:
Again, we have an archer drawing his bow to fire off screen. I was very surprised to see Roy on an item of merchandising, especially in his Red Arrow costume. Its not something you see everyday!

You can bet that I'll be wearing this shirt with pride from now on!

JLA Monopoly at Once Upon a Geek

Once again, our ood friend and fellow blogger Shag Matthews has written an article about a product featuring Green Arrow. This time, its JLA Monopoly! The set features all the first 8 JLA characters, with spaces for The Arrowplane, Weapons Expert (with Ollie firing his trick arrows) and Archer Extraordinaire. The equivalent of the Chance and Comunity Chest cards also feature Ollie heavily, and he even gets his face on the 1 dollar bill!

Be sure to head over there and check it out!

Dragon-Con 2009, part 3: Blog Crossover!

The last part of my DragonCon involves a crossover with another blog: Firestorm Fan! I was lucky enough to be able to meet up with the proprietor of the blog and Firestorm fan extraordinaire, the Irredeemable Shag!

Shag and I met up after he'd finished going to the Patrick Stewart panel (an experience he details here). We headed over to the mall food court and grabbed some eats while we chatted and people watched. Somehow, we kept running into people we both knew. In fact, we randomly sat down next to a friend of mine from college. I tell you, thousands of geeks at the con, and you still manage to run into the same people every year :)

Anyway, Shag and I had a great time chatting about all manner of geeky things, including our respective favorite DC heroes. So you all can see how much fun we were having, here's a shot with Shag and I at the mall:
I'm on the right, looking slightly sweaty in my bright green shirt. You'll have to forgive me, but DragonCon takes place in Georgia, in the summer :) Shag is on the left, rocking it out in his Firestorm t-shirt. If only I had been thinking, I would have donned my super-awesome Green Arrow tee!

While chatting, Shag and I found out we had another thing in common (besides our love for relatively obscure DC superheroes, that is): we'd both gotten a head sketch from George Perez that weekend!

Mr. Perez was one of the top tier talents at the show this year, and he was offering quick head sketches of whatever you requested in exchange for a donation to the HERO Initiative. I jumped at the chance, of course! I wanted to get a character Perez would be familiar with, but that would also make good material for the Arrowcave...and the I hit upon an idea. Everyone's favorite archery based Teen Titan, Speedy!


How awesome is that? Way awesome, at least.

I have to say, George Perez is one of the nicest people you will ever encounter in the comic book industry. If you EVER get the chance to meet him, take it. I promise you'll not regret it. In fact, this is how gracious he is:

He was willing to hug a sweaty Adama and then compound his error with photographic evidence! A helluva guy, I tell ya!

Shag, of course, got a sketch of Firestorm. You can check out his sketch, plus his take on our Super-Blog Crossover Event here, at Firestorm Fan.

In fact, he was even kind enough to set up a Green Arrow/Speedy/Firestorm action figure diorama! Be sure the heck it out post haste! (Hopefully he won't mind if I steal the picture!)

Speedy, do we have to have another "discussion"?

Speedy, this is strike two. First, you doodle in the sand while a super villain tries to impale me with a spear, and now this!


Oh Speedy, its no wonder you got yourself addicted to heroin the moment you were out of adult supervision.

Panels from World's Finest #50, page 18. Image courtesy of Comics Make No Sense.

Green Lantern vol. 1 #85

Issue: Green Lantern vol. 1 #85

Title: "Snowbirds Don't Fly"

Credits: Neal Adams (art) Dennis O'Neil (story)

Cover Date: September, 1971

Synopsis: As Oliver Queen is walking down the street, he's ambushed by a group of junkies looking to steal some money for a fix. He fights them all off, channeling his anger at Black Canary for breaking up with him into an epic smackdown.

All is well until one of the junkies shoots him with a crossbow. Wounded, Ollie crawls along the sidewalk, ignored by a passing couple, and a police officer. Finally he collapses in an emergency room and receives help.

Once he's patched up, he asks to see the arrow, only to find out that its one of his own!

Intrigued, he decides to investigate the local drug hierarchy. He calls in Hal Jordan as backup, since the arrow through his shoulder will make archery impossible for a few weeks. They hassle a junkie they find in the basement, and from him get the local of a couple of the lieutenants in the organization.

They pay the dealers a visit (one of which has a collection of ancient weapons, including crossbows) only to find Ollie ward Roy in the room with them! Ollie assumes Roy is there undercover and doesn't say anything. The dealers give up the head honcho, and the two heroes run off to confront them.

Unfortunately, the dealers are craftier than the Emerald heroes gave them credit for, and they manage to conk Hal on the head with a wrench. With GL down for the count and a um arm, Ollie is quickly overwhelmed. The dealers decide not to kill them, but to shoot them full of heroin and then call the cops, disgracing the heroes.

Luckily, Roy followed and manages to talk a stoned Hal into getting them the hell out of there. Back at Ollie's place, Hal wonders why anyone would use drugs, since he's come off the high and feels terrible.

Roy tries to explain that its possible a young man who's father figure ran off to go gallivanting around the country might turn to dope as a replacement. Ollie, oblivious, sees Hal of, only to walk back into the room to see Roy shooting up!

Thoughts: This is it guys. This is the storyline that made this run famous. As a matter of fact, I first found out about it because it was featured on a history of comics special on the History Channel. This issue manages to avoid hitting the reader on the head too hard, but you can still tell that O'Neil and Adams were really trying with this one. Obviously drugs were and are a massive problem, so the message is definitely good, I just wish the creators had found a slightly less heavy handed way to do it.

Still, the image of Speedy (wasn't the name just asking for it) shooting up in Ollie's living room is a definitely a powerful one, especially since Roy's turn to drugs was precipitated by Ollie running off on his quest to save America. Irony!

Spotlight:: Green Lantern vol 1 #84

Issue: Green Lantern vol. 1 #84

Title: "Peril in Plastic"

Cover Date: July, 1971

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

Synopsis: Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris, newly reunited after last issue, have spent several lazy weeks getting to know one another on the beach. Towards the end of their jaunt, Carol tells Hal she plans to see a revolutionary doctor in the next town by the name of Palm. Hal agrees to let her go on her own and decides to use the time to visit Green Arrow.

Ollie is now shacked up in a disreputable part of town. Without his fortune, he can't exactly afford penthouses anymore. The two chat for a few minutes, until a report comes over the radio about an failing dam in a nearby town...the same one that Carol is in for her doctor visit!

Hal flies off, and using his power ring, manages to patch up the dam. Unfortunately, the fact that the guardians have weakened his ring means that all the activity has left him almost too tired to stand. In the aftermath of the rescue, Dr. Palm, who also happens to be mayor, comes out and insists on throwing GL a party and presenting him with a key to the city. He also attaches a small device to Hal's uniform, which randomly sprays perfume in his face.

After a strange ceremony, attended only by Dr. Palm and on a plastic stage, GL prepares to leave. Dr. Palm isn't too keen on this idea, and has his goons chase GL down. His will sapped by the perfume, GL cannot escape, but does manage to send his ring to Ollie just before passing out.

Unfortunately, Black Canary picks that moment to show up, and distracts Green Arrow just as the ring drops into his apartment. They go out to dinner, but have a fight at the restaurant and split up. Ollie returns and finds the ring, reasoning that Hal wouldn't have sent it away unless it was an emergency. He puts it on, recharges it, and heads for Piper's Dell and Dr. Palm.

Meanwhile, GL awakens, trussed up in a strange chair. Dr. Palm is revealed to be the Black Hand in disguise, who has hooked up with shady financial backers to use brainwashed workers to produce shoddy goods in Piper's Dell. To prove that the population is totally under his control, he lets Hal and Carol go, only to have them face a mob of angry civilians. The mob traps GL and Carol at the edge of the dam, only to have Green Arrow arrive just in time. He gets the power ring back to GL just in time. Hal then uses the ring to contain the mob and trap Black Hand in his own crappy plastic products.

Thoughts: Again, you have to give O'Neil and Adams props for tackling such am important issue (rampant consumerism at the cost of individuality) but again they end up beating you over the head with it. Literally. At one point, Hal and Carol are pummelled with plastic bricks. The Black Hand ends up trapped in a plastic prison of his own making, etc. And to think, credit cards were a fairly new thing back then!

Also: It took me a couple read-throughs to get the Dr. Palm/Black Hand connection. I blame the late hour.

Next Time: The Main Event, the reason this series is famous...Speedy on drugs!

GA Trading Card

Sorry guys, no Ollie Watch today (no Ollie to Watch) so instead enjoy this Green Arrow Trading card. It commemorates GA's first solo title, a four issue miniseries.

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to mention that this card was a gift from ARROWHEAD member Rob Kelly. Thanks Rob!

Spotlight:: Green Arrow vol. 2 #10

Issue: Green Arrow vol. 2 #10

Title: Here There be Dragons part 2

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

Cover Date: November, 1988

Synopsis: Dinah surprises Ollie in bed with a birthday cake and card. Ollie grouses about his age (44) but makes a birthday wish regardless. Anyone who's ever read any Green Arrow before can probably guess what he wished for...

Dinah leaves the planning to llie for the day, as it is his birthday. Ollie chooses to go to the zoo, where they enjoy a day filled with exotic animals and chili dogs. After a while, they notice that they're being followed by a pair of suits...

The pair ambush their pursuers, who turn out to be Eddie Fyers and an anonymous CIA agent. While Dinah and Eddie spar in the background, the CIA mook tells a story about how the Phillipino government buried the nationl treaury in secure locations during WWII. A map to the treaure troves was recently discovered, and then stolen.

Coincidentally, known agents of the Yakuza have been uying up property in the Phillipines, ostensibly to build hotels, but for some reason they never get past the excavation phase... But recently, the excavations have come to an abrupt stop. Rumor is, a certain lady with a dragon tatoo has stolen the only copy of the map.

The agent demands that Ollie, who knows Shado best, track her down, or he'll turn him in for tax evasion of the income from his mission in the first few issues. Ollie reculantly agrees, tracking Shado down to Honolulu, and then to a houseboat. Just as Ollie is approaches the boat, he ends up with an arrow in the chest! THE END

Thoughts: Another neat issue, with some really sweet action involving Shado and her attackers. Its also kind of nice to see Ollie get in hot water for the shady mission he performed earlier in the series. The CIA agent also points out that Ollie's mask does very little to hide his ID, and the only real reason no one has figured it out until now is that no one knew to try. I'm a big fan of little bits of realism like that.

Spotlight:: Green Arrow vol. 2 #9

Issue: Green Arrow vol. 2 #9

Title: "Here There be Dragons"

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

Cover Date: October, 1988

Synopsis: Dinah and Ollie have spent a year in Seattle, and the place is starting to feel like home. ON the way back to their apartment, Dinah asks Ollie if he ever thinks about "her." He denies it, but the fact that he knew who she was talking about proves him a liar.

As Ollie lies in bed, he can't stop thinking about what he had to do to rescue Dinah the previous year, and that draws his thoughts back to the other person who was there: Shado.

We then cut to Shado, as she reports in to her Yakuza masters. She has killed everyone she was tasked with, except for one...the one that Ollie killed.

The "Oyibun" is not happy with Shado, for she has violated his orders by allowing another to kill one of her targets. First, he demands a demonstration of her abilities. She obliges, firing an arrow at her master's chest, which is stopped by a swinging pendant.

He then demands her prized jade ring...and the thumb that she wears it on. Unwilling to let his best student be ruined for petty reasons, the master holds off the Yakuza guards long enough for Shado to run away. She stops and looks back, witnessing the Oyibun execute her master. In response, she put an arrow through his skull, then leaves...

Thoughts: This was a surprisingly GA-lite issue. He appeared in only a few panels, with most of the action focusing on Shado and her dealings with the Japanese Mafia. Still a good issue, though, with Ollie haunted by the fact that he took a life, and Shado facing the consequences for letting him. Good stuff!

Spotlight:: Green Arrow vol. 2 #8

Issue: Green Arrow vol. 2 #8

Title: The Powderhorn Trail

Credits: Mike Grell (scripts) Paris Cullins, Gary Martin, Dick Giordano (art)

Cover Date: September, 1988

Synopsis: As Ollie arrives in Anchorage, he finally gets a chance to investigate the strange powder he found in Dinah's trunk. He tastes it and determines that its not coke, but he still has no idea what it might be.

Climbing back in the trunk, he hitches a ride to a chop shop, where the stolen cars are repainted (Dinah's gets painted yellow!). He sticks around long enough to trail one of the mechanics to a bar, where he captures him and takes him tp the police.

Larry, the mechanic, spills what he knows, which isn't much. Whatever the powder is, it is to be transported to "the meet-up" very soon. Ollie and the police figure out that there's a Tong connection to this mess. The car theft ring transports the goods, its the Tong who profit.

Ollie and the cops finally figure out how the meet-up will occur: namely that one of the sledders competing in the Iditarod is transporting the goods, and he'll meet up with his clients out on an isolated bit of Tundra.

Ollie, a customs officer, and the police ambush the meet-up, capturing everyone there. It turns out the strange powder at the center of the story is powdered rhinoceros horn, which fetches a pretty price in China.

With everyone under arrest, Ollie wonders what will happen to the sled dogs. There's no room for them in the chopper, so Ollie volunteers to take them back. MUSH!

Thoughts: From the surprise McGuffin to the site of Ollie running a dog sled team, there's a lot to get excited about. I like that for the most part, Ollie was using his brain here. He only fires a few arrows, mostly relying on his wit and deductive skills. That's a side of Ollie that I feel is important and often overlooked.

Spotlight:: Green Arrow vol. 2 #7

Issue: Green Arrow vol. 2 #7

Title: "The Lean Season"

Credits: Mike Grell (GA scripts) Ed Barreto (GA pencils) Dick Giordano (inks) Sharon Wright (BC scripts) Randy Du Burke (BC pencils
(This issue was a bit unusual in that normal artist Ed Hannigan was out with the flu, necessitating the Barreto fill-in. Additionally, the Black Canary portions of the issue were scripted and drawn by a different team, specified above)

Cover Date: August, 1988

Synopsis: Ollie stops to get Dinah's car washed at the local "Handee Wash." There, one of the employees accidentally busts in on her manager...making copies of all the keys his customers leave him. Later, Ollie gets a lead on some Tong drug activity, leading him to book a cruise to Alaska. Meanwhile, Dinah meets up with an old acquaintance, who happens to be the employee who burst in on her boss at the car wash earlier. She tells Dinah what she knows over lunch.

DInah decides to investigate, hiring a cab to follow the woman's boss. He ends up on a ferry to...Alaska! She returns home, only to find that her car has been stolen!

Later, Ollie is wandering the decks of the cruise ship when he comes across Dinah's car on the car deck. He suits up as Green Arrow, deciding to hide in the trunk and surprise the thief. As he's emptying out the spare tire, he finds several kilos of coke hidden in the trunk...

Thoughts: Not much actually happens in this issue. It serves more as a framing device for future story lines. I think the two writing/two artist teams worked out well and integrated smoothly, however.

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.

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!

Ollie Watch: March 28th

This may be old news to everyone, but I figured I would make the announcement here as well. In the near future (presumably after Final Crisis) the Justice Leahue will split due to a murder, and the repsonse (or lack there of) of some of the members. The original Justice League of America title will continue, but a new splinter team call "Justice League" will form. Their mission will be to proactively find injustices to right, rather than wait and react.

The members of this new team? Well, it will be headed up by none other than the Emerald Duo themselves, Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen! Also sharing the spotlight will be Supergirl, Batwoman, Starman, and, wait for it, Congorilla. Hey, every team needs an ape on it, as far as I'm concerned.

The announcement was made at Wizard World LA's Final Crisis panel. The book will be written by James Robinson, with an artist to be named later.

Spotlight:: Green Arrow vol. 3 #4

Issue: Green Arrow vol. 2 #4

Title: "The Champions"

Credits: Mike Grell (scripts) Ed Hannigan (pencils) Dick Giordano (inks)

Cover Date: May, 1988

Synopsis: Continuing from our previous issue, Green Arrow arrives on San Juan Island in search of the pod containing the biological weapon. He meets up with Eddie Fyers, an ally from previous adventures, but this time on the opposing side. It turns out Ollie is working for the Russians, and Fyers for the Chinese. They discuss their ironic situation, then part ways in search of the weapon.

As Ollie is searching in the woods, he runs a foul of a booby trap set by Fyers. Wounded, he stumbles in a cabin owned by a local archaeologist. She patches him up (she spent some time in med school) but and Ollie takes the opportunity to activate the tracking device the Russians gave him. It beeps, immediately. Turns out the lady archaeologist found it earlier that day, and not knowing hat is was, brought it back for later study.

Just then, they're interrupted by a shot from Fyers. Ollie uses a trick arrow to disrupt Fyers night vision, allowing he and the lady to escape. Unfortunately, they're soon ambushed by Fyers, and then another agent hired by one of the rival powers. After a short fight, Fyers comes out on top, with Ollie falling down a crevasse and the rival agent falling down dead.

Ollie manages to survive, and sets off an explosive charge on the pod. Convinced the pod has been destroyed, Ollie and Fyers part ways. We later find out that GA had taken the payload out of the pod before running out of the cabin. Deciding that neither of the powers can be trusted with such a powerful weapon, Green Arrow uses some of the archeologist's acid to destroy the virus.

Thoughts: Well, there is a lot to like in this issue. The art is gorgeous, and the paper seems to have held up incredibly well over the past 20 years. Ollie displays a great deal of the cunning and guile we've come to expect from him. Of course, there's also a lot to dislike. There's very little archery, which is a problem in a Green Arrow book. The Russians hiring GA is a bit ridiculous, as Benton pointed out. After all, Ollie's only ever killed one person, in an extraordinary circumstance; its not like he's suddenly an expert in "wetwork." All in all, I'm glad I read it, plus this issue has the first letter column of the new series, and that's always neat. (I might have to scan it and send it over to Rick at Comic Book Letterheads)

80's DC Style Guide

Hey guys! Check out this wrap-around cover the the 1980's era DC Style guide. I got permission to repost this image from Rob! over at the stupendous Aquaman Shrine. If you look closely at the image, you can see the amazing number of characters they managed to cram onto the this single cover. Of course, the fact that Green Arrow has a front and center spot on the back cover doesn't do it any harm in my eyes.

One of the characters that catches my eye, other than GA, was kindly pointed out by Rick over at Plastic Man Platitudes. Check out the calm and unhurried manner that Firestorm seems to possess compared to the others. Everyone else is rushing toward the emergency, but Ronnie seems to just float along. Teenagers, I tell ya!

As an aside, does anyone recognize those flying people bracketed by Firestorm, Dr. Fate, Hawkgirl, and Ollie's hat? I thought the one in the middle might be Doll Man, but I have no clue who the others might be.

Anyway, thanks again Rob!!

Spotlight:: World's Finest Comics #95

(sorry about the image guys, I only own the Showcase for this one)

Issue: World's Finest Comics #95

Title: Green Arrow vs. The Red Dart

Credits: Unknown (script) George Papp (art)

Cover Date: July-August 1958

Overview: This story introduces a new chracter, the Red Dart. GA and Speedy meet up with the Red Dart when he shows up to assist them in catching an escaped criminal. After using his "trick darts" (I swear I'm not making this up) to capture the crook, Red Dart introduces himself and offers his assistance as a hero to GA. Ollie accepts, and Red Dart assists them on several more cases.

It is only later that we find out that Red Dart is secretly working with the criminals he's supposedly foiling. By posing as a hero and getting in Green Arrow's good graces, he hopes to throw him off the scent of what he's really doing: robbing a gold shipment from the central bank.

Green Arrow and Speedy arrive to foil the robbery, and initially welcome Red Dart's help. However, in the middle of the fight, Red Dart switches sides and uses his "rain dart" (again, not making this up) to defeat GA's smokescreen Arrow. Apparently prepared this possibility, Ollie counters the dart with an umbrella arrow. Silly trick arrows aside, Green Arrow reveals that he knew Red Dart was on the side of evil all along, due to hi use of prison lingo and presence of gold assaying chemicals on his hands.

Red Dart and his compatriots go to prison, and all is well in GA's home city (not yet Star, as far as I can tell).

Thoughts: Wow, tons of Silver Age silliness in this issue! Don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of it, but even I had to groan at the rain dart and umbrella arrow. This story is in Green Arrow's Showcase, so if this sounds fun, check it out for yourself!

Animation Arrows:: Justice League: The New Frontier

Title: Justice League New Frontier

Review: Well, I'm sure most of my readers will be familiar with the plot of New Frontier, but just ine case: The plot follows the 3 characters which kicked off the Silver Age, namely Martian Manhunter, the Barry Allen Flash, and Hal Jordan as Green Lantern. They team up with existing 50's era heroes like Superman and Batman to defeat an ancient menance that threatens to wipe out humanity.

Now, having watched the movie and read the series, I have to give th film 2 big thumbs up. The story was very well animated, and the voices they chose were damned near perfect (and had some big names). I especially enjoyed Neil Patrick Harris's performance as Barry Allen. My only real complaint was the length. The story clocks in at a mere 75 minutes. Whole storylines had to be cut for time, including the Losers and virtually all of John Henry's story (he was mentioned in a newscast, but had no scenes). Not only is that a real shame for the missing story, but it can be downright confusing at times. At one point, Barry Allen makes the decision to fight "The Center" and arrives at Cape Canaveral to join the fight. At almost the same time, Green Arrow, Adam Strange, and the Blackhawks also show up to help out. And that's all the intro we get for any of those people. People who are not total dorks like me may not have known who the hell those people were, they're not even named!

Other than the run-time, I have very little else to complain about. The animation was top-notch, the voices were great, and the story, as we knew ahead of time, was awesome. I picked up the 2 disc special edition from Best Buy, which came with a little Hal Jordan figure, complete with tiny Lantern. The extras on the DVD made the extra few bucks a no-brainer. The one that stuck out in my mind was the half hour long special on the history of the Justice League, complete with character profiles and interviews with various industry icons (including Stan Lee!).

Green Arrow Goodness: Not much, really. GA shows up with Adam Strange and the Black Hawks to help fight The Center, then appears in a few crowd scenes. That's about it. He does have one super awesome scene though: At the start of the fight against The Center, the Air Force launches a massive air strike as a distraction for The Flash. Batman joins them in the Batplane, but gets in a bit of trouble when about half a dozen flying dinosaurs attack at once. Bats manages to fight most of them off, but just as the last one is about to take a bite out of him, Ollie shows up in the Arrowplane, and kills it!

Go get the film kids, you won' be disappointed!