Adventure Comics #256

Issue: Adventure Comics #256

Title: "Green Arrow's First Case"

Cover Date: January, 1959

Credits: France Herron (scripts) Jack and Roz Kirby (art)

Synopsis: Oliver Queen and Roy Harper are watching the news when a story about an expedition to "Starfish Island" airs. Suddenly, Ollie jumps up and demands that Roy suit up; they must stop the expedition, or they'll learn Green Arrow's secret identity!

Ollie explains as they make the trip in the Arrowplane: As a young lad, Oliver Queen was shipwrecked off Starfish Island. In order to survive, he invented his first trick arrows: a rope arrow for fishing, a net arrow for more effective fishing, and a drill arrow to help him get coconuts from trees.

Times passes, and eventually a ship anchors off the island. Excited, Ollie swims out to meet the ship, only to arrive in the middle of mutiny! Using his trick arrows, he foils the mutiny and becomes the Green Arrow!

During his time on the island, Queen recorded his progress by chipping a diary into a rock wall. With the expedition about to explore the island, the will inevitably find the wall, and therefore his secret identity!

Luckily, the scientists are using a Geiger counter to check for radiation. With the judicious application of a "fake uranium arrow" the duo discourage the expedition from exploring further. They leave, and Ollie and Roy destroy the rock wall, and Green Arrow's identity is safe!

Thoughts: Apparently Ollie had some sort of primitive lathe on the island, because that was some serious precision engineering he put into his arrows! This origin has been retold several times since this issue, but the original is still pretty darned entertaining!

Spotlight:: Adventure Comics #251

Issue: Adventure Comics 251

Title: The Case of the Super-Arrows

Credits: France Herron (scripts) Jack Kirby! (art)

Cover Date: September, 1958

Overview: The issue begins with mysterious people from the future sending a gift to the past, specifically a set of "super-arrows" to one of the 20th century's greatest crime fighters, Green Arrow! GA and Speedy run out to test the new arrows, and they prove quite effective in nabbing the bad guys.

Unfortunately, a mishap with the "hypnosis arrow" leaves GA and Speedy helpless before a group of criminals. The crooks know opportunity when they see it, and grab the future-tech for themselves. Armed with the super-arrows, the gang commits caper after caper, with GA and Speedy helpless against them.

Finally, Green Arrow comes up with a scheme to put an end to the super-crime wave. He and Speedy challenge the crooks one last time, armed only with regular old pointy arrows. The crooks try taking them out with yet more super arrows, but GA and Speedy's keen aim allows them to use their pointed arrows the destroy the super-arrows mid flight. Without their edge, the crooks are easily defeated. GA decides that the super-arrows are best left for later study, and locks them up the Arrowcave's vault.

Thoughts: Everything about this story screams "Silver Age," from the big-headed future people, time travel, seriously goofy super arrows, to bombastic dialog; this story has it all. Plus, check out that art credit! Yup, the man, the myth, the legend, Jack Kirby contributed the pretty pictures for this story. I had no idea he'd ever drawn Green Arrow, and finding that out warmed my geeky heart.

(Looking forward in the Showcase: Green Arrow, I see that Jack Kirby had quite the run on GA stories. Woot!)