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!

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.

Ollie Watch: 1/14/09

Hey folks! keep an eye out for everyone's favorite Emerald archer, who shows up in a couple different places this month:

Final Crisis #6: Black Canary and an Anti-Life controlled Green Arrow face off in the penultimate issue of Final Crisis! Also keep an eye out for Red Arrow in a cameo role.

Green Arrow/Black Canary #16: part of the Faces of Evil event, the sinister archer Meryln stalks the streets of Star City once again.

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!

Dossier:: Roy Harper

Real Name: Roy Harper

Alias: Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow

First Appearance: More Fun Comics #73

Modus Operandi: World class archer, former heroin addict

Powers/Equipment: wide variety of trick arrows similar to Green Arrow, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, skilled with a needle...

Backstory: Roy Harper was orphaned at a young age, but was raised by a kindly Native American named Brave Bow. Brave Bow taught the boy archery, leading him to idolized superhero Green Arrow.

The two would eventually partner up, having many adventures together, with Roy even joining the original Teen Titans. One day, after Ollie had left him to go "see America" with Hal Jordan, Roy joined a band and fell into the wrong crowd. The Green Arrow's horror, his former sidekick has degenerated into a full on heroin junkie. Overreacting, Ollie threw Roy out on the street to fend for himself.

Ollie later felt guilty about what he'd done, and tracked Roy down. He ended up leaving him in the care of his lover, Black Canary. Black Canary nursed Roy through the worst of the withdrawals, but by then it was too late. With too much bad blood between them, Ollie and Roy decided to go their separate ways.

Taking the name Arsenal, Roy joined (and eventually led) a new incarnation of the Teen Titans. Feeling guilty over the death of a teammate, Roy left the Titans, only to join up with the Outsiders shortly thereafter. (During this time period, Ollie returned from the dead, and he and Roy mended fences)

After the last incarnation of the Outsiders fell on hard times, Roy left the group. Before long, he was invited by Hal Jordan to join the newest incarnation of the Justice League, headed by chairwoman and longtime friend Black Canary. Roy accepted, taking the name Red Arrow to honor his adoptive father.

Dossier: Hal Jordan

Name: Hal Jordan

Alias: Green Lantern II, The Spectre, Parallax

First Appearance: Showcase #22 (October, 1959)

Modus Operandi: current: Interstellar lawman, formerly: agent of God's Vengence, formerly: universe destroying madman, formerly: interstellar lawman, formerly: Air Force pilot

Powers/Equipment: Power ring fuelled by willpower, able to perform any task/action provided that Jordan has sufficient willpower/imagination.

Backstory: Test pilot Hal Jordan's life was changed forever when a dying alien chose him as his replacement in an interglactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps.

Jordan used his new-found abilities to fight crime and evil in his native Coast City, all the while hiding his identity as "Green Lantern" from his loved ones, including his boss/girlfriend Carol Ferris.

Jordan went on to become a founding member of the Justice League, becoming fast (and eventually, best) friends with the quickly recruited Green Arrow. After the two had an arguement over Jordan's niave acceptance of authority in all its forms, the two travelled the country together, righting wrongs and learning about tolerance.

Later, after Superman's death, the villainous Mongul destroyed Jordan's home, Coast City. Driven mad by grief and angry at the Guardians of the universe for denying him the power to restore the city, Jordan went on a rampage, destroying the Green Lantern Corps and stealing their power for himself.

Using his vast power, Jordan planned to remake the universe to his wishes, namely restoring Coast City and forcing law and order on the populace. It was only through the intervention of his best friend, Oliver Queen, that his plan was stopped. Ollie was forced to kill his friend rather than let him carry out his plan, an action that haunted him for years afterward.

Jordan turned out not to be dead (very complicated) and feeling guilty for his actions, sacrificed himself to restart Earth's sun. After his death, he accepted the offer to become the new Spectre, carry out God's wishes and bringing evildoers to justice.

To further complicate matters, Jordan was recently restored to life and regained the mantle of the Green Lantern of Earth. Green Arrow was crucial to his rebirth, having kept a copy of Jordan's ring safe for years and protecting Jordan's replacement Kyle Raynor from a rampaging Sinestro.

The two have since rekindled their friendship, and Jordan has retaken his place on the Justice League along side Ollie's former sidekick, Roy Harper.

Ollie Watch: Feb. 20th

Out This Week:

Batman and the Outsiders #4: Ollie joins the Outsiders(?) in the fourth issue of the revamped series. (?)

Justice League of America #18: Keep an eye out for supporting GA characters Black Canary and Red Arrow as they battle the Suicide Squad!