Dark Horse Comics is offering a valentine to anyone who wants to catch up on one or more of 38 Star Wars digital comics available on their website. Their promotion states that you can save up to 50% off cover price but we’re seeing $2.99 books going for as low as $0.99 and even a $0.49 for Brian Wood’s Star Wars, Issue #1.
We recommend the great Star Wars: Infinities books, a “what if?” alternate version of each of the three original trilogy stories. You’ll also find the classic Dark Empire series, and romantics can check out Star Wars: Union, where Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade tie the knot, and the Valentine’s Day version of the Star Wars Christmas Special in Judd Winick’s one-shot Breaking the Ice issue. Disney has announced they are throwing aside much of the expanded universe built over the past 35 years, but we think they are nuts if they don’t include Mara Jade. Find out more about her in Dark Horse Comics.
If you haven’t started watching the CW Network series Arrow, yet, there’s no time like now. You can catch up on past episodes online here, and the next new episode will air in its standard time slot Wednesday, 7 p.m. Central/8 p.m. Eastern, January 16, 2013.
The big news for the second half of the series’ first season is that Battlestar Galactica alumnus James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar) will be playing an international jewel thief named The Dodger who steals Starling City’s prized Sherwood Ruby. The Dodger increases the tally from the 14 that we originally posted here back in September of characters taken at least in part from the DC Comics archive. The villain, who in the comic book eventually became an ally of Oliver Queen, was created by long-time Green Arrow writer Judd Winick and artist Mike Norton in the recent Green Arrow and Black Canary series.
Up until this week 13 confirmed DC Comics characters had been announced for the CW Network’s new TV series, Arrow, premiering October 10, 2012: Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), his girlfriend Dinah Laurel Lance/Black Canary (Katie Cassidy), colleague in crime fighting The Huntress (Jessica De Gouw), the villain Deathstroke (not yet released), Speedy (formerly an alias of multiple characters but now Oliver’s sister Thea, played now by Willa Holland and referred to in the pilot episode by this nickname), the DCU villain Deadshot (Michael Rowe), Green Arrow Year One’s China White (Kelly Hu), Merlyn now Tommy Merlyn (Colin Donnell), Queen Industries CEO Walter Steele (Colin Salmon), Judd Winick and Phil Hester’s Constantine Drakon (Darren Shahlavi)–a former nemesis of Oliver’s son Connor in more recent GA stories, Firestorm series character Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), and Mike Grell’s creation Moira Queen, Oliver’s mother (Susanna Thompson).
As the world’s biggest Green Arrow fan I have seen it all when it comes to the Emerald Archer. My preference has always been for the 1970s Oliver Queen by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams, but I soon grew to love Mike Grell’s urban hunter version set in Seattle, and later became a believer in Phil Hester and Ande Parks’ run, especially when joined by Judd Winick’s new spin on Speedy.
I spent the entire night awake waiting in line at San Diego Comic-Con this summer to see the preview of the new CW Network series Arrow, about a younger Oliver Queen. I think it is going to be a successful series that will rival the CW’s Smallville or Supernatural. Admittedly I have not enjoyed the first year of Green Arrow in the New 52 for various reasons I’ve discussed here before. So I was looking forward to seeing the Captain Atom team of Judd Winick and Freddie Williams II taking on Green Arrow in the one-shot Green Arrow #0 released this week.
What better way to celebrate borg.com’s 100,000th site visit than share some news about one of our favorite superheroes? Hollywood writer Jason McClain alerted me to this news item, as it’s no secret I’m one of the biggest Green Arrow fans around. The news?
The CW Network has ordered a TV series pilot featuring Green Arrow that will, happily, not be related to the Smallville series’ spin on the character. The producer/writers tapped to create the pilot are Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, the two writers responsible for last year’s Green Lantern movie, and ex-writer for the Green Arrow/Black Canary comic book series, Andrew Kreisberg.
Kreisberg took over the comic book series after Judd Winick moved off the GA/BC title. He teamed with artist Mike Norton after Cliff Chiang left the series. I have read Kreisberg’s take on Green Arrow and Black Canary, and I liked it. Kreisberg wrote some good modern stories featuring the trio in both a lighthearted and action-packed way. He clearly knows the roots of these characters and their strong relationships with each other, and hopefully he can convey that into the script for the pilot and get it onto the small screen. He also once acknowledged that there is no other superhero team out there that is a married couple, that that IS Green Arrow’s story. Right on!
Here are some unsolicited recommendations for Kreisberg, Berlanti and Guggenheim to make the series get off the ground right:
(1) You might view your TV show as an ensemble show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. An ensemble genre work usually is better than a solo character-focused show (think about the failed series The Cape and why it didn’t work, for example) because although we all loved the title character of Buffy Summers, we loved supporting characters Willow and Xander even more. And like the best Batman stories, letting the lead hero take the back seat once in a while is a good thing. At the same time, I didn’t watch Smallville because Clark never donned the supersuit. Show Green Arrow in action with the bow once in a while, but just not in every scene.
(2) Take the best of the Green Arrow canon and it will easily translate to today. The “Hard Traveling Heroes” storyline that put both Green Arrow and Green Lantern on the map and made us want to know more about these characters was a road trip across America. Something like the Winchester boys moving across country with every new episode in Supernatural. You might laugh, but On the Road with Charles Kuralt, the CBS segment where he took an off-the-beaten path tour of America, lasted decades for a reason. Viewers liked to see where he would go next. You’ll have an unlimited number of settings for your story, too, if you keep the team moving, assuming they let you work with all three characters.
The Kid, Etta, and Butch--archetype for Ollie, Dinah, and Hal
(3) Everyone likes a good “buddy picture.” I have mentioned before how the “Hard Traveling Heroes” storyline reflected the 1969 world view, and 1969 entertainment. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid came out in 1969 and was still in theaters when Denny O’Neil wrote the classic Green Arrow and Green Lantern crossover. Did some of the hit movie rub off on O’Neil? Who knows. If you pay attention, you’ll see that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a buddy picture with three buddies, almost a “love triangle,” including some brotherly love between Butch and Ross’s character Etta Place. That’s right, Katherine Ross’s role as the Kid’s girlfriend, and Butch’s pal, was as important to the film as each of the title characters. Black Canary/Dinah Lance could have that same crucial role in a TV series about Ollie and Hal.
(4) Even if Warner Brothers wants to keep Hal Jordan/Green Lantern out of the series, you must include Black Canary/Dinah Lance. Don’t botch this by pulling ideas from the Dinah Lance of the short-lived Birds of Prey series. It was good for what it was. But you want dark-haired Dinah that sports the blonde wig used to go incognito, not the stilted friend of Oracle. Green Arrow/Oliver Queen can go solo from time to time, but only when he can return to Dinah is he at his best.
(5) Stay away from the DC 52 Green Arrow storyline and the obvious idea of having Oliver participate in some form of anti-big business Occupy Wall Street movement. Sure, in real life, Ollie would be leading up the OWS marches, but I think most viewers don’t want a show about superheroes in current politics and as much as everyone hates greedy corporate America, more personal storylines will appeal to modern viewers. The current series Leverage does this very well. Think local. Don’t have Ollie take on all of the world’s problems, have him take on each human problem bit by bit, maybe town by town. It worked brilliantly for Adams and O’Neil.
Original Mike Norton art from a story under Kreisberg's turn as writer for Green Arrow/Black Canary
(6) Oliver Queen is not Bruce Wayne. He’s much more layered. Queen is not a billionaire. He lost all his money, and that allowed him to get interesting. Don’t even waste time on his backstory as billionaire as it will only emphasize his role as a one-time obvious Batman knockoff.
(7) Read up on your Mike Grell era of Green Arrow stories. Grell was an ex-government intelligence guy who ended up writing spy novels and comic books. He took the Neal Adams/Denny O’Neil Green Arrow and Black Canary and brought them into downtown Seattle and injected the backwoods survival skills and mixed it with street smarts. He made Ollie the Urban Warrior. This itself harkened back to the iconic Green Lantern Issue #76’s story whereby Green Arrow first takes on a greedy slumlord that Hal Jordan was unintentionally actually helping.
Personal sketch of Ollie and Dinah by Mike Grell
(8) We know from past interviews that Andrew Kreisberg likes the role of Green Arrow and Black Canary as Oliver and Dinah–husband and wife. Consider building on Mike Grell’s series, where they run the Sherwood Florist in Seattle by day. And what the heck, work in Mia and Connor if you can. And if you must update costumes, you gotta bring back Ollie’s goatee. As Mikel Janin proved with his excellent recent update to similarly costumed Zatanna, Dinah’s fishnets can be optional.
(9) The Flash TV series had a lot going for it. One was the age of the actor in the lead roll, John Wesley Shipp, former soap actor. He wasn’t 20-something. He was 35 and looked like he could be a superhero in real life. If you’re staying away from Smallville (a great move) then give us heroes who have had time to gain some wisdom, not some newbies who have no way of practically knowing all they would need to know in real life to get through their trials on the show (the TV series Bones is a big example of this glaring absurdity with its only-young cast that has knowledge you could only gain by being twice the age of the cast members). Look for actors in their 30s or or even early 40s.
(10) Suggested title? If you take any of the ideas above, how about Hard Traveling, Hard Traveling Hero, or Hard Traveling Heroes? Of course there are always other former storyline titles like Quiver.
I have no idea what limitations will be placed on Kreisberg & Co. as they work out the script for the TV series pilot. Maybe they have no intention of including Hal and Dinah, but if they can, it could be something new and different and very fun.
It’s no secret that Green Arrow is my favorite DCU character. As re-envisioned in the early 1970s by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams, he became less of a Batman knockoff and more of a completely separate and identifiable voice. Even early on with O’Neil and Adams, Green Arrow and Green Lantern were a mirror image of Batman and Superman. Superman tending to be the holier than thou determiner of right and wrong, and Batman more subversive, critical of the powers that be, cutting through everything to solve real problems, in a practical way. Green Arrow was influential, even in his first meeting with Hal in Green Lantern 76. Over the years Green Lantern, watcher and guardian of Earth, became more like Green Arrow, critical of the status quo. Green Lantern/Hal Jordan learned from Green Arrow/Oliver Queen as their relationship grew. But lately, especially with the recent Green Lantern movie, it’s getting harder to tell Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen apart, with Hal becoming more critical and brooding.
The DC Comics New 52 Green Arrow #1 came out two weeks ago. I read issue #1 quickly. Then I put it aside because I hate when reviewers, instead of reviewing what is in front of them, review what they wish was in front of them. Hence the delay. So I re-read it. And I still find it baffling.
I also read the one-shot issue Flashpoint: Green Arrow Industries, which seemed to be a lead in to the new Green Arrow. Green Arrow Industries has Oliver Queen as the head of some military industrial complex. He is Tony Stark from Marvel Comics’s Iron Man, and nothing else. Other than in the first Iron Man movie, I have never cared for Tony Stark. He is arrogant. He lives a life of privilege. Oliver Queen is not that guy–his back story is that he was a millionaire that lost all of his money. He is not the owner of Halliburton or of Stark Industries or of Wayne Tech.
Queen learned what is important is watching out for the little guy. The Flashpoint: Green Arrow Industries one-shot may be the most unexplainable, out of left field one-shots I have read. Right up there with the bizarre Green Arrow: One Million book from a few years back, but at least that book had some context. As expected, the New 52 continues with Green Arrow as this new leader of what is called Queen Industries.
The new Green Arrow is gadget happy. Oliver Queen has never needed to rely on gadgets to be a superhero. Like Batman, Green Arrow has no super powers. He uses his brain. He solves mysteries. Gadgets? That’s for Bruce Wayne. We like Bruce Wayne and his toys. Again, that’s not Oliver Queen, except for one thing: trick arrows. That said, the best Green Arrow stories leave out the trick arrows. They are an amusing gimmick that even Oliver Queen jokes about when using them. Oliver Queen doesn’t need a trick arrow with bluetooth technology that can be shot onto a boat and allow someone far away to control the boat via satellite. A nice idea for someone else? Maybe. Put that story in the next Batman arc. And Green Arrow also doesn’t need a Geordi LaForge-like visor. Green Arrow just wears a mask for disguise. He doesn’t need X-ray vision.
Neither is Oliver Queen James Bond. We love James Bond. But the two guys just are not much alike. Part of the problem may be that even JT Krul has acknowledged Queen’s new “globe-trotting, James Bond, high adventures.” Writers and artists who are not familiar with Green Arrow’s decades of character study and growth might think they are the same. And I think the guys rebooting Green Arrow wish they were writing Tony Stark for Marvel Comics.
Recent issues of Green Arrow have shown Green Arrow as a hunter. That makes more sense. Oliver Queen was inspired by Robin Hood, specifically the classic film The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn. Oliver Queen can survive in a forest, like Robin Hood in Sherwood. And all he needs are arrows and a bow. Nothing else. No iPads or iPhones (called not-so-creatively qPads and qPhones in this issue). No Oracle-type helper constantly feeding him the latest tech data. Queen also knows how to adapt his carefully honed skills to the life of the urban cliff dweller.
Recent storylines had Green Arrow losing control because the baddies hurt his friend Roy Harper, formerly his sidekick Speedy, and killed one of Harper’s kids. Oliver Queen murders the evil Prometheus in revenge, and the Justice League gets on his case for not properly bringing Prometheus to justice. Like Batman over the years, Green Arrow issued some vigilante justice. That storyline was interesting and going someplace. The new Green Arrow is preachy and sounds like the old Silver Age Hal Jordan or Superman.
The new Green Arrow has no similarities to the O’Neil/Adams creation. It has no similarity to 100 issues of the Green Arrow as further refined by Mike Grell. It has no familiarity to the faithful ongoing adventures re-envisioned by Kevin Smith, Phil Hester, Ande Parks, Brad Meltzer, Judd Winick, or even the artist Jock. Fans of Green Arrow as interpreted by Cliff Chiang and Mauro Cascioli will not recognize the new Green Arrow.
So what is the audience for the new Green Arrow? I think I figured it out: (1) Readers who do not like Oliver Queen, or (2) readers who really liked his son Connor Hawke as Green Arrow. Or readers who like a stubbly looking hero like Wolverine.
After Queen supposedly died (in the last 30+ issues of the first ongoing Green Arrow series that started with the Green Arrow: Longbow Hunters mini-series), Hawke took over as Green Arrow, sometimes referred to as Green Arrow II. Hawke was purportedly written for a newer audience. I would understand the new Green Arrow series if only they referred to the new Green Arrow as Connor Hawke. The similarities are all there: Hawke has no Van Dyke beard or goatee like Queen had. Hawke had this more vinyl/leather looking suit, like the Green Arrow on Smallville wore, and like the new Green Arrow is wearing. Hawke had this ongoing grudge against one thing or the other. If this is where DC’s editors want to go, why not take Hawke along for the ride and give fans of Green Arrow our goateed hunter and partner to Dinah Lance and pal to Hal Jordan back?
Here is the new Green Arrow:
…and here is the more similarly drawn Connor Hawke:
If you take on a beloved character that has a 70+ year back story, you should be passionate about that character. DC Comics announced this month that JT Krul is no longer writing Green Arrow with issue #4. Good choice, JT. JT Krul has written solid Green Arrow stories before. His non-Green Arrow stories are also awesome, including his work on the new Captain Atom. So what happened? Was Green Arrow just an unfortunate casuality of mismatched post-its on the wall of the DC editors when re-assigning characters in the new DCU? Does anyone love this new Green Arrow? Will replacement writer Keith Giffen be given any latitude to fix the direction of the new Ollie? We can only hope. My guess is Krul was just hamstrung by new decisions of the editorial team. So far I have enjoyed the rest of the New 52 for the most part. “You can’t please everyone on everything” probably applies here.
Even if this series was not about Green Arrow–about some other new character with this plot–I think storylines that have used the reality TV storyline, as Green Arrow #1 does, televising anything and everything, are just tired. The Running Man did it and The Hunger Games did it again. Enough already.
And not to throw too many darts at the new Green Arrow series, but what’s with these new villain names: Dynamix? Doppelganger? Supercharge? About the only thing right about the new Oliver Queen is he is back in Seattle where he belongs.
Had DC changed Batman or Superman as they did Green Arrow, they would have lost a ton of readers. You can’t remove Batman’s cowl and his detective work or Superman’s cape and kryptonite and still call them Batman and Superman. Same goes for Green Arrow’s goatee and the essential elements of his character. You strip away the basics and it’s no longer the same guy.
The first full day of the 42nd annual Comic-Con got off to a great start Thursday at the San Diego Convention Center with the first of tens of thousands of fanboys and fangirls and writers, artists, actors and everyone and anyone from the entertainment industry packing the venue. Lots of oversized swagbags and swag to carry in them and big displays from major creative properties. Several major events are celebrated this year, including the 35th anniversary of Star Wars throughout the convention.
But today Comic-Con really emphasized the COMIC in Comic-Con. Artists and writers packed both Artists Alley and the main aisles. Echo and Strangers in Paradise creator Terry Moore was signing at his booth (his 15th year at the Con):
Fan favorite David Petersen (Mouse Guard) revealed an exclusive to borg.com tonight: Years in the making, Friday will be the debut at Comic-Con of his boxed set Mouse Guard role playing game with a limited quantity available at Comic-Con. Here he is signing at his booth:
Legendary fantasy author Peter S. Beagle (The Last Unicorn, Tamsin) shared stories about his writing and inspired others at his booth in Artists Alley. Freddie Williams II (Captain Atom, Robin) and his wife Kiki were jam-packed up until closing with fans at Freddie’s booth.
But not all the fun was to be had on the convention floor. Another popular franchise celebrates a benchmark this year. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books hosted an invitation-only bash tonight at the Hilton Bayfront to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Jeff Smith’s comic book franchise Bone. Guest of honor Smith was on hand, as well as a who’s who of the comic book and sci-fi/fantasy genres. Terry Moore and his wife Joann, were in attendance, as was David Petersen and his wife. Legendary artist Sergio Aragones celebrated as well, along with Judd Winick (Green Arrow writer, among other noted DC work) and Patrick Scullin (Super Siblings). Attendees included Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine artists and authors Elizabeth C. Bunce (Liar’s Moon, StarCrossed, A Curse Dark as Gold), Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet), Ted Naifeh (The Good Neighbors), Jake Parker (Missile Mouse), Dan Santat (Sidekicks), Raina Telgemeier (Smile), and Doug TenNapel (BadIsland).
Here, the crowd toasts Jeff Smith (far left). Next to Jeff is Joann and Terry Moore, far left is Judd Winick next to Jeff’s wife and business partner Vijaya.
Here Elizabeth C. Bunce, Lisa Yee (Millicent Min), and Sheila Marie Everett, Scholastic publicist, celebrate at the party for Jeff Smith.
No industry has a more welcoming group of people than the Comic-Con crowd. Writers and artists shared stories into the night and everyone had a great time.
And Comic-Con wouldn’t be Comic-Con without some great costumes, including this group of Slave Leias at the Lucasfilm booth:
More to come tomorrow!
And we’ll post more updates throughout Comic-Con and over the coming weeks.
” storyline that put both Green Arrow and Green Lantern on the map and made us want to know more about these characters was a road trip across America. Something like the Winchester boys moving across country with every new episode in Supernatural. You might laugh, but On the Road with Charles Kuralt, the CBS segment where he took an off-the-beaten path tour of America, lasted decades for a reason. Viewers liked to see where he would go next. You’ll have an unlimited number of settings for your story, too, if you keep the team moving, assuming they let you work with all three characters.
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