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Green Arrow #33
Publisher: DC
Story: Jeff Lemire
Pencils: Andrea Sorrentino
Inks: Andrea Sorrentino
Colors: Marcelo Maiolo
Letters: Rob Leigh

The creative team of Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, with Marcelo Maiolo on coloring duties, has turned Green Arrow into not only one of the best books at DC, but one of the best comics currently being published. So the news this week that DC is replacing this creative team with a new one starting with issue #35 was very unwelcome to this reviewer.

However, in the “silver linings” department, we still have two Green Arrow issues left featuring this stellar creative team. They seem to be pulling out all the stops, as issue #33 yet again tops last issue, and in fact stands as one of the best issues of their entire run.

Artistically, this is just one of the freshest looking comic books around, bucking the DC house style and creating something truly unique. The pale, monochromatic washes over the flashback scenes add an air of nostalgia and even a bit of mystery to some of Oliver’s formative moments as deals with personal loss, anger, and disappointing his friends. Sorretino’s trademark creative layouts return, with close ups and highlights, all with the unique coloring of Maiolo. I’ve written about Sorrentino’s and Maiolo’s work on Green Arrow before, but they continue to consistently amaze every month on this title.

On the story front, Lemire seems to be laying the groundwork for a lot of pieces to be picked up by the new creative team, but he also continues to build upon the characters and story lines he has set in motion during his run on the title. This issue features all our favorites, including Diggle, Naomi, and Fyff, as well as a very welcome appearance by wildcard Emiko, who steals the show this issue, bantering with Oliver and setting the stage for much of the issue’s more humorous moments.

There’s only this issue and next month’s before the trio of Lemire, Sorrentino, and Maiolo move on to other things, so grab this issue while you can and see why years from now we’ll all look back at this run on Green Arrow as one of the best in the character’s history.

Martin Thomas
@comicattack.net