Green Arrow July Solicitations

Well, it's that time again. DC Comics released their full slate of July solicitations today and, with it, comes our first look at what's coming up for the Emerald Archer.

GREEN ARROW #22
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art and cover by ANDREA SORRENTINO
1:25 B&W Variant cover by ANDREA SORRENTINO
On sale JULY 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
Count Vertigo makes his debut in The New 52! And just when Ollie thinks he’s got it all figured out, another piece of his family mystery emerges…only this one is still breathing!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and JEFF LEMIRE
Art by DOUG MAHNKE and CHRISTIAN ALAMY
Cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
1:25 Variant cover by BRETT BOOTH and NORM RAPMUND
1:00 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
On sale JULY 10 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 US
Retailers: This issue will ship with four covers. Please see the order form for more information.
TRINITY WAR CHAPTER 2! The War of the Justice Leagues continues as one hero is arrested and another goes rogue. Who is responsible for the evil that has infected the League? And who is the true killer? Only the Question knows the answer...
This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.

ARROW #9
Written by MARC GUGGENHEIM
Art by MIKE GRELL, ALLAN JEFFERSON, LEBEAU UNDERWOOD and ERIC NGUYEN
Photo cover
On sale JULY 24 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T • DIGITAL FIRST
Does Diggle really trust Oliver? What happened between Laurel and Tommy while Oliver was presumed dead? What kind of tactics do the SCPD use in their ongoing investigation of the Starling City vigilante? Find out all this and more in this startling issue!

Looks like there's a lot of exciting things in store for Green Arrow! Count Vertigo is going to be making an appearance and more mysteries uncovered in the main series. Trinity War is starting that month and Ollie was called out as being a major player in the Justice League/of America/Dark crossover. Then of course we have the ever expanding mythology of the Arrow TV series being collected in Arrow #9. Yep, definitely lots to look forward too!

Justice League of America (Vol.3) #2

*I’m going to try something different for this review in an effort to make my reviews a little shorter and flow more naturally. Felt like I was spending too much time just recapping the issues before instead of talking about them.*

World’s Most Dangerous: Chapter 2 by Geoff Johns and David Finch

This issue was a marked improvement over the previous one. The artwork is improved quite a bit and almost all of the things I nitpicked at before are gone. With all of the introductions and set up out of the way, Geoff Johns is able to finally focus on the characters and what makes them tick. We get to see how they interact with one another and how some of them feel about the team and their place on it. This leads to probably my favorite series of panels of this entire month’s worth of comics I read. As Vibe is sitting at the JLA Headquarters’ briefing room, he’s startled by a mace that slams into the table. Hawkman has arrived and Vibe gets to meet his new teammate for the first time.

Green Arrow also got a nice little moment to shine again in this issue (No he didn’t die. Shocking, I know). While Ollie is lying in a hospital bed recovering from his injuries, Martian Manhunter probes his mind and we get a little more information about how Ollie infiltrated the Secret Society’s world as the Dark Hunter before getting caught and then escaping. He then wakes up and we get a great scene where Ollie gets to call out Steve for basically using him and then tossing him aside. Steve essentially tells Ollie that, yes I recruited you to help find these guys, sure you almost died, yeah I started a new team that you can’t be on cause Waller said I can only have so many, but thanks for what you did (Way to be a jerk there Steve).

Speaking of the Secret Society. We finally get to put a face to the mysterious guy that was off panel last issue. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to recognize him or if its a new character completely. Looks a little like The Outsider to me, which would seem to make sense considering they kind of reintroduced him during Flashpoint.

Anyway, it’s nice to actually see the guy even if I’m not entirely sure who I’m looking at. The Secret Society clearly doesn’t mess around when it comes to their recruiting process and they obviously have some big plans revolving around bringing “something” frightening to Earth (Darkseid again? Trigon? Someone new?). It’s an interesting plot point so far, I just wish it moved forward more than it did in this issue.

That’s really my biggest complaint with this issue. We got a lot of good character moments but it seemed to come at the expense of moving the over-arching plot forward. It certainly didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the issue but I can see where it might for others. The issue did end on a note that makes me hopeful that we’ll see more story progression next time. Our team (minus Green Arrow of course *sigh*) is scouting the area that Green Arrow was found for any trace of the Secret Society. Almost immediately, they start to get picked off by the robot versions of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman that Green Arrow was running from in the first issue. I’m hoping the ensuing battle will lead to some more insight on the Secret Society and their plans.

Overall, its a very good issue. So go out, buy it and support the Emerald Archer folks!

Justice League of America (Vol.3) #1

The Issue:

World’s Most Dangerous: Chapter 1 by Geoff Johns and David Finch

The story opens 5 years in the past in London. A shadow covered Professor Ivo is talking to a man off panel about all of the emerging Superheroes in the world. The man off panel makes a rather ominous remark about how the world will call them Super-Villains, then says he has a “map to make” and Ivo has “things to build”.

We then jump to present day and are introduced to this mysterious individual as he tries to escape through a forest.

He gets blasted by what looks like heat vision and take a tree branch through the side. As he recounts how little he has accomplished in life, we see that he seems to be running from Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. These clearly aren’t the genuine article as Wonder Woman says that their creator wants him dead. Our mysterious man says that he’s going to die today, just not yet.

Over at ARGUS, we find Amanda Waller and Steve Trevor having a conversation about the Justice League.

Steve tells Waller that a Justice League of America will never work but Waller insists that she has to make it work. After a little more arguing, Waller shows Steve the picture of Superman and Wonder Woman kissing. Turns out, the Government is worried about the ramifications of their relationship (or the ending of it) and want a team that can step in to fight if need be. From here, we get to meet our first set of recruits, Hawkman, Katanna, and Vibe. 

After a few scenes of explaining their powers and backstories, we jump back to our mystery man as he continues to make his escape. His side wound has gotten much worse and all of the blood loss is starting to take a physical toll. After realizing that he’s lost, the man looks up to the sky and asks for help. Not because he needs to live but because the people he’s running from need to be stopped. When he gets no response, he tells God to go screw himself. He’ll find his own way home.

Back at ARGUS, we continue the recruiting process and meet Stargirl. 

Waller seems to have something planned for Stargirl’s role that she won’t like. That doesn’t phase Waller since she knows the identity of Stargirl’s biological father. We then get a quick rundown of the other members planned for the team.

Steve apparently takes offense to Green Arrow being on the list and says that his “okay” skill set isn’t right for the most important part on the team. He then tells Waller that if she wants this to work, then she’ll need someone else. 

Catwoman and Steve do the standard beating upon first meeting that seen so often in comics. It isn’t until he entices Catwoman with the identity of the woman that stole her identity that she finally agrees to join the team. And with that, we have the team that will take down the Justice League if it ever comes to it.

(Hhhhmmm there's something GREEN missing from this picture)

Before the issue can end, Waller is called out of the office and Steve tells J’onn that he can come out now. Martian Manhunter is a little taken back that Steve knew he was there but says that he’s in. He also implies that Steve has ulterior motives for being on the team and threatens to erase everyone’s minds if they make a move against him (Don’t mess with J’onn!).

Just then, a random soldier rushes into the room and informs Steve that he needs to get to the infirmary right away. Turns out our mysterious man has made it back to ARGUS after being lost in the Kielder Forest for days. Steve pushes the doctors out of the way and insists that he needs to talk to this guy before he dies (way to give him a fighting chance there Steve). He removes the man’s mask to reveal that it was Green Arrow all along! He’s able to inform Steve that these villains are calling themselves The Secret Society right before he starts to crash and the issue ends!

The Opinion:

This issue was kind of what I was expecting going in. It’s a lot of set up and introductions but not a lot of actual story to latch onto. That isn’t really a bad thing. This issue is probably great for someone that isn’t familiar with these characters and needs the backstories. I appreciate that all of this was packed into one issue instead of dragged out for an entire arc. It just makes me that much more eager for issue two, so we can get the ball rolling and really get into the meat of the story.

I’ve never had any real affinity for Vibe, Katana, Stargirl, or Catwoman but I enjoyed their introductions and I look forward to what Johns has planned for them. He was able to get everyone a decent amount of screen time to let their personalities shine through (except for Baz since he’s trapped in the Dead Zone. Read Green Lantern!) so I have hope that he’ll be able to continue that. Often times in the Justice League book, characters like Cyborg have been just lurking in the background or have two lines for the whole issue. Hopefully, this book won’t have those same struggles. 

The strongest part of this issue for me was all of the “Dark Hunter” stuff. I promise that isn’t because it was Green Arrow all along (that actually did surprise me). Those were just the parts that dealt more with potential story opportunities with the Secret Society, so I think they resonated with me more. I’m very curious about what they have planned and how this new JLA will go about taking them on.

The artwork was a little hit and miss with me. I usually really enjoy David Finch’s art, and some pages were really enjoyable in here too, it’s just some other pages felt a little muddy to me. I’m not sure if it was different inkers on those pages or coloring or what. It’s still top notch artwork and nothing to scoff at so I’m reserving judgement.

All in all, it’s a good issue that is really accessible for new readers. There seems to be some strong ideas for future stories and I’m looking forward to reading them.