18 August 2009

Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Star City, Part V: Green Arrow: City Walls

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2005 (contents: 2004)

Borrowed from the library
Read July 2009
Green Arrow: City Walls

Writer: Judd Winick
Pencillers: Phil Hester, Manuel Garcia
Inkers: Ande Parks, Steve Bird
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterers: Sean Konot, Clem Robins

Another decent installment in the ongoing saga of the Green Arrow. The real highlight of this volume is Oliver's relationship with Mia, who seems to be growing up despite his best efforts. They have to hack it out over both Oliver's infidelity and her desire to take a more active role in crimefighting; the latter of these reaches an excellent climax, and I look forward to seeing what is done with this in future volumes. The main plot of the book, a group of overly legalistic demons taking over and sealing off Star City, is a good one, though I think the pacing is off a bit; one less chapter of eventually-irrelevant buildup about the Joker, and one more chapter about the heroes trying to hold together their coalition army of cops and criminals would have been better. Oh, and the short story that opens the volume with Connor Hawke bonding with Roy Harper manages to be utterly cliche and unfunny. And it's contradicted by the main story, which states that Roy is still so injured as to be in hospital. Some good art could save it, but for the first time in these GA volumes, we get someone other than Phil Hester and Ande Parks on art duties (though they're back for the main story, and as good as ever, of course), and Manuel Garcia has no ability to draw attractive faces.

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