Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Crisis!, Part XXIII: Rann-Thanagar War

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2005 (contents: 2005)
Acquired and read May 2014

Rann-Thanagar War

Writer: Dave Gibbons

Pencillers: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Joe Bennett
Inkers: Marc Campos, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, Jack Jadson
Colorists: John Kalisz, Richard & Tanya Horie
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano

I like DC's space heroes a lot-- they combine two of my favorite genres into one, after all-- but I didn't like this. For some reason, whenever DC does a space hero story, they feel compelled to chuck in all the space heroes. Captain Comet, Adam Strange, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Hawkwoman, Starman, Tigorr, multiple Green Lanterns are all here, and I challenge you to get a grasp on any of their characters or personalities. The story in particular wants you to care about Adam Strange and family, but I don't; I'm not even interested in Captain Comet or Starman, and I've read and enjoyed other stories featuring them. These are just a bunch of people shouting exposition loudly at one another, fighting against a villain I don't really care about to protect a group of people that aren't interesting. This is the kind of stuff I should love: desperate battles against deadly villains. But the plotting feels arbitrary (there are, like, twelve last stands) and when major characters die, it doesn't even seem to matter. God, I wanted to like this so so much, and that makes its failure all the more disappointing.

Faster than a DC Bullet: The End of Green Arrow, Part V: Green Arrow: Salvation

Comic hardcover, n.pag.
Published 2012 (contents: 2011)
Borrowed from the library
Read June 2012

Green Arrow: Salvation

Writers: J. T. Krul, James Patrick

Artists: Diogenes Neves, Vicente Cifuentes, Oclair Albert, Agustin Padilla

Colorists: Ulises Arreola, Michael Atiyeh
Letterer: Rob Leigh

Well, this is it. The final adventure of Green Arrow. After this story, the DC Universe was rewritten, and the new Green Arrow is by no means the same as the old Green Arrow. Having read this book, I can once again truthfully claim to have read every Green Arrow collection there is. (And Green Arrow, in a roundabout way, is the character responsible for getting me into comics.)

Given the character's long and interesting history, this is a disappointing way to go out. Salvation says little about Green Arrow himself, getting more and more sucked into (what I assume are, anyway) elements of Brightest Day. There's a lot of fighting in the forest, the Demon Etrigan shows up, as does the Phantom Stranger, but who knows why. Then the forest comes to life, then Swamp Thing's there(???), and then it's all over for some reason. I've no idea what happened or why, and I think it actually ends twice. Then Galahad leaves (boo), and it's all over. Ta-da! The characters and mysteries that Krul set up in Into the Woods are all but gone: no crusader lady, no reporter guy, and the plot about the Queen taking over Queen Industries is not even touched upon.

There's three issues after that, but they're a fill in by James Patrick where Green Arrow helps a U.S. Marshal bring in a crazy Protestant minister. The minister himself is a dull, ranting villain with an unbelievable plot, and the story is made worse by a completely random Batman cameo-- who drops in to give Green Arrow some trick arrows. If we're so far from the trick arrows these days that Green Arrows can't make his own anymore, then this isn't a Green Arrow I want to read about. How can Green Arrow not make his own arrows!?

The U.S. Marshal lady is set up as a recurring character too, but of course she won't be back either. Green Arrow walks away and that's the last anyone will ever see of him again...