The Good
I feel like Jeff Lemire thought to himself, "What can I do to put Andrea Sorrentino's talents on full display?" and GREEN ARROW #21 was the answer. I have plenty of love for the narrative and I will get to that, but I simply need to praise Sorrentino and Marcelo Maiolo's jaw-droppingly good and engrossing visuals. Without giving too much away, Oliver suffers hallucinations in this issue and Sorrentino/Maiolo's work turns it into a super trippy and fantastic looking experience. It's such an immersive experience and when it comes to frightening hallucinations, the team absolutely nails it. I've said it a gazillion times and I'll said it a gazillion more: this book looks terrific.
While the previous chapters have felt fairly formulaic yet still hugely entertaining, issue #21 throws a whole lot of new elements our way and I really dig the alterations. This issue quite literally dives into Komodo's history, so it's great to see this isn't one of those villains who makes a neat debut and then vanishes upon being defeated. There's definitely bigger plans in store for the foe and his daughter and I'm stoked to see what they are.
While Lemire does expand Komodo's role, he by no means neglects Ollie here. In fact, he goes above and beyond when it comes to adding all-new layers to the character's mythos and it gives the title a legitimately fascinating path. It's no longer just a dude with an arrow taking on the bad guys who cross his sights -- there's a much bigger picture here and we're just scratching the surface of it.
Oh, and "Yup. I'm all enlightened and stuff," just may be the best line this week.
The Bad
I can honestly say I have no major gripes with this one.
The Verdict
Calling it a "conclusion" in solicitations is definitely misleading. If anything, GREEN ARROW #21 feels more like an awesome prelude and serves as a stellar jumping on point. Lemire, Sorrentino and Maiolo have proved month after month they can craft a phenomenal GREEN ARROW tale and this issue is certainly no exception. Sporting a solid script, interesting new plot points and brilliant art, this continues to be one of DC's most entertaining titles and is without question my most anticipated book from the publisher.
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