The Good
Now that we've met the members of the GREEN TEAM, it's time to get to business. In this case, business involves sloughing off an ambush by Riot, getting another team member in a super-slick suit, and learning some below-the-surface things about our teen trillionaires.
The creative team on this book makes it; there's a great mix of imagination and attention to detail, and none of it is accidental. The art is just right for the story, and the story is a smooth blend of action and personal drama. Speaking of drama -- Art and Franco might be known for their all-ages fare, but fans will be pleased to see that their range extends to a very grown-up sort of tension. There's also some very grown-up conversation; the teens might act their age with impulsive spending and crazy gear, but they're insightful beyond their years with observations like "Money has secrets. Your dad..may not be the guy you think he is."
GREEN TEAM takes characters that I want to dislike -- the anti-underdogs, if you will -- and makes them interesting enough to pay attention to, and sometimes even charming. Art and Franco have given each member of the team a distinct personality, and they've really developed each character's voice -- Cecelia, this issue's focal character, is so on-point as a starlet with a disastrous reputation that she might as well be the Lindsay Lohan or Amanda Bynes of the DCU. If those girls had robot-arms, that is.
The Bad
Part of this book's fun is the crazy, over-the-top spending (hello, used Batmobile!), but there are some points where the Green Team's penchant for excess gets a little…excessive. I'll suffer a starlet's request for bottled water to bathe in -- it's silly and extravagant, but sounds like something spoiled brats do -- but I think changing the furniture and art in a hotel room makes J.P. look like a chump, especially in comparison to Commodore and Mo, who spend money with a purpose.
The Verdict
Bruce Wayne is just a guy with a lot of money; he's not particularly special or interesting except for the parts of his personality that make him Batman. Likewise, GREEN TEAM could just be a formulaic team superhero book with a bunch of kids whose power set consists of "is unbelievably wealthy," but it's the team's (and the book's) personality that really makes this title interesting. There's also plenty of groundwork being laid for exciting future issues -- only two of the team members have suited up, we don't know where Cecelia's robot-arm came from, and there have been teases about Deathstroke being hired for the team as a bodyguard -- so I'll be keeping this in my pulls to see where the story goes.
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