Rebirth: Arrow, Wonder Woman , Superman – Comicphiles
Green Arrow #1 – Rebirth (DC)
Oh Oliver Queen, I had such high hopes. This Rebirth special follows Green Arrow and Black Canary doing the traditional team up. Misunderstanding…argument…beat the bad guys.
Otto Schmidt‘s art, and particularly the colouring, is wonderful. Hats off to the man. Really, the green tones throughout add a wonderful feel to the world of, for some reason, Seattle. I can only imagine that the interior artwork is why this comic is selling north of 90,000 copies. It certainly isn’t Benjamin Percy‘s exposition posing as story.
The book is a slow read because of the numerous captions and dialogue balloons wherein Ollie and Dinah say exactly what they think about themselves, their history, and each other. Constantly. In a heavy-handed, boring, overwritten way. For example, upon seeing Black Canary scream her scream, Green Arrow thinks “There’s something about her… something that makes me feel gratefully defenceless.” This is a great example of terrible writing. So is this. “These guys like to stick to the shadows. So let’s steal back the night.” You are a super rich, handsome, straight, white man in perfect physical condition. Shooting flash arrows is not stealing. You’re doing it wrong. Do you mean Take Back The Night? Who are you stealing from? Who?
Let me tell you how I really feel. The main argument between the two heroes is that Oliver is a rich guy, trying to protect poor people from being taken advantage of economically and otherwise. Dinah thinks that this is hypocritical, and that Green Arrow can’t fight the man, because he IS the man, operating within a system he’s trying to take down. The issue with the comic is that none of Arrow’s counter arguments hold water. He describes himself as a social justice warrior, which is great. Green Arrow should look out for normal people. But, at least in this issue, he’s terrible at it. Someone is kidnapped within about a minute of him walking away from them. He also claims to fund and lead social justice movements, and I guess we’re supposed to believe him. But in the same sentence he talks about how much his arrows and gadgets cost, as if we should feel sorry for him, or praise him for spending his money unwisely?
I sincerely hope this comic gets better. If it doesn’t, I suggest people (re)read Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year One. The Green Arrow in that book is smart, funny, cares about people, and has an interesting storyline.
Wonder Woman #1 – Rebirth (DC)
This comic is original, interesting, and enjoyable. If anyone else is as mad at Green Arrow as I am, please read this. Greg Rucka writes a Wonder Woman who doesn’t know what to believe about her own history. For more info on this, check out the DC Rebirth special. But you don’t have to.
Wonder Woman interrogates the world around her, and herself, comparing her origin stories, her recent battles and history. The scale of her stories are epic, but her struggle is personal. At its best, this reminds me of Jason Aaron‘s Thor, but with the intricacy of the overarching Rebirth storyline. The art is good, though a little generic. Most importantly, the Wonder Woman in this comic is a badass, and I would be willing to read more. To align with the doubt of the character, Wonder Woman will feature alternating storylines, switching off issue to issue, which sounds to me like using the medium of comic books to tell a story you can tell best in comic book form. And isn’t that the point?
Superman #1 – Rebirth (DC)
Deep breath. This is a sequel to the seminal Death of Superman storyline from 1992, as well as a reboot of Return of Superman, and also this is an epilogue to Superman of the New 52.
It has no right to be interesting, but my interest is piqued. The story heralds a return to the Superman we’re used to, and your reaction to that sentence will tell you how much you’ll like this comic. Superman, clad in black and silver, is here to save the day again. He keeps referring to personal problems he has, presumably referencing DC mythos I’m not familiar with. Lana Lang doesn’t take any of his BS. They hang out. It’s chill.
If you like your Superman a somewhat aloof optimist and a symbol of hope rather than a cardboard killing machine, this is the comic for you. One interesting thing – there’s no mention of this Superman claiming the Clark Kent identity, so there’s a possibility he will have to invent a new one. I think he should call himself Tom Johnson, ice-fisherman of the Yukon and volunteer fireman. Maybe he can be a part time bouncer for a strip club.
Or else he’ll be a journalist again. *sigh* We’ll just have to wait and see!
