GREEN ARROW #13
"Frequency"
Recommended (8/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Kevin Smith
Pencils: Phil Hester
Inks: Ande Parks
Colors: James Sinclair
Letters: Sean Konot
Editor: Bob Schreck
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
Kevin Smith and company offer up yet another strong episode in the new life of the Emerald Archer. Of course, it's not the title character that demands the reader's attention in this issue; it's Smith's new creation, Onomatopeia. The villain steals the show, and in order for that to happen, Smith provides some convincing characterization for the most minor of characters in the script.
Hawkman and Ollie duke it out over the Black Canary. The winged hero feels his sometime archer friend is going to mess with his teammate's head, and their opposing ideologies just aggravates the argument. Meanwhile, Onomatopeia targets another costumed hero, this time in Pennsylvania. And back in Star City, Ollie's new teenage ward expresses an interest in another junior member of the extended Green Arrow family.
The strongest visual element in this book is also the strongest plot element. The design for Onomatopeia is thoroughly creepy, and for a simple reason: we can't see his face. That featureless mask grants the character an inhuman appearance that mirrors his demeanor as well. Hester and Parks's angular collaboration is as entertaining as ever, and Sinclair's dark colors help to reinforce the atmosphere of foreboding.
Though it makes for a funny scene, Hawkman and Green Arrow's scrap just didn't quite click for me. The reason: only one of them was really acting like a jerk. Hawkman doesn't really have a leg to stand on when it comes to his side of the argument, and I honestly didn't see why Dinah was upset with Ollie. It was Hawkman who was being offensive, and Ollie was simply defending himself. So why's he in the doghouse at the end of the fight? Eh, I'm single. What the hell do I know?
Smith has decided to build up toward a confrontation between his new villain and the title character, so he has created previous targets for the assassin. Here, we meet Buckeye, but instead of making him a generic "red shirt" (pardon the Star Trek reference), he quickly develops this character. I really liked Buckeye. Smith paints an immediately likeable and believable figure here. Buckeye is a minor character, but Smith has obviously put a lot of thought into him. It was worth it, as it made for good reading.
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